The next day we decided to stay local in hopes that I wouldn’t be too tired out for the early race start the following day. We settled on a morning hike up to the big "M" on the hillside overlooking the University of Montana. The campus was a short walk across the river from our hotel, and it also allowed me to see exactly where I needed to pick up the shuttle the next morning for the ride out to the race starting line. Easy peasy.
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| View of the "M" on the hillside above U.Montana campus. |
We found the entrance to the M trail easily along the side of the campus. The walk wasn’t far, only a about a mile, but it was steep. The trail was a series of switchbacks to help with the incline, but it was still pretty tough. I quickly became a frustrated hiker, as I couldn’t keep up with my speedy husband and kids, but I decided to just forget their pace and take my time. After all, I didn’t want to overdo it the day before the half marathon.
Once I changed my mindset, I enjoyed the walk more. The views got better and better as we reached the top. Our destination was the big white letter M that is cemented on the side of the hill. We finally all reached the M and had fun just taking in the view. We even saw a few parachutists running & jumping off the next hill over. Fun! Craig and the kids decided to hike a bit higher, but I just stayed at the M relaxing and enjoying the view.
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| Me at the "M". |
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| The kids sitting on the "M." |
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| Kids looking out at the view. |
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| Panoramic view from the "M." |
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| View of the University of Montana campus from the "M." |
Ella and I took the lead on the hike down, both of us needing to find a restroom after all that walking! At the base of the trail we found what we needed and then decided a trip to the university bookstore was in order. The bookstore had all kinds of UMontana gear, and the family certainly cashed in. We learned that the university's mascot is Monte the grizzly bear and the teams are known as the Grizzlies (or Griz for short). With bags of shirts & hats, we started back to the hotel.
Just as we were coming by the athletic center on campus, Monte, the mascot, came charging out of the building and right toward us! We were literally the only people around, and we were so excited for this chance encounter with the head Griz! We took some photos with him, and he seemed pretty shocked when we told him I was running the half marathon the next day. We laughed and had the most fun with him for a few short minutes. It looked like he was getting ready to film some kind of promotional video, so we left him to his work. I considered this meet up with us a good luck charm for the run.
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| The kids with Monte! |
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| Monte, amazed that I was going to run the half marathon. |
We dropped off our UMontana merch back at the hotel and decided to try another one of the Missoula breweries for lunch. It was called Tamarack Brewing and we had a fun lunch. We walked around a little bit after lunch to find where the finish line was. It was just in front of the Wilma Theater just after the Higgins Street bridge. It would be tough for Craig and the girls to be there due to the narrowness of the bridge. We figured they would find a spot nearby where they could see me coming to the end of the run.
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| Cityscape drawn by Ella at Ciao Mambo. |
For dinner we decided to try an Italian place called Ciao Mambo that our waitress from the hotel restaurant recommended to us. They didn’t take reservations (except for large parties), so we figured we’d get there as close to 5:00 pm (opening time) to grab table. Unfortunately, every other runner had the same idea. We ended up with about an hour and a half wait after putting in our name. This was not ideal, and for the kids it tough, but we made it. I’m glad to say the wait was worth it. The food was awesome, and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Absolutely worth another visit if we are ever back in Missoula (preferably on a day that isn’t right before a marathon)!
Bedtime was early that night, as I had to get up at 4:15 to catch an early shuttle bus to the 6:00 am start. I couldn’t fall asleep to save my life though, which really stunk. I think I finally fell asleep around midnight or so, not ideal the night before an early race.
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