Date: 8/17/2013
Time: 7:00 AM
Weather: Starting in the low 60s, rising throughout
Time: 1:30:30
Overall:129/3927
Division: 24/272 (25-29)
THE COURSE
WHAT WAS GREAT ABOUT THIS RACE
I get to sleep in my own bed... I know just about every inch of the course... The after race party location...
Beyond the obvious, Vision Events does a top notch job with the race logistics. The expo was located at Union South, and had a nice variety of races/vendors/other booths. I don't go to expos with the plan to buy anything, and I didn't here either, but it was so much easier to walk around here than at others, such as the WDW Marathon weekend expo (of course there were 40,000 plus people running there, but it was crowded beyond belief).
As far as the race, getting to the starting line was extremely easy, and for the few minutes that I was in the corral, they were playing short pieces of songs rather than letting them drag out for too long, which not surprisingly, kept my attention just a little bit better.
WHAT WASN'T SO GREAT ABOUT THIS RACE
I love the Terrace just as much as any UW Alumni, but damn, its just a little crowded after the races. Without lowering the number of people that can run, I don't really have a good fix for this issue. The congestion may be relieved a bit once the construction is done at the Union, but... I have to think the after race location is one of the big draws of the race, so even finishing the construction may not relieve anything.
The corrals at the beginning, two beefs. First, it really shouldn't be that hard to put people into the proper corral. My friend Tim shouldn't need to "big time" anyone to get into the first corral when he finished 6th at the same companies half marathon in Milwaukee (Rock and Sole Half Marathon). I can't remember what I put down for a predicted time, but I'm guessing it was 1:35. How is 1:35 in corral C? That time would have finished in ~238th place, that's still the first corral when taking into account the size of the waves... (Here's a hint, Excel will sort based on the values of a column.) Second, I know it's easier to shoot a gun to start the race once, and let everyone work things out, but take a hint from Crazylegs, start the corrals at short intervals, it just helps get people going when there are this many people packed into a small area.
This one is my own fault in the end, but it is fairly typical now for even half marathons to have an aid station with gel/GU/PowerGel packets. I remembered at mile 3 that I hadn't brought one, which didn't end up being a big deal, but I believe I would have run slightly faster with one.
Last complaint, and this one is small... They couldn't find anywhere else to get the proper course distance? You had to make a tiny out and back in the middle of Lot 60? I know that a half has to be 13.1 miles, so the distance has to come from somewhere, but at that point in the race to have that is almost a killer. I haven't ran the race before, so I can't say what changed in the course to require this, but I much rather would have run an L across the parking lot rather than the tiny out and back, which forces you to slow down a bit when making the U turn.
OVERALL RACE THOUGHTS
I love Madison, I've spent 9 of the last 11 years of my life here. That being said, I tend to only run a couple races in the area each year (Crazylegs and the Berbee Derby). The popular place for races is the campus area, the Arb, and the Warner Park area, all of these I've ran numerous times in my life, so the draw just isn't there for me.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoy the vast majority of this race.
My original intention for the race was to use it as a dry run prior to the Disneyland Half Marathon the day before Labor Day. That course is much flatter than the Madison Mini and I knew I'd have another long run under me as well. That being said, I wanted to go out and see what my legs would do.
From the start, I went out at what has become a comfortably hard pace for me, which is ~6:50 minute miles. The first few miles of the race are essentially flat (save for Langdon/Wisconsin Ave right at the beginning of the race), so it allows everyone to string out a bit and get sorted in place around others running their own pace.
I knew once we hit the Arboretum at mile ~4.5, I would soon find out how my legs were going to hold up. Starting at mile ~5.5, the Arb loop gets into a few rolling hills that will eat legs that are having a bad day. During these hills, I was somewhat surprised to find that my legs felt strong. As others around me faded back a bit, I climbed the inclines without issue. I knew this feeling wouldn't last forever, and I was right.
Just after mile marker 9, the course goes up about a ten block long hill, which isn't necessarily long, and the hill isn't overly steep, but it just keeps going. It was at this point that my legs started to go. Thankfully after that hill there was a fairly long flat/downhill portion, which allowed for some recovery, but the course eventually made it's way to Highland Ave, which passes directly in front of UW Hosptial. The site of the course turning onto Highland nearly made me shed a tear, as it is a short steep hill that seems to kill the best of legs.
Eventually the course makes its way to the Lakeshore path for the last couple of miles before finishing in front of the Memorial Union. This last bit is a nice quiet respite during the last few minutes of pain. Coming up by the Limnology with people lining (in a non-Chicago Chinatown sense) the street gives a great last bit of artificial energy to allow for the runners to finish strong (except for that one girl that puked on the other side of the street while Tim, Laura, and I were waiting for the Kowols Running Club and Kendra to finish).
Will I do the race again? Maybe someday, it's not terribly expensive if you sign up early, it's convenient, and I like most of the course. That being said, I want to run a half-marathon or longer in every state, that's hard to do if you keep doing the same race over and over. Also, the weather is always going to be a roll of the dice. This year, it was great, but eight days later, as I finish this post, we had a high in the 90s, with temps well in the 70s early into the morning with plenty of humidity to go with it. (Yes the race starts in the morning, but I hate humidity in general.)
BLING
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| Not my picture, but I'm too lazy to take one of my own. |
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