Runners race in Cape after St. Jude Marathon cancelled

When Rose Fox realized that the weather in Memphis might force the St. Jude Marathon to be cancelled she decided to post on the "Run Cape Girardeau" Facebook page that area runners should run in town on Saturday instead.

"At that point in time I didn't know we were going to get this much snow," Fox said.

The St. Jude Marathon was scheduled to be run at 8 a.m. Saturday in Memphis, but was cancelled due to inclement weather. Runners are provided incentives to raise money for St. Jude and the marathon raises millions each year. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital treats children with cancer at no cost to the families.

Fox, who was planning to run her first full marathon in Memphis, was among 22 runners that completed the St. Jude Frostbite Half-Marathon on Saturday, which took place on the snow and ice-covered Cape Lacroix Recreational Trail. Matt Miller, the only person that ran the full marathon, finished in 5 hours, 40 minutes and 55 seconds.

The 13.1-mile race started at 8 a.m. at the Missouri Running Co., and was organized by Missouri Running Co. co-owners Bryan and Kim Kelpe along with area runners.

The majority of the runners Saturday were registered for the St. Jude Marathon or Half-Marathon. Prior to the races being cancelled, many decided that they were not going to travel to Memphis because of the weather and decided that they were going to run at the same time that the race would be, but in Cape Girardeau.

Bryan Kelpe, left, congratulates Laura Sheridan as the first female to finish the St. Jude Frostbite Half-Marathon on Saturday in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

"I've been training for six months, so it was a hard decision to not go," Laura Sheridan said. "We waited and waited and watched every weather report we could and looked on the Internet for posts of what other travelers were doing. I finally made the decision in the morning that it just wasn't safe to travel, but then I still regretted it. It was almost a relief to find out it was cancelled."

The Kelpes decided to help organize Saturday's event and make it as safe as possible. Bryan Kelpe also told runners after the race that he was going to try to get their medals that they would've been awarded for running in the St. Jude Marathon.

"It's just amazing. On any given day we typically have 20 people out at 5 a.m. for a training run," said Sheridan, the St. Jude Frostbite's top female finisher. "But for people to pull together in weather like this, conditions like this, and still pull off a race and support us, I mean, it's just absolutely amazing that we have a running community like this."

A few participants decided to join the St. Jude marathoners, including Mark Burnett. The St. Jude Frostbite race was his first half-marathon.

"When I saw on Facebook the idea and I saw that other people that trained all year and didn't get to go had come up with this bright idea that I'm not sure was real bright, I was all for giving it a shot," Burnett said. "I've never ran any farther than 10 miles, so I thought it'd be a good time to give it a shot and support the people that didn't get to go."

Missouri Running Co. has put on races before, but the single day that they had to coordinate the makeup event gave the Kelpes much less time than usual.

"We usually start months ahead of time and whenever I woke up yesterday morning I had no intentions of coordinating a half-marathon or marathon the next day," Bryan Kelpe said. "It usually takes months of preparation, getting the OK, getting volunteers, but we have a great running community and whenever I asked for volunteers they came out full-force."

Volunteers provided food for the runners after the race and handed out water and hydration drinks at the aide stations along the route.

The race, which started at the store, went the farthest point north on the trail to the farthest point south on the trail and included a loop around Arena park.

Kelpe believed that staying off roads would be the safest path for the course. He got permission from the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department and the race was set.

Runners proceed north toward Walden Park along the Cape LaCroix Recreation Trail during the St. Jude Frostbite Half-Marathon on Saturday in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

Kelpe and a few of the runners had trained or competed in these types of hazardous conditions, but he still had some reservations.

"Last night there were some times where I knew it was going to be tough and I questioned my sanity, their sanity," Kelpe said.

There weren't any injuries, although runners agreed that they really had to work to stay on their feet.

"It's just a lot different having to balance yourself on the snow and the ice and wobbling back and forth," Fox said. "Every step is calculated, so your brain is constantly working because you're constantly planning where you're going to step your foot at. It was hard."

The runners that were supposed to race in the St. Jude Marathon had similar answers for why they still wanted to run.

"The point of it is I guess the kids [at St. Jude] are sick every day, even through hard conditions, so we should run even in the hard conditions," Fox said.

Multiple runners specifically mentioned the BStrong Forever Foundation. The BStrong Forever Foundation was established in memory of Brody Gard of Jackson. According to the foundation's website, Gard was diagnosed with a malignant stage IV brain stem tumor in 2010 at 9 years old and was at patient at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He died from the disease in November 2011.

"I know his parents and they see everybody who comes out to join the foundation," Brigid Farnham said. "It's getting bigger and bigger every year, and I know that means a lot to them because they've had such a great loss.

"It just puts everything in perspective a little bit, too. It makes it mentally easier to know that you can do it and how others are suffering. It gives you such strength to know that we are able to do these things."

Fellow runner Katie Hogan chimed in, "It makes 13.1 miles in the snow not hard. Their fight is a lot harder."

Top male finisher Bradley Smith used to work with Brody Gard's dad, Bernie Gard. Smith said he was devastated that he wasn't racing in Memphis but glad that he was still able to run in honor of a great cause.

"Overall I think St. Jude hospital, you can't donate enough to a good cause like that," Smith said. "I would hate for my children to go through that, so if I can help out in any way. I'd run this again down there if I had to."