This past Friday, I heard that the new I-280 Skyway bridge in Toledo was having it's opening ceremony on Saturday. Being an interstate, this would be the only day the bridge would ever be open to foot traffic. Upon further research, we learned that as part of the celebrations there would be a four mile run with part of the course crossing the bridge. So we got some of the family together and went to see the newly completed bridge.
After my cousin Alex and I had registered for the race, we took a bus to the "walking side" of the bridge where the bus takes you up the exit ramp and lets you walk about a half-mile across the main span. At the other end, a bus (eventually) took us back to our car which was at the starting point of the run. During this time I actually got to enjoy the bridge and the view, both of which were great. During the race I was too focused on running.
The race began a few minutes after noon. The course took us over the drawbridge that the Skyway was replacing, then up the entrance ramp, over the bridge and back to near the starting point. I was surprised to learn that I had taken 26th place out of about 2000 since I had only been running regularly for about a week after about two weeks of occasional running since Track season. I recieved a very nice medal and a glass keepsake at the finish line. Even without the awards, the run was worth it for the opportunity to have been one of the relatively few people to have ever run on the bridge.
The group: Grandpa, Grandma, Alex and Me. (Mom was taking the picture)
Me shortly after the start.
Running across the drawbridge. (Picture taken from the Skyway.)
Running down the (amazingly long) "chute" towards the finish.
The awards.
