Bridging the Years

Where in Tulsa, OK can you run a 1/2 marathon outside in the shade with a breeze in July?

And, there's no concrete, asphalt, roots or rocks.

It's the "Bridging the Years" run that Ken Saveth and I did today @ 4:30 PM.

We celebrated our 52nd birthdays by making 52 crossings of the Pedestrian Bridge.

At 1400 feet across, 52 crossings is 13.78 miles!

Sounds all good--right?

But not on a 107° day!!
I love this bridge. It is one of Tulsa's treasures and I'm sure a lot of runners and cyclists agree with me. This bridge also doubles as a locale for a romantic walk in the evening. You can not go wrong taking pictures here!

The old railroad bridge converted to a foot bridge is right above the Zink Dam, a low water dam that currently is in need of repair, as the main gate is stuck open. (The two above pix are a few months old when the gates were not broke.)

Ken aka K2 and I have our water cache stationed at the east end, and are about to embark on a 2 1/2 to 3 hour run. I had 26 pennies in my pocket and left one on the table after every out-and-back. When I ran out of pennies, I was done. K2 also brought a board and grease pencil so we could keep count, and of couse we had our Garmins.

.265 miles out to the far west side, we slapped the rail and turned back. We would do this over and over until we crossed the river 52 times.

The super cool thing was we had a LOT of friends come out to run with us. Stormy ran all but the first two out-and-backs with me, and Andy (pictured above--the fast looking one) ran 9-10 miles as well. Edward ran a bit with me, and a while with K2 and a few laps with Pat, who was running 45 crossings as he is a wee bit younger than us old guys. I think that's Derek tucked in behind Andy. Drafting.

Sandra ran a bit with Pat, and ended up with 6-8 miles, I think. Darryl took an early start because he had to get through in time for work and I don't know how far he ran, but he was doing three crossings to our two. Of course he'll win his age group in most races. A lot of the RW group came by to cheer us on or run a bit with us. Thursday night is their regular training night, and most of them run right by this bridge. Bobby, Guy, Kelly, and Wilma ran an out-and-back before finishing their normal run. Aaron ran a couple trips with Stormy and I before heading back up the west side towards Turkey Mountain. Debra and Chrystal ran maybe 5-6 miles out there. (This is a great run on a hot day!)

I ran nearly all of the time, walking just a few steps before the very end of the bridge and a few steps back out while I guzzled water and Gatorade. I took two SaltStick caps and a big pinch of salt after 9 miles and really had no cramping or fatigue. I finished my 52 crossing--13.78 miles-- in 2:30. My buddy Tom brought a six-pack of Blue Moon all iced down, and that made for the most excellent rehydration after my run. I ran the last few out-and-backs with K2, and upon our finish, we met the RW gang at Jason's Deli. Stormy had brought a cake for us birthday boys.He swore it was hamburger flavored, but it was chocolate--and insanely good. After a good running buzz followed by a sugar buzz, I was happy. Very happy. This was a good idea.