One January a few years ago I had a chance to spend several days in Birmingham, Alabama. I was surprised to discover that Birmingham is an especially beautiful city of lovely neighborhoods, scenic vistas, lots of fun things to do with or without children and interesting historical sites. The inaugural Mercedes Marathon and Half-marathon on February 10 presents a welcome opportunity to return.

The Races
The Mercedes Marathon's historical roots are in the Vulcan Marathon, which was held in November through 2002. The Vulcan race, named for the Vulcan cast-iron statue which represented Alabama at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, continues as a 10K in November. The new marathon and half-marathon uses much of the old Vulcan course and adds the local Mercedes SUV plant as the title sponsor. Now "scenic vistas" implies hills and Birmingham does have hills. The Mercedes marathon course includes significant elevation changes between miles 9 and 11 as it takes runners up almost 1000 feet. You can check course and elevation maps at http://www.mercedesmarathon.com. Weekend events also include a Saturday "Hospitality Run" of 3 miles through historic downtown Birmingham. The Pasta Dinner at the McWane Museum Center features a showing of Shackletons Antartic Adventure at the Museum's IMAX.

For information on other races throughout the year, contact the Running Journal, the regional publication which covers events throughout the Southeast, at 423.638.4177 or see their calendar at http://www.running.net/.

Things to Do
Make the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark first on your list of things to do. This is a 32-acre blast furnace plant where iron was made for nearly 100 years. There is no charge to visit; it's open daily except Monday. The furnaces are truly massive, the smokestacks are tall, and you can see the huge machines and follow the web of pipes to see how iron was produced. You can also see the houses constructed for the workers right on plant grounds. Check http://www.slossfurnaces.com for photos of this unusual industrial museum, the largest preserved industrial plant of its kind in the world.

The Birmingham Zoo features an authentic Alligator Bayou and a tropical rain forest. I also remember lots of improbably pink flamingoes at the entrance of this wonderful zoo. Open daily; see http://www.birminghamzoo.com for more information. The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame includes exhibits on the careers of sports legends Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, Willy Mays and, of course, "Bear" Bryant. The hall is open daily and is located in the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. See http://www.alasports.org for more information. Any visitor to Birmingham will want to stop by the Birmingham Civil Rights District and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, the site of one of the tragic civil rights incidents when fours young girls were killed by a bomb. You'll want to celebrate finishing your race at Birmingham's historic entertainment district: Five Points South.

Where to Run
Oak Mountain State Park, just Southeast of Birmingham, features 30 miles of hiking trails. The Trak Shak, Birmingham's premier running store at 2915 Crescent Avenue, sponsors runs every Wednesday night with lots of beer and sports drinks. Their Web site includes a map of the 3-5 mile Wednesday night course.

The Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau is a good source of lodging and travel information. Call 800.458.8085 or visit http://www.bcvb.org.