Living History Farms Cross Country Race

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Living History Farms is a 500-acre outdoor museum in Urbandale/Des Moines Iowa. There are five separate areas representing different eras in Iowa's agricultural history.

• 1700's Ioway Indians Farm - This farm explains the farming techniques used by Ioway Indians that pre-date history.
• 1850's Pioneer Farm - This farm shows how the pioneers lived.
• 1875 Town of Walnut Hill - The town is representative of an Iowa post-Civil War community.
• 1900 Horse-Powered Farm - This farm showcases advancements in farming brought on by the Industrial Revolution.
• Henry A. Wallace Exhibit Center - This exhibit shows the changes to farming during the 20th century.

It is a popular field trip for school age children and it is included in Patricia Schultz’ book, “1,000 Places To See in the USA and Canada Before You Die.”

Since 1978 the local running store, Fitness Sports has held a cross country race on the farm grounds. The race is always the Saturday before Thanksgiving and the current course is about 7.5 miles long. The highlight of the race is the eight muddy creek crossings. The picture at right is of the first creek crossing. It was originally published in the May 2006 issue of Runner's World Magazine. Todd is in the bottom of the photo in red and black. They made it into a poster and handed them out at the 2006 race. We framed one and it hangs in our office. The picture used to be front and center on the race web site. I recently discovered they have removed it from the site so I have included it here.

Here is a quote from the race web site that explains a little about the course:

You will again be challenged by the world’s richest farm land as you wade through creeks, dodge farm animals and claw your way to the top of gullies with 7500 (limit) other runners of questionable senses. It’s a great way to end the racing season and experience running stories to re-live and re-tell throughout the winter. Stay for the “Outdoors in November” post race lunch, door prizes and awards ceremony.

Note: I have never seen farm animals on the course. Although the first year I ran the race there was a frightened doe that charged a group of runners, forcing them to hit the ground as she jumped over them!

Most people do not run the race to break any speed records. In fact, there is a party atmosphere on the course. Some people dress up in costumes. It isn't unusual to see a high school cross country team running in prom dresses or you may catch a glimpse of Santa running with his reindeer all lined up in a row attached to their reins. My favorite "costume" was from my first year when a couple got married before the race and she ran in her wedding dress. It is the only race application I have seen that warns against bringing play swords and spears.

In 2003 I was living in Omaha and my personal trainer Mike convinced me to start running. He told me about this crazy race in Des Moines where you jumped over fences, waded through creeks and dodged farm animals. It sounded like fun to me! I signed up almost immediately. Early in the morning on race day, another one of the trainers from my gym and I drove the two hours to Des Moines, not knowing what to expect. I finished the race, but I did walk some of it. It was the 25th running, so everyone got a finisher's medal. We changed clothes in the restaurant on the farm property and enjoyed a warm meal before heading home. Since then I have laced up my shoes every year and run this race. It is my favorite race and I look forward to running it every year.

It has become a tradition that we stay at the Sleep Inn on the Living History grounds. The hotel is well maintained, you can't beat the location, and they allow dogs if we happen to bring a four legged friend with us. It is very popular with the out of town race participants. We all swap war stories and compare old race t-shirts at the free continental breakfast on race morning. The lobby is packed full with racer dressed in both typical running clothes and crazy costumes. I wonder what the hotel staff thinks of us every year?

With 7,500 participants, the parking is a nightmare. When I drove in from Omaha on race day I would spend what seemed like an eternity waiting to get out of the parking lot. It is nice to be able to finish and go straight to my hotel room for a hot shower! Most years the temperature hovers in the upper 20's to lower 30's, so I don't stay at the finish line too long. After finishing I head for the refreshment building at the top of the hill where I get a hot glass of apple cider. They keep the cider in the same containers that store the coffee, so there is always a slight coffee taste to my apple cider.

2009, November 21st - Just Let it Go

This marked my seventh year of running the "Farm Race". I went by myself because Todd did not have any extra vacation time. I flew out on Friday morning and back on Saturday night. I spent just enough time in Iowa to visit a few quilt shops and run the race.

I felt lucky to be able to race at all because of an injury earlier in the year. I hurt my foot in July and in spite of many setbacks I was finally able to run again in September with one goal in mind - get better so I can run the farm race. In the weeks leading up to the race I cut back on my running significantly because my foot was hurting again. Before leaving Connecticut I needed one last run to ease my mind. I told myself that if I could run with little to no pain, then I would be okay at the race. I decided to run five miles the night before I left with my friend Andrea. I only wanted to put in the miles and not push the pace. After the first couple blocks I knew my body wanted more. With all my pent up energy, my body wanted to run and push the pace. All Andrea could do was hold on for the ride. We finished and my foot was fine. I knew then that I would be okay in Iowa.

The theme for farm race weekend was, "Just let it go". I have been stressed lately and unfortunately I carry stress in my back and shoulders. When Todd massaged my back the week before the race he couldn't feel my shoulder blades. He questioned if I still had them! A few days later our massage therapist, Kim, came over and she was also concerned with the sorry state of my back. I hoped that my decision to also take the week of Thanksgiving off would help lower my stress level and allow me to return to work after the holiday a happier person. During my vacation I did not want to think about work, the partially done projects at home or the upcoming holidays. I just wanted to let go and run through the countryside.

