Normally, I work less than 5 miles from my house. While sometimes I wish the commute was shorter, is pretty convenient compared to my co-workers, whose average commute is 26 miles. However, this week we had a 2-day meeting in Arnold, Missouri, which is a 23 mile drive from my house. Not having a car made this an extra challenge. Looking at the St. Louis Metro Transit Missouri system map, I discovered the closest stops to Arnold were South County Mall via Bus #37 (Carondelet) and the Dierberg’s on Telegraph Rd. via Bus #9 (Oakville). Both would require about 9 more miles of riding. I estimated it would take about one hour to ride from the stop to the meeting site, and had to be there by 8 am, meaning I would have to leave home by 5:30am.

However, at 5:00am, I heard thunder and heavy rain falling, with lots of lightning. It didn’t go away for 20 minutes, so I determined I would have to take an Uber. While this made the morning commute a lot easier, it meant I either had to take another Uber back or return (at least for 9 miles) on foot. I didn’t want to spend another $35, so I decided I would run back.

At about 4:30 pm I, changed into my running clothes and began running. Through Arnold, there were some pretty steep hills, which was a fun challenge. However, for much of the route, it was on a 2-lane road with no shoulder, which was a less fun challenge.

Luckily, the drivers weren’t too impatient. After running through some residential areas along Old Lemay Ferry Rd, I crossed over Interstate 55 and ran through a commercial district, complete with Walmart, Target, Aldi, and many other stores. I continued running along Jeffco Blvd until I reached the Meramec River, where I crossed from Jefferson to Saint Louis County. Once again, I saw signs of the exceptionally dry to drought conditions affecting Missouri and other areas to the west in the low water levels.

While running north on Lemay Ferry, I passed Mehlville High School. It reminded me of the time when I was an intern in 2014 and I rode my cheap mountain bike in the area. I had to abandoned it at the school locked to a bike rack overnight when my plastic pedal broke off. Keeping my bike outside in the winter at school clearly did a bit of damage. I also passed the Kmart where I bought my bike multi tool.

I continued running northward on Lemay Ferry for what seemed like forever. Every now and then I would have to cross the street because the sidewalk or shoulder would abruptly end.

Once I reached Reavis Barracks, I remembered that Grant’s Trail was nearby, so I decided to turn and run there. It would add a little more than a mile to my route but it was worth it to not have to run on the busy road. At the end of the trail I crossed the River Des Peres into the city of Saint Louis.

Back in familiar territory, I ran on the River Des Peres Greenway, then turned north at Alabama Ave. The road name changed a few times until I turned to run toward Bellerive Park.

When I reached work, I had run 19 miles. I could either wait for the bus or continue running home. Not wanting to wait almost an hour, I kept going, finishing with a total of 23 miles.