37 - Little Rock Marathon, Little Rock, Arkansas

There was nothing little about the 11th Little Rock Marathon finisher's medal.  The Little Rock Marathon boasts "the world's largest marathon finisher's medal." It's true, it's mammoth!

The medal is a half-inch thick plate that is 8 inches long and weighs 2 pounds, 12 ounces— it's quite the sight to behold and an even bigger endeavor to wear when it was placed around my neck at the finish line!

I flew into Little Rock on Friday, March 1st and took a shuttle to The Peabody Hotel, home of the "world-famous Peabody Ducks."  Every day at 11 AM, the ducks depart the "Duck Palace," march down the red carpet laid out just for them and jump into the lobby fountain.  Then at 5 PM, they again march back across the red carpet to their Palace for the evening. The commentary on the following video was a random person standing next to me while I was taking the video.

 

On Friday night, I went to a local hot-spot, Cajun's Wharf for dinner.  On the shuttle to the restaurant I met Blayne, a women from Colorado who was also in town for the marathon.  Blayne and I ended up having dinner together. 

Saturday, I slept in and then walked the town.  Junction Bridge was my first stop on the way to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, which was a short walk from my hotel.  I decided to give that a quick "walk by" because I really wanted to visit Little Rock Central High School, the location of the 1957 "forced school desegregation."  There was an informative, interactive center next to the high school, where I lingered for a long while.  

The high school is still in operation.  

That night, I had a delicious pasta dinner at the hotel and turned in early.  

Sunday morning, I had an "extra" hour of sleep due to the time change.  It was a frigid but sunny morning, with the temperature in the low 30's (I thought it was supposed to be warm in the South)!  The start line was a 5-minute walk from the hotel allowing me to leave the hotel 10 minutes before the start of the marathon. 

Mike Beebe

I love these "smaller" marathons (there were only 2,446 marathon runners).  The course took us by the Clinton Center, the Governor's Mansion (with the Governor himself, Mike Beebe  cheering us on), Little Rock Central High School, the State Capitol Building, and Rebsamen Park along the Arkansas River.  

                              I crossed the finish line in Riverfront Park with a time of 4:26:31.                                                                                       

I hit "The Wall" just after mile 20. 

It was still chilly when I finished, so I hightailed it back to the hotel for a hot shower.  There was no ice bath in my plans.  When I can, I like to soak in an ice bath after a marathon to ease the soreness but not this day. 

Across the street from my hotel was the historic Capitol Hotel.  Rumor had it that the Capitol Bar and Grill inside the hotel had a great burger, so I decided to check it out.  For marathon day, they were serving a special "marathon" burger— I'm still not really sure why adding mushrooms, onions and cheese would make a burger a "marathon" burger, but that's what it was. And yes, it was just what I needed to eat after the marathon!

A "Big & Bodacious Post Race Party" was being thrown by the Little Rock Marathon at the local convention center so I stopped by there.  There was a live band, BBQ and lots to drink, it was all included in the race entry fee.  I didn't stay long because I was quickly fading and I called it an early night.  Monday morning, I embarked on my journey home.