Rain not enough to stop the Cannibal

As if Hannibal’s iconic race weren’t tough enough as it is, Mother Nature decided on Saturday morning to make things just a little more tricky.
In the running of the 15th Annual Hannibal Cannibal, racers weren’t the only ones who showed up at the foot of the statue of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. A steady downpour of rain drenched all in attendance before they even set foot on the racecourse.
And yet, despite the inclement weather conditions, race coordinators said Saturday morning that the race was one of their best to date.
“The highest number we’ve ever had was in 2006, and we are close to 30 percent over that this year with approximately 1,500 runners,” race director Robin Doyle said. “… It just goes to show how popular the Hannibal Cannibal is. We have representatives from 26 states and two countries. … In the United States, there are not that many races in the country that have a Lover’s Leap sort of challenge.”
It certainly was a challenge this year, especially for runners like John Sauer. Originally from Hannibal, Sauer has lived in St. Louis for the past three years and said this year was the first time since he graduated high school that he has been free to travel home and take on the Cannibal like his siblings, Chris and Katie.
Like many in the crowd of 5k and 10k runners, Sauer said the daunting task of going up Lover’s Leap loomed in his mind as he started the race, but that there was another part of the race that turned out to be even more treacherous.
“Coming down [Lover’s Leap] was the harder part,” Sauer said. “It’s almost straight down, the pavement is wet and people are flying around me. You have the urge to want to speed up with them. But I was like, ‘You know what? I am not wiping out down this hill and taking everybody out with me.’”
Still, he said that the famous incline was the most fun part of the experience for him.
“Everybody had told me that it was so hard,” Sauer said. “And it was hard. I’m not going to say it wasn’t. I was pretty exhausted when I got to the top. But the run down helps you recover, though.”
Another first-time entrée for the Cannibal was Margaret Byers, of Hannibal. She said after the race that her drive to want to run it gave her some insight into herself.
“I think, in some sick, twisted way, I enjoy it,” Byers said. “I knew a lot of people that I knew would be down here, so it was kind of a community event and it sounded like a lot of fun.”
Like Sauer, Byers said that the rain was not how she would have picked to start off her career with the Cannibal. But, she said that she was able to find the bright side to the less-than-inviting environment.
“At least it was cool out,” Byers said. “At the beginning, it was raining a little harder and it started to ease up a bit. The drizzle isn’t bad, but the heavy downpour, I am not a fan of.”
Byers estimated that she finished her 5k run in about 33 minutes, a time she said she is very happy with. But, with plans to take on the Cannibal again next year, she would like to shoot for somewhere in the range of 28 to 30 minutes.
“That would be a huge accomplishment and could be a miracle,” Byers said.