Volunteer then race - Firecracker 4 Mile St. Louis

I've been hearing about Bodies Race Company for quite some time now but when I saw an option to "volunteer then race"  in their Firecracker 4 and 8 miler at Creve Coeur Lake Park, I decided to check them out and take advantage of the discounted race entry for volunteering.  The discounted 4 mile entry was only $20 but then I also opted to not receive a shirt, which cut an additional $5 off of the cost.  I really like how some races have caught on to this trend of giving a discount for opting out of the shirt.  Their race shirt was fine, I just took advantage of the additional discount instead of receiving another shirt.  What I really wanted and what draw me to this race in the first place, was the medal!

I signed up at the beginning of June and race day was June 30th.  Between registration and race day, there were plenty of email reminders.  My volunteer shift was at packet pick-up, which was on race day starting at 6:15 a.m. and ending at 8 :00 a.m. when the race started.  I've volunteered at plenty of packet pick-up's before but what was different about this one was that we used our own phones after downloading the RaceDay CheckIn app. It was easy to use and runners either had their QR code ready or gave us their last names. From the app I could also tell that 250-some had registered for the race and by start time, 87% of those registered had checked in.  There were quite a few volunteers at pick-up too, which made the time fly by and the line never got too long for the runners. 

Some fun tidbits from check-in included one gentleman who asked me where the awards would be as he was picking up his shirt and bib.  I guess it came off to me as presumptuous at first (my bad), so I told him what I knew. Then I saw his age. He was 77!  Right there I decided that was one of my new life goals.....to still be finishing races at 77. And he didn't look 77, maybe late 50's, so there's another life goal!  There was also the woman who was concerned about finishing since she was injured.  She downgraded from the 8 miler to the 4 but I reassured her that with Creve Coeur Lake Park being open to the public, she would never feel alone on the course and that the course closure time was pretty gracious with having an 8 miler.  Later I saw her at the finish line taking a selfie with her medal, so that also made my day!

I ended up walking 99.9% of the race since I had two blisters on the bottom of my left foot from breaking in new running shoes. I didn't bring music, I just took in the cooler temps and the lake views and enjoyed myself on the 4 mile walk.  Since the course was an out-and-back, you got to see all of the 4 mile runners and also the very fast 8 mile runners. I was just happily walking along when so many people told me "good job" or "keep it up."  It just made the walk that much more pleasant. 

I should mention parking. Most races at Creve Coeur Lake Park start and end at the Tremayne Shelter, just like this race did.  We always park here when we walk or run at this park because there is a large parking lot and it is adjacent to year-round restrooms.  So parking was not an issue at all for this race. 

So what caught my eye about this race was the medal, which was a Top Gun theme.  I love Top Gun, including the new movie and I use the phrase "negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full" quite often to convey that I am already at capacity and not taking on anything else.  Anyway, the medal lights up and flashes red and blue!!!  I will probably wear it on the 4th of July just to feel festive.

Then here are some pictures that I took during the race.

One section of the course took you onto a trail, but the majority was an asphalt paved path

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Prettier in black and white

Post race snacks included ice cream from a local food truck and then water and granola bars. 

I had a great time completing the "volunteer then race" option for the Firecracker 4 Miler. I will definitely keep an eye out for future opportunities like this.  Bodies has races all over the country, so here is their website to check them out:  https://bodiesracecompany.com/  

Creve Coeur Heart to Heart 5k

On Saturday my running/walking buddy was actually in town for the Creve Coeur Heart to Heart 5k.  Since I live closer to this race, I picked up our packets at the Dielmann Recreation Complex on Friday afternoon.  Packet pick-up options were Thursday and Friday from Noon - 6 p.m. and an hour before the race. This year's shirts were a blue tech material, which I preferred over colors used in previous years. 

I've done this race several times now and for the most part, it tends to start and finish in Millennium Park by BJC West Hospital. Since Millennium Park is under construction and isn't due to debut it's renovated features until June 7th, the start and finish lines this year were at the Creve Coeur City Hall.  Going into race day, we were worried about the forecast but the luckily the race ended up happening in between rain showers.  Before we knew it, the mayor of Creve Coeur sent us off and we ran through a line of cheerleaders from one of the local schools (Creve Coeur is actually split between Ladue and Parkway school districts).

The course wound through more established residential neighborhoods with great shade from mature trees.  There were plentiful water stops and many residents along the course supported runners from the end of their driveways.  Any time my friend is able to join me the time flies by, so this 5k flew by and before we knew it we were done.  

We were handed our medals and we grabbed out post-race food which included bananas, clementines, lemonade, water, and granola bars.  There were less vendors this year but a local chiropractor had a tent as well as State Farm and Orangetheory.  With the race being at city hall this year, I knew that I wanted to grab brunch with my friend at a new restaurant nearby called Oats and Honey Cafe.  Since the race started at 7:30, we finished early enough to grab a table before the restaurant got too busy.  Next year when the race is back at Millennium Park we will probably brunch at The Shack, but my friend really enjoyed her meal this time at Oats and Honey. 

Cloudy skies and humid as we wait for the start of the race

Race shirt and medal

I ordered the Pastor Bagel (pictured below) while my friend ordered the Asada Bagel and both were delicious. Once you order you are brought several conchas, which is a Mexican sweet bread.

What I liked about this race: It is a smaller race but it's a really fun and supportive group of volunteers and vendors.  Whether the race is at Millenium Park or Creve Coeur City Hall, this is the closest race to my home so I love to support this race whenever possible. For being a smaller race, there was a significant amount of time for packet pick-up.  I also like the tech shirts and race medals for this race. 

