I'm finally catching up on writing the post for my last marathon. Remembering the cooler temperatures is helping as I suffer through the 100+ heat index right now in SWFL. Last December, I checked off Alabama with the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville. I was pleasantly surprised by Hunstville, and enjoyed my time there a lot more than I thought I would. Some great breweries, great artists and of course...rockets!
I started my day when I arrived by grabbing my race packet and then headed to their version of a Christkindl German market. This one was significantly smaller in scale to the one I'm used to in Chicago, and was disappointed there were no commerative boot-shaped mugs. There were a lot of artists booths set up which I spent some time browsing, and I found some holiday gifts at one booth, Davida Holiday Designs, where the owner takes old decorative tins and turns them into fun jewelry. Definitely check out her shop on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/shop/DavidaHolidayDesigns
After the market, I headed towards downtown Huntsville, where I had bought tickets for a luminary walking tour of some historic homes. I went to Green Bus Brewing to carb load with a beer and kill some time until it got dark.
I didn't find this out until I was nearby, but the event had moved from Saturday to Friday night because some rought weather was anticipated for Saturday. In all fairness, there was a tornado watch in effect that night. However, the weather seemed fine to me so I started out to do my own walking tour. Although the luminaries weren't present, the homes were still shining their lights.
None of them were over the top Griswold style, but they were very tastefully and beautifully decorated.
After walking around looking at historic homes, I headed to dinner at Oshi Poke Bowl and Sushi downtown. This place definitely gets points for presentation.
After dinner, sticking with the holiday vibe, I strolled back to my hotel via Huntsvilles' Tinsel Trail, which is a park full of hundreds of decorated trees.
Business and individuals from the area sponsor and decorate each tree differently. Here are some of my favorites.
Now onto race day. The forecast called for rain, and it was raining when I woke up that morning. This did not bode well. Miraculously, the rain stopped about 10 minutes before the race did. Hallelujah! The temperature was also perfect. The course had some rolling hills here and there, but overall was a pretty nice course to run. And we did run through NASA's Space and Rocket Center. This is also where Space Camp is. Anyone remember that '80s movie?
This race allows runners to run the front half marathon, the back half marathon or the full marathon. So if you run the full, you get a medal for finishing the front half, the back half, and the full. Maybe some people would appreciate this, but after running a full marathon, the last thing I want is a lot of heavy metal hanging on my body. But if you like a lot of bling, this race is for you!
In typically fashion, I followed my race with post-race oysters at a place called the Corner Pour. This was a cute beer and wine bar in downtown Huntsvillt that also happened to have some live acoustic music to add to my Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, my search on Yelp shows this place is no longer open. But thanks for the friendly bar chatter while you were open Corner Pour!
After oysters and other snacks, I went to try out another brewery, Innerspace Brewing. I had a sampler there and second dinner as well, since they also made wood-fired pizza. Who can be around the smell of pizza and not partake? I took that to go so I could eat shamelessly in private in my hotel room. :)
I took another loop aroud the Tinsel Trail after dinner, and grabbed my final meal in Hunstville the next morning. If you're looking for a decent coffee and a good breakfast, try the Cozy Cow. Overall, Hunstville was a great host, and I was pleasantly surprised by my first visit to Alabama. Next in the queue, another A state, Alaska next month! I'll be sure to share some great pics with you all probably next December when I finally sit down to write it!
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