After landing in Iowa I had a bite to eat and checked into my hotel. I called Todd to wish him sweet dreams and promptly I dosed off watching the evening news. I slept off and on from 5:30 until 10:00 that night. I guess that was my body's way of releasing some stress. Or was I getting sick? Over the last week I had tried my best to stay away from anyone with a sniffle and wash my hands religiously. I hoped I would be okay for the race in the morning.

The temperature was above 40 degrees at the start line with 1/10 of a mile visibility. For the first time I wore shorts and didn't bring my gloves. I wore long sleeves and later regretted that decision. Within a mile I was warm. My glasses gave me problems also. They kept fogging up because of the moisture in the air. To add to my vision problems, mud splashed all over my glasses at the first creek crossing. Luckily they were so wet from the fog I was able to easily wipe the mud away after I got out of the creek.

How they fit 7,500 runners in that starting corral, I will never know! I have seen the empty starting area and it looks like maybe 500 or 1,000 people will fit in there. People must stretch all the way to the finish line, which is a half mile away. This was the second year of chip timing. There is no mat at the start because of the danger of tripping over it and being trampled. The finish line mat is there to record the finisher's time and get the people through the finish line as quickly as possible. I think it would be fun to have a mat somewhere out on the course. It would be great to climb out of a creek and run over a mat!

At the start there was a cherry picker with photographers in the oversized bucket. The CBS affiliate had a live truck. The race director and a handful of others stood in an old wagon near the start with a microphone revving up the crowd. Because of the warm weather I arrived early and was able to claim a spot near the front. It is important to get as close to the front as possible, even at my pace, because at the one mile mark there is a tunnel under the interstate and the further back you are, the longer you have to stand and wait to get through the tunnel. Luckily I was able to make it through the tunnel without stopping this year.

Once again there was a cast of strange characters in costumes including Wonder Woman, a cow, and a man wearing a pink tutu. There were the high school cross country teams dressed in only shorts and war paint in their high school colors. One kid wore a pair of Vibram FiveFinger shoes which look like gloves for your feet. My favorite was a pair of high school girls wearing bright 80's clothing, complete with slouchy sweat shirts hanging off their shoulders and leg warmers. I told them that I loved their outfits and then felt obligated to add that I had grown up in the 80's. I wonder what crazy clothes the kids will be wearing to this race in 25 years?

Throughout the race I kept reminding myself to relax and enjoy myself. I was having problems letting go of the stress. The high school kids that jockied for position were annoying. The water crossings were colder than I remembered. Climbing out of the creeks wasn't fun. The footing in the fields was more uneven than in years past. The stress was winning. One of my favorite pass times during the race is counting the creek crossings. Instead of depending on the mile marks to tell me where I was at in the race, I would judge the distance by creek crossings. After the third crossing this year I stopped counting. I had no idea where I was. I was having a bad day.

And then it happened. I ran by the five mile mark, rounded a corner and saw the tunnel. The course is laid out like a figure eight and we run through the same tunnel from mile one on the way back. It is always an important landmark for me. That meant I was almost done! My mood brightened and my step lightened. I was finally able to let it go and enjoy myself. We were near the start/finish line so there was more crowd support. Their cheers pushed me forward. I easily navigated the last three creek crossings and charged up the final hill. I was surprised to see the six mile mark as soon as I climbed out of the last creek crossing. I expected it to be near the top of the final hill. As I ran through the start line, I caught sight of the seven mile mark. The entire race was supposed to be seven miles long and I still had a half mile to go. They had changed the course and it was now seven and a half miles! I ran through the 1875 town and across the finish line in 1:16. Victory!

Even with all the fussiness of the day, I was elated to have been there. I headed for the refreshment building and poured a glass of apple cider. But what was this? Why did the apple cider taste like apple cider? What happened to the coffee flavored apple cider? I turned to look at the container that I had just poured the liquid from and realized they had put the cider in a large thermos like the ones they use at football games instead of the church basement coffee dispenser. Yum. Apple cider tastes great after the race when it really tastes like cider. I started to walk and then decided to run back to my hotel. My legs felt great. Then I realized that my legs felt great because they were dry. I had worn shorts instead of the usual running tights which stayed wet and made me even colder. How great is that?! Maybe next year I will wear shorts even if it is cold!

Back at my hotel room I called Todd to tell him about the race. It felt so good to let the stress go that I started crying. Work didn't matter anymore. All the other pressures were gone. Everything was going to be okay. After I composed myself, Todd told me some bad news. There was something wrong with Snoopy, our 14 year old beagle. Todd thought he might have hurt his back when he slipped on the front step the night before. He wasn't walking and didn't have control of his back legs. The symptoms were similar to the one's he had last year when he slipped a disk in his back. I cried again and wished I was home to take care of Snoopy. But there wasn't anything I could do at that point so I hung up and got ready to go home.

I worried about Snoopy as I traveled home. Todd, Lacey and Bentley picked me up at the airport. Lacey is very attached to me and she took my absence hard. She was ecstatic to see me. Bentley probably didn't even know I was gone, but he seemed happy to see me. When we got home I took one look at Snoopy and decided that he had had a stroke. His head was cocked to one side and that same side of his body was twitching. He didn't seem to be in pain, but he was uncomfortable. He is not an affectionate dog. I sat beside him crying. He moved away and asked Lacey to comfort me for him.

Snoopy has steadily improved since I returned home. His head is upright now and the twitching has stopped. It looks like he has lost his perifial vision on one side and his balance is still not good. Time will tell how much he will be able to come back. He seems happy being able to walk to the end of the street and back.