The 4th annual Bootlegger 10K trail race will be held on Sunday, February 21, on upper Creve Coeur Park’s Bootlegger’s Run trail, which gets its name from the area’s notorious reputation during Prohibition. According to one account, “Prohibition brought gamblers and gangsters back and clubhouses, roadhouses, and the notorious Creve Coeur Hotel provided havens for crime.” Another history offers, “Around the 1920’s the area began to decline in popularity as gangsters and hoodlums began to frequent the saloons, restaurants, and nightclubs located at the lakefront. By the end of Prohibition, Creve Coeur was almost exclusively a gangster hideout.” Today, Creve Coeur Park has regained its pre-Prohibition notoriety as a beautiful locale for enjoying nature. It is regularly filled with St. Louisans running or biking the trails, riding zip lines at Go Ape, sailing or rowing on the lake, or simply having a picnic.

The beautiful Bootlegger 10K course is primarily single-track trail and includes plenty of turns, switchbacks, and hills. Look closely and you may see remnants of the Creve Coeur Lake streetcar line that brought ne’er-do-wells to the area during Prohibition. Add winter weather to that mix and the Bootlegger 10K will surely test your will against Mother Nature at her toughest.

Keep it lawful on the trails and you won’t have to smuggle out your one-of-a-kind finisher item!

Regis