24. Missoula – 8 July 2012

The little town of Missoula was a cool place – the downtown looked like it stopped aging in 1957. There was an old car dealership there, I’m sure the owner locked it up in the 1950’s and never came back – the place was full of old cars on the showroom floor, looking ready for the happy couple to come and buy their new sedan… Funny enough, that place did not even have a sign on the door.

I flew into Bozeman, Montana and then drove to Missoula to head to the expo the day before the race. I had not booked a hotel, as when I checked before I left, everything was full. So, I figured, worst case I could sleep in the car.

I didn’t have to though – I was in a coffee shop in Missoula, went on the phone to one of the last-minute websites, and a local motel popped up with one room — nabbed it! When I got to the motel, there were a couple of other people trying to check-in, and the place was booked solid. It turned out that the room I had gotten was actually put online by mistake, but they let me have it anyway.

So I headed out to the local Whole Foods clone for some groceries – uncannily like a Whole Foods, but a local joint. They nailed it. With dinner in hand, I headed back to the motel for some rest before the race.

Nice course, pleasant running temperature, and a good run on the day. Following the run, I drove up north to Glacier National Park and then back down to Billings, Montana to head back home.