St Louis Half Marathon &
Clayton Police 5K for Special Olympics
7:30am, Sunday, Nov 5
Prices increase on Monday!
Half marathon is $55 and 5K is $25 thru 4/30! 
Just five more days to register for 37th Annual St. Louis Half Marathon and Clayton Police 5K for Special Olympics before the price increases on Monday, May 1.

The St. Louis classic, which will be held on Sunday, Nov. 5, in Clayton, is just $55 for the half marathon and $25 for the 5K through 11:59pm this Sunday, April 30.

And SLTC members pay even less - just $40 for the half or $15 for the 5K. For the member registration area, just follow this link. (If you have any trouble logging in, please email anna.jones@stlouistrackclub.com.)

We'll be sending out newsletters with news and stories over the next five months as we get ready for race day. In this issue, we bring you a Q&A with Pat Britt, who just celebrated his 80th birthday by running the Go! St Louis Marathon this month! 

Kevin Jokisch, Race Director
and the SLTC Board and staff

Early Registration Pricing
  • Half: $55
    ($40 for SLTC members)
  • 5k: $25
    ($15 for SLTC members)
M ay 1 to  August 31
  • Half: $60
    ($45 for SLTC members)
  • 5k: $30
    ($20 for SLTC members)

September 1 to October 22

  • Half: $65
    ($50 for SLTC members)
  • 5k: $35
    ($25 for SLTC members)

October 23 to Race Day, Nov. 5 

  • Half: $70
    ($55 for SLTC members)
  • 5k: $40
    ($30 for SLTC members)
 Runner Profile: Pat Britt
Longtime runner and volunteer celebrates
80th birthday by running the Go! St Louis Marathon 
Pat Britt is hard to miss.

For starters, he volunteers at a lot of area races. Darn near every Frostbite run for the past 10 years, Pat has manned the toughest intersection for every race - Cricket and Grand Drive. Recently when Pat had to miss a race it took 3 volunteers to do the job.

Secondly, Pat has a full shock of white hair and often sports yellow shorts.

In April, three days past his 80th birthday, Pat completed his 41st marathon, the Go! St. Louis Marathon. Frank Shorter inspired Pat to take up running when he won Olympic Gold in 1976.  Pat has been running ever since.

Running and walking through five major back surgeries that started in 1989.  Eighty-five percent curvature of his spinal column forced the first surgery to overcome Lateral Scoliosis.  We will spare you the details, but safe to say, the surgeries were extremely invasive.

Pat credits his running regiment with helping him to overcome the scoliosis and surgeries. He does reluctantly admit that arthritis creeps in every now and then.

For a man that turned 80 years of age on April 6th, he is hard to keep up with.
Toughest race you finished?

Two of them, a 15k trail race in the Catskill Mountains of New York and a brutal 40-mile ultra trail race on Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina. Mt Mitchell was a 20-mile up and 20-mile back down run. I did it when I was 70 years old. There was ice at the top. Took me 10 hours and 7 minutes to complete it.

Have you done the Boston Marathon?

Qualified for it six times, ran it four times.

Tell us about your training regiment.

I run religiously three times a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I run regardless of the weather and always in shorts. Vaseline helps to keep my legs warm in really cold weather.

I also go to the gym to lift weights and ride the stationary bike on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

(He does forego a gym workout on Fridays so that he can golf with the St. Louis Metro Seniors crew from April through October.)

What does your marathon training consist of?

I build in three 12-mile runs, three 15-mile runs, three 18-mile runs and three 20-22-mile runs leading up to a marathon. All within the three days of running per week structure.

I try not to do any junk miles. Tuesdays and Saturdays are long miles and hill days, with Thursdays being a 3-mile interval track workout day with half mile and mile repeats with only a 40-second walking rest in between the repeats.

(Pat often ends up at Kayaks after his Saturday long runs to shoot the “bull” with his longtime running buddies)
What advice would you give runners about their marathon race strategy?

Start the first 6 miles 10 seconds slower then the pace you want to finish your race with, then drop your pace to 3 seconds faster then your race goal pace for the final 20 miles. I usually beat my time goal when I use this strategy. People go out too fast.

Who inspires you?

The Hoyt father and son team! All of the runners who have overcome a physical challenge or disability and yet keep on running. (He proceeded to list a number of runners who completed this year’s Boston Marathon in spite of physical limitations.)

What are your running goals?

Run a marathon every five years from here on out until I am 100! I would like to be one of the few who have completed a marathon at 100 years of age.

I hear through the grapevine that you volunteer a lot. Where do you volunteer?

Shriners Hospital with the kids doing recreational therapy. Ronald McDonald houses on West Pine and at Mercy Hospital. The Dream Factory and formerly at Our Little Haven.

What motivates you to volunteer at races and the places you just listed?

I just have a viewpoint that you have to give back. If you don’t you are just being selfish. Plus I enjoy all of the people I get to meet at races. I have met a lot of really interesting and fun people.

How many pairs of yellow shorts do you own?

(laughing) Four pairs, and I do rotate them.
Pat will be married for 53 years to Audrey on June 20. (Audrey would much rather he run half marathons.) Pat was born and raised in the St. Louis region. For most of his adult working life he sold life insurance as his career. Since 1961, Pat and a group of buddies have played poker - weekly for the first 20 years and now they meet monthly.
Make Your Training Miles Count and Support Special Olympics
CHARITY MILES APP
When you download the Charity Miles app and use it during your runs, walks and bike rides, a donation will be made to Special Olympics!

Learn more and download the app on the  Charity Miles website.