Cicada status:  The cicadas were far more prevalent along this course but they weren't as concentrated as they were in mid-May.

50th Annual University City Memorial Day Run

On Memorial Day I walked the 50th Annual University City Memorial Day Run.  This race offers a 5k, a 10k, and a fun run.  I usually do this race with a friend but ever since she upgraded her camper, she's out of town every Memorial Day now.  I knew that I wasn't trained enough to do the 10k, so I opted to walk the 5k.  Pre-race packet pick-up was available on Sunday afternoon or immediately before the race.  I always opt for their race day pick-up since I like to arrive and park very early anyway.  This year, the pick-up was inside the library and took less than 10 minutes.  I always park in the public lot northeast of Kingsland and Delmar and I always get a coffee at Starbucks to kill time until the 5k starts at 7:50 a.m.  It had stormed several times on Sunday, so the weather Monday morning couldn't have been more perfect!

Pre-race email communication was timely and provided all the details that I needed.  The course winds through gorgeous neighborhoods with well-manicured lawns. There were plenty of volunteers and police along the course to cheer us on and the post-race food was AMAZING!  Let's start with the fact that they offer Fitz's root beer from the keg and their wait line was longer than the beer line when I went through!  The Fitz's Delmar location is near the start/finish by the way, and totally worth a visit.  Also available were a couple different canned beers to choose from, Mr. Wizards frozen custard, bananas, granola bars, and water.  I always look forward to this race as it's a great way to kick off the summer.  Being in St. Louis, you never know what the weather will be like on Memorial Day but this year it was perfect.

Below are some picture I took that morning:

Post-race food tents

2024 race shirt and medal

Cicada status: I only heard cicadas on one brief stretch, but the course was otherwise cicada free.  This is absolutely crazy to me since I live just 8-ish miles from this race and the cicadas are HORRIBLE further into St. Louis County.

Make Tracks Through the Zoo 5k

On May 19th I walked (with a dash of jogging) the Make Tracks Through the Zoo 5k with a friend.  I ran this race back in 2022 with a different friend, but apparently I didn't blog about it.  Back in 2022 I had convinced my husband to come along and support me since my friend was bringing her husband and two sons and we planned to walk around the zoo after the race.  Now I like to be early to races, typically parking with at least an hour to spare depending on the size of the race. So in 2022 I thought we were leaving early enough to allow plenty of time to park and walk through the zoo to the start line, but everyone decided to arrive at the same time we did.  It was a nightmare!  We waited for 30 minutes just to get to the light at Hampton Avenue from interstate and then it was a solid line of traffic into the south parking lot. Unfortunately I didn't think to have my husband drive so that I could hop out and get to the finish in time so by the time we finally parked, I was basically running through the zoo to get to the start line after the race had technically already started.  Luckily so many people were stuck in traffic that they left the start line open and my friend waited patiently for me to arrive.  

Flash forward to 2024 and a different race friend picked me up at 5:30 a.m. for the 7 a.m. race.  Parking this time was an absolute breeze!  The pre-race emails and the race packet from packet pick-up had maps showing the many options for parking including at the start line (Muny lot), the Forest Park Visitor's Center lots, north zoo entrance lot, and the south zoo entrance lot where I usually park.  We also opted to park by the lot exit, and there were still PLENTY of spaces available in this area when we left the zoo around 10 a.m.

The race started at the Muny but ended within the zoo, so we still had to walk about a mile from our parking spot to the start line.  You can easily get lost in Forest Park, but luckily there were plenty of people to follow to the start line.  Once we arrived at the start area we waited in a short line for porta-potties before lining up.  There were corrals by pace to indicate who would be starting first, but there was no break in between the corrals which would have cut down on the congestion.  Speaking of, the course congestion reminded me of Disney races.  In many sections of the course you just couldn't pass due to the width of the course or strollers, so we just opted to walk most of the race.  The course was beautiful as any race in Forest Park is but once you enter the zoo, I was reminded again of Disney races.  Music is playing over the speakers and you pass little crowds of spectators as you wind through the immaculately landscaped grounds.  Many of the animals were out, so you saw many runners stopping to take pictures.  

The finish line had changed from 2022 though and it seemed more congested this time.  You received a bottle of water right after the finish line then you had to walk a bit to get to the "post-race participant breakfast."  In 2022, I think they just handed us a brown bag with the food already inside but by the time we reached the food line this year, they were already out of paper bags.  My friend and I ended up grabbing a banana, an apple, a chocolate muffin, an orange juice, a chocolate milk, and a Clif Kid Z Bar.  Apparently there was also some kind of electrolyte drink offered as well, but they were out by the time we walked through the line.  Because my friend and I frequently shop at Aldi, we grabbed discarded drink packaging to use as our makeshift bags since there was so much post-race food to carry.

From there we walked around the zoo for a while with our makeshift bags before leaving.  We were able to see quite a few animals and talk to some amazing zoo volunteers during that time.  Since we both LOVED this race, we plan to come back next year.  We'll arrive early again, park in the same area since it was a breeze this year, but we will pack little baggies in our fuel belts in case they run out of paper bags again.  

Here are a few pictures from this fun and family-friendly race:

Zoo entrance from the south parking lot

Waiting near the back

Race t-shirt, I loved the color this year

Cicada status: I did not notice any cicadas along the course or at the zoo.  I've heard that St. Louis City isn't seeing near as many cicadas as St. Louis County and in this case, that proved to be true!