Having made plans to visit family in St. Louis, I contacted an e-mail friend I had met through the St. Louis Track Club website to ask if she would like to meet for a run. Melinda e-mailed back that my trip lined up with the St. Patrick's Day Parade 5 Mile Race. She planned to run the race and offered to fax me an application. So, ten days before the race I sent in my application and looked forward to the race. It is the largest running race in St. Louis with over 5000 entrants in 2002.

The morning of the race started out sunny and 31 degrees. Approaching the 9:30AM start time, it became overcast and 36 degrees with shifting light winds. The participants crowded the start at 9th and Market Streets. I wore my black running tights, my Law Day 15K long sleeve shirt, a white tunic, a runner cap and cotton gloves. Others were dressed in only shorts and shoes with green shamrocks painted on their bodies and a green beer already guzzled. There were many Dr. Seuss type green tall hats and people dressed like leprechauns. One fellow had a stick with a wooden boar's head on top.

After asking a few people I found my e-mail friend Melinda at the start area. We discussed pace and determined that we both wanted to go out at about a six minute per mile pace. She is one of the elite women and one of the top woman runners in the St. Louis area.

Just 25 seconds before the start, the competitive runners moved up to the start line (for M40-44 that meant 28-31 projected finish time). My goal was to run six minute miles or better. When the gun went off, I went out at a comfortable pace and watched as the runner with the boar's head sprinted to the front and led the race for the first 600 yards. He and his buddies then pulled to the side and started walking.

I felt boxed in somewhat for the first mile and went through the mark at 5:58. A short distance later, I caught Melinda and we encouraged each other. We traded places three times during Mile 2 as we ran up a 2-3% grade. For the second mile I ran a split of 6:00 and was able to move ahead. I was running to my plan so far, but felt taxed by the gradual upgrade.

The third mile turned back east towards the St. Louis Arch and had a 2-3% down grade. I decided to "dog" the third mile to recover from the previous one and hit my next split in 6:09. I took time to get water and in retrospect was probably not needed. The slow mile jeopardized my goal to break 30 minutes, so I picked up the pace for Mile 4 and continued to pass runners.

At Mile 4, we ran by the St. Louis Courthouse where the Dred Scott slavery case was decided. I was able to move by a group of seven runners near the marker and had a mile split of 5:59. One runner tried to match my pace and crowd me a little which I found irritating. I felt satisfaction when I dropped him and took the crown of the road.

For the final mile we turned west again on Market Street where we would run past the starting line for nine more blocks to finish in front of Union Station. Union Station in St. Louis once had the most trains passing through in the entire country. It is now beautifully restored and converted into a pedestrian mall and hotel with many interesting shops. It is high on the must-see list for St. Louis tourists and locals alike.
In the fifth mile my lungs were burning and my stomach was on the verge of heaving. I saw my goal starting to recede and I thought about dropping into a lower gear. But, one person passed me at 4.5 miles and another threatened so I kept the hammer down and looked forward to the downhill finish. I picked up the pace and held my position while fighting for any extra second.

The roar of several thousand people greeted the finishers as I watched the clock go 29:57… 58… 59… I sprinted and leaned at the finish for a 5:56 mile split and a finish time of 30:02. I was elated and exhausted as I ran into the back of the finisher ahead. I apologized and we congratulated each other on a good race. Even though I missed my goal, I felt I had a really good performance and finish push.

Melinda came in at 30:45 and finished 3rd woman overall. Having previously finished in the low 29's she was a little disappointed, but her coach told her to have patience. After the race, I introduced her to my mom and she introduced us to her husband and two-year-old triplets. In addition to raising children, working full time, and training, Melinda is attempting to qualify for the Olympic trials in the Marathon.

At the awards ceremony, I met Mike Farrell who won the race for the 3rd year in a time of 25:12. Mike has a goal to run under 2:22 in the Marathon to qualify for the Olympic trials. Mike runs for Running Start - a runners store in Fairview Heights, Illinois. The store is owned by Mike Toolen who also ran the 5 mile race. At 57 years old, he finished 3rd in the M55-59 age group with a time of 30:15. He is a most pleasant fellow and I couldn't help but think how he would match up against Carl "The Invincible" Schulhof.

As the awards were announced, I was hopeful for hardware and most pleasantly surprised to get third place in the M40-44 and 57th overall. The next seven finishers in my age group all finished under 31 minutes.

My excellent race adventure concluded with receiving a third place medal, a bonus long sleeve tee shirt and a beer with my new running friends. Erin go bragh!