I started running the Shamrock Shuffle in 2006. Back then the start and finish were located at the Monona Terrace. The course was out and back, with the 10 K turn around in Olbrich Park. I loved the 10 K course! But the infrastructure at Monona Terrace just was not able to support the race as it grew, so in 2008 the race was moved to State Street, and the courses ran west through the campus with the 10 K turn around now in Shorewood Hills near the UW Hospital. The race was originally staged out of the Overture Center, but in recent years it moved to the Orpheum Theater and now to the area around State Street Brats.

In 2008 the start was cold, below 25 degrees, and this remains the coldest race I’ve ever run in shorts. I also had the middle finger of my right hand taped from a tendon injury, so it looked like I was flipping everybody off along the course. Apparently there is video of me crossing the finish line in my Wisconsin sweatshirt with my taped finger form one of the local TV stations, but I’ve never seen it.