Grandma's Marathon Road Trip (South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska)

(Photo Credit Camilla McFarlin)

On our first day, we drove to Sioux Falls, SD. On the way, we saw Crazy Horse memorial and Mount Rushmore. These were really pretty sites to see and we thought South Dakota was gorgeous. It was so woodsy.

(Photo Credit Connor McFarlin)

We stopped at a hotel in Sioux Falls, SD. The kids slept in so I woke up and did a run down the Sioux River. I noticed the humidity, but it was very pretty. When the kids woke up, we went swimming at the hotel pool.

We also took a trip to look at the waterfalls. The kids and Lola loved climbing on the rocks and playing in the water. The next day, we headed to Minneapolis, MN. The climate was drastically different. We suddenly entered land with so much green and trees everywhere.

Then, our battery died at a gas station. We got our car jumpstarted and got an oil change at Wal Mart. We arrived at our hotel kinda late, so we just grabbed some Smash burger and went to bed. I had to wake up early to teach and when I went to the car, the battery was dead again. So, we had to buy a new battery. Minnesota was a bit cooler and Carly didn't like the temperature at the swimming pool. She lasted 5 minutes and we left for our campground. We arrived at our campground around 3pm.

We set up our tent pretty quickly and headed out for pizza. Our waitress asked if I was running the marathon and she told me that she has ran it for the last 9 years, but was a little worried that it might rain.

The kids were so excited that we were surrounded by trees and had a lake right behind our tent. There were also frogs and chipmunks everywhere.

After dinner, we headed to canal park to pick up all of our race stuff. The kids loved the marathon expo because there was so much candy and treats. After the expo, we stopped at the store for food and we saw cotton candy grapes. They really did taste like cotton candy, so we had to buy them. When we got back to camp, I ran around the lake and saw 2 deer just hanging out on the trail. The next morning, we woke up to nice weather and we ate pancakes, sausage, and oatmeal. Before long, it started raining really hard so we drove to downtown Duluth.

We got lunch at a really good Chinese buffet restaurant and hung out at an indoor mall with a candy shop. The rain got really heavy and we started hearing that the marathon may get cancelled. It stopped around 5pm, which gave us enough time to go back to our campsite and get dressed for our family 5k.

(Photo Credit Lloyd McFarlin)

There were 2,000 people at the 5k, which is the largest 5k our kids have ever participated in. It went right along lake superior and everyone finished without walking at all. I held hands with Camilla the whole way and she was so cute. She would comment on people playing instruments and the signs people were holding up. When she saw the finish line, she ran so fast that I couldn't keep up. Carly finished first, in 34 minutes and she had to tell everyone about it.

When we arrived back to the campground, I had no idea whether the marathon was going to happen or not. I packed my stuff and set my alarm for 4:45am so I could get on a train at 5am. I woke up to no rain and was so excited.

The train ride was so nice. We had bathrooms, comfy seats, and beautiful views. As soon as I got off the train, I headed to the start. It was colder than I expected and we had a drizzly rain. I got cold and never warmed up. I just kept telling myself that it was better than heat and humidity. There were beautiful houses, trees, and a view of Lake Superior for the entire marathon. My watch battery died around mile 15 and I had no idea how fast I was running. It was kind of a nice feeling to not worry about pace. I made sure I high fives all of the kids standing on the course. The crowds cheered so loud and the kept me going. I hit the wall really hard around mile 20 and had pain in my feet and IT band. That is the point where I had to dig deep. This was also the point where the crowds cheered the loudest. I saw a friend of mine that was volunteering. He called out my name and ,just after that, I saw Lloyd and the kids.

I finished and immediately started shivering. I knew I needed a warm shower. Lloyd found me and got me back to the showers really fast. I napped for a couple hours. We headed to the beach when I woke up. We found a sandy shore beach and the kids had a blast. We then went to dinner at a restaurant on the lake. Lloyd and Connor said that they had the best ribs they have ever tasted. That night, it stormed like crazy. It was like fireworks were going off above our tent. Lola really freaked out and laid on top of Lloyd and I. She was shivering and crying. We woke up to puddles everywhere. No one could keep dry, which made it really hard to pack up. We headed out on an 8 ½ hour drive to Nebraska on Fathers Day. Nebraska was 95 degrees and super humid. I am not a fan of that state.

Overall, this was a great trip and we all got to spend quality time together. The memories will last a lifetime!