Red, White, and Boom Half Marathon Sherpa Report

Sunday (the 4th of July), Pharmie took place in the inaugural “Red, White, and Boom Half Marathon” in Minneapolis. She ran it with her brother-in-law, Borsch. I was just there to cheer! So I threw my mountain bike on the bike rack, drove Pharmie and Borsch to the start, and biked around to try to see them at a few points along the race.

Here’s what the day looked like in photos:

Pharmie and Borsch walking to the start.


Potty line. They needed more potties.


Pharmie and Borsch pre-race.


Pharmie and I pre-race. I wore the “Leisure Suit” jersey to be easier to spot.

Pharmie and Borsch were in line at the porta potties for nearly a half hour, and RIGHT as they got out, they heard the starting gun go off. The race was chip timed, so that wasn’t a big deal. But because they started so far back, they had to deal with running through a mass of people slower than them for the first few miles. When I heard the gun, I wished them luck, kissed Pharmie (sorry Borsch - no smooch for you), and sprinted up to watch others start:

At the start, probably around the 2:15 pace group.


Pharmie running by at the start.


Borsch running by at the start.


People still coming out of the potties and starting the race.

I biked ahead a few blocks to get more photos. I ran into Katie. She’s the girlfriend of Matt M, a runner I met “through the internet” who was running the race. We chatted for a moment, and then I biked up to about the 2.5 mile point to wait for anyone I knew. I got there just in time to hear “HEY STEVE!” and see Katie’s BF Matt go running past:

That’s Matt in the red shorts

Katie actually followed me up there, and I told her she just missed Matt. We huddled under her umbrella, as it had started sprinkling. Soon, Pharmie came running by:

Go Pharmie!


Borsch running by as the rain picked up.


Strangers running in the rain.

Then the rain REALLY picked up. I packed my camera away to keep it dry, and I got out my own umbrella so Katie and I could stop huddling together under 1. The runners (for the most part) LOVED the rain. It was a HOT and STICKY morning, so the rain was a relief to most of them. Pharmie commented after the race that whenever the rain let up, she was afraid it was going to stop. And she wanted it to keep pouring!

So then I biked up to mile 11. I stood RIGHT at the mile marker and cheered for all the runners going past. I yelled to most of them: “Mile 11 is RIGHT HERE! Nice work!! Just 2.1 miles left!” I think lots of them liked that, because as soon as I said “mile 11,” many of them would look around, spot the mile marker, and take their split. I think I was helping out!

It was sprinkling the whole time I was at mile 11. Sometimes it poured. I’d get out the camera when it wasn’t pouring:

Runners at mile 11.


Pharmie running by!


Pharmie running past.

Then I booked it back to the finish line. Here’s Pharmie at mile 13:

Crossing the line!

Soon, Borsch came running home!

Heading to the finish!

Back at mile 11, Mike came running up for a high-5. I didn’t get a photo of him, but I got a pic of him and Pharmie along the Mississippi after they had finished:

CONGRATS RACERS!!! Way to get through the race on a hot and wet day!!

I wrote 2 Examiner articles about the race, and both contain a slide show of a BUNCH of images from the event. Click here to check out the first one, and click here to see the second.

Thanks everyone!! Oh, and make sure to scroll down to yesterday's post to enter yourself in the new giveaway!