Piece of the puzzle

You know, the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon is the largest half-marathon in the nation with an estimated 35,000 registrants. How many actually show up? They say about 28,000-30,000 actually get to the start line on that May morning. The others? I guess they pay $50 and decide they want to sleep in that morning!? I plan to be there. But this race is not just a local event – it’s a national spectacle with participants typically from all 50 states.

In a visit to the new Indianapolis International Airport last evening, the eve of its grand opening, I had to ponder the fact that thousands of Mini-Marathon participants will land in our city in May to this new $1.1 billion H. Weir Cook Terminal for the first time. It feels like “a new Indy” and you must see it to believe it.

Scott and I made our first visit last night out of pure curiosity. We’d seen the buzz on the evening news and decided to just drive over, investigate and get familiar with our city’s new gateway. Field trip! It felt like our city had finally arrived – like it finally found that missing piece to the puzzle that completes Indy has a metropolitan/cosmopolitan destination for tourism, conventions and grand events such as the Mini-Marathon.

So, come May, the road racing professionals and beginners alike will step off the plane and wonder, “Did I get on the right flight? Is THIS Indianapolis?” The new, airy Civic Plaza, millions of dollars in artwork and the “disco lights” in the breezeway between the terminal and parking garage, set the tone for our city – Vibrant, Cool, Hospitable.

Now, if we could just work on revitalizing the Mini’s route through Indy’s westside neighborhoods…