Mercedes Benz Half Marathon – Frozen Tundra of Birmingham

The Mercedes Benz Half Marathon is an uneventful race in Birmingham, Alabama.  It’s a big loop run in an interesting historically relevant city.  I don’t remember much about this race because it was 25 degrees at the start of the race and my brain was frozen.  Why is it always freezing when I visit the south?

Downtown Birmingham

The Mercedes Benz Half Marathon is a loop run in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama.  There is tremendous amount of history in this small town.  Birmingham was central to the civil rights movement in 1963 and is a super quaint little town that screams southern.  On this trip I forgot a phone charger which I use to charge my phone so I can track my races.  Not a lot open on a Saturday afternoon in downtown Birmingham but I did finally find a Kinkos with a charger kit.  Best $19.99 I’ve ever spent!

The Race – AKA “The Frozen Tundra”

I have bad luck in the south.  This trip?  I kid you not the temperature at the race start was in the low 20’s.  They distributed gloves to the race participants likely as a precaution against lawsuits from frostbite.  As mentioned in the beginning of this post, I remember very little of the race due to the extremely cold temperatures.  I have one vivid memory however, every single water station I stopped at along the race route to get a drink, had ice floating in the top.  Bitter cold!  I thought the South was supposed to be warm?

Another state in the books!  Take care Alabama.