The writer was hosted.
Traveling to run a marathon – or in my case, a half marathon – involves special considerations. Importantly, one is not to tire yourself out beforehand. But in Oklahoma City, there was so much to do, I walked – literally – a delicate balancing act, centered around my trip to run The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, aka The Run to Remember.
Save those Soles
I wanted to sightsee, but I also wanted to pamper my tootsies. I found the perfect way to explore the city, while sitting – a Bricktown Water Taxi guided tour. These 45 minute tours take you on canals that reminded me of San Antonio. Bars and restaurants line the canal, and the ride starts across the street from the minor league baseball stadium.
Are you ready to explore more destinations? Get inspired with our newsletter!
Ride a Streetcar
Oklahoma City’s downtown has two streetcar routes, both of which were across the street from my hotel, the Omni Hotel OKC. Rides are $1 each, with a 24 hour pass for $3. Even better, for the marathon weekend, rides were free for everyone.
Where to Stay
Look at the race route to figure out if you want to be near the starting line or the finish line – they are often nowhere near each other!
SheBuysTravel Tip: Skip the airport stress — Lyft’s On-Time Pickup Promise guarantees your scheduled ride shows up within 10 minutes of your pickup time. If it doesn’t? You’ll get Lyft Cash. You can schedule up to 90 days in advance and even lock in your rate. Use code SBT25 to save 25% off ONE scheduled ride to the airport.
The Omni Hotel OKC is conveniently right next to the Oklahoma City Convention Center, where I had to pick up my bib, souvenir t-shirt and other goodies. The Omni has a rooftop pool with a hot tub where you can relax after the race, and a spa where you can get a massage to soothe those tired gams.
The hotel was very welcoming to runners, even putting out snacks on Saturday, the day before my run, when there was torrential rain and all the day’s races were canceled. We had great weather for the Sunday races.
The hotel is also across the street from Scissortail Park, which has a Saturday morning farmers market. It wasn’t held the weekend I was in town, since the park is also where the Finish Line Festival is held. But that means, of course, that the hotel was at the finish line.
The races start at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which was a short walk from the hotel.
Key for Running – Where to Eat
If you track your glycemic levels, or just want to make sure you have enough gas in the tank to get over the finish line, the dinner before the race is super important. You want to eat well, with carbohydrates and protein in mind. Much as I love a salad, I’m not eating that before a long run.
Almost as important is the spice level, or types of spice at that meal. Indian or Thai food might be your favorite cuisine, but how will your belly feel at 6am?
Or, in the case of the Oklahoma City half and whole marathons,, 5:30am.
If you gasped, then you probably haven’t run too many races.
We filled up at The Jones Assembly, a former car assembly plant in a gigantic space with a dog-friendly covered patio. The cover was critical as it was pouring all day. We had homemade biscuits with honey butter, roasted brie, truffle pasta with mascarpone and a vegan Buddha bowl with sorghum, sweet potatoes, beets, hummus and cauliflower purée.
After the Race
I found out that Oklahomans enjoy a shot or two while they are running. There were full bars set up by volunteers and a surprising number of runners were having drinks, beers and pickle shots during the races. At the finish line, your bib entitles you to a free beer. But 9am was a little early for us to start imbibing.
We hung around the Finish Line Festival, with live music, food trucks and a party atmosphere, soaked in the hot tub, and went to Bricktown Brewery for brunch. The brewery has a huge selection of local craft beers, and brews their own. We shared the Bar Hop Hazy IPA and Blood Orange Wheat – both were delicious.
Bricktown Brewery has several burgers, but nothing vegetarian – or so I thought. The waiter told me that there was a ‘secret black bean patty.’ I had that tasty patty in the fried chicken salad, subbing out the chicken. The filling salad also had greens, broccoli, red pepper, carrots, sunflower seeds, raisins, Parmesan cheese and apple. It also had bacon – this is meat county after all – but I had it without.
More Walking
As I mentioned, Oklahoma City is prone to sudden downpours, and there was even a twister the day before I arrived. So I was eager to explore Underground OKC, a mile long network of tunnels in downtown, the day after the race.
The gallery tunnels have lots of photographs, from downtown OKC history to commerce, government, banking and art. I learned that the Jones Assembly Plant had started life as a Ford assembly plant.
Stroll Automobile Alley
Plenty nods to Automobile Alley’s past with its decor. Photo credit: Judy Antell
Although named for the car dealerships that used to fill the area, Automobile Alley is perfect for walking. It has local boutiques and restaurants, art galleries and the immersive experiences Factory Obscura: Mix-Tape. I was quite taken with Plenty Mercantile, a B Corp gift shop focused on sustainability.
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
A surprise was in store at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art: it is filled with Chihulys. I have seen Chilhuly exhibits in Seattle and St. Petersburg, and at botanic gardens in Dallas and the Bronx, but I didn’t realize the museum has a huge collection of Chihuly glass artwork.
The annual Festival of the Arts, in front of the art museum, is always held the same weekend as the marathon. Unfortunately for the festival, it is in a park. But it was all day after the race, and I wandered around, listening to music and checking out the local art scene.
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
Similar to the 9/11 Memorial in NYC, the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is a somber but necessary experience. And like its New York counterpart, it consists of two parts, the free memorial and the paid museum, (Here’s an enticement for entering the race – runners get free admission).
Both are simply devastating. The 168 empty chairs at the memorial commemorate the lives lost in the bombing. And at the start of the race, there is a long moment of silence – 168 seconds. Just gutting.
In the museum, you hear testimony from people who lived through the bombing. And the heartbreaking voices of parents who are searching for the kids, the one in the tower’s daycare. Bring tissues.
But the museum isn’t a total downer. It does celebrate how Oklahoman’s came together on April 19, 1995, and how they worked to rebuild the city. I was moved to be part of the #RuntoRemember, which also raises money for the museum and memorial.
Leave a Reply