Madtown Half Marathon, 5/29/22, Madison, WI
Weather: 65 and sunny
Terrain: Roads and paved trails
Distance: 13.1 miles (Garmin: 13.15 miles)
Elevation Gain: approx. 530 feet
Course map
Usually when people find out that both my husband and I like running races, their first question is "do you run together?" And usually I just start laughing, because not only do we not run similar paces (like AT ALL), it is logistically almost impossible for us to even do the same race, since somebody's gotta watch the kid (who is, let's face it, far too young to appreciate the unique misery of long distance running himself). Fortunately on this occasion, and in this location, my mom was able to babysit, and so Husband and I could finally do a race together for the first time in years. We even booked a hotel with a little waterpark just to make this easier for all involved.
Packet pickup was the day before the race, and luckily was on the west side of town just a few exits away from the aforementioned hotel. It was outdoors and was very quick and easy. The shirt was cute and a great fabric, and had specific men's and women's cuts. Free Dunkin Donuts coffee coupons were flowing like wine. The following morning we set out bright and early for downtown and found free street parking right by the Capitol. Checked a bag and got in the port-a-potty line about 15 minutes before race start. Tragically, the port-a-potties were not adequate in number, and a lot of clueless 5K runners were clogging up the line (their race started 15 minutes after the half, so it would have been prudent for them to GTFO of line once it was 6:55 AM). As it happens, Husband and I missed the gun and so were about 90 seconds late crossing the line. He darted off ahead to fight his way through the throngs, and I started chugging along at a much more moderate pace.
The course starts off largely downhill, since the Capitol is up high, and we wound our way down towards the student union at around mile 1.5. Then came our first big hill on Observatory Drive, which is essentially a giant switchback. Pro tip: powerhike. Then we came back down the other side right through the heart of campus. I was having flashbacks to the semester I spent here in Fall of 2004. "Oh yeah, that's the building where I had that child development class I rarely attended!" Memories. Then past the dorms. "Oh yeah, there's where my friends and I got drunk and played tennis for some reason!" Turning onto University Ave around mile 3. "Oh yeah, that's the shitty apartment building I lived in with my ex!" We finished our campus tour by passing Camp Randall stadium (home of the Badgers) at mile 4. Since I never attended any football games, my only memories of here involve, well, jogging past it.
We got the olive-green memo.
Turning away from campus, I knew I was in for a long jog to the arboretum (or "the arb," colloquially). Sure enough it was about 3 miles of gently rolling hills, during which I was thanking the good lord that my run fitness was feeling better on this occasion than it had in the weeks leading up. I hadn't gone further than about 6 miles in weeks due to, well, climate change. I played it conservatively and walked the uphills and jogged down, with some extra jogging on the flats as I felt like it. One big uphill stretch and we were in the arb, which I knew would be a net downhill. Time to open 'er up.
This is me opening 'er up.
Just before mile 10 we came out near the beach, and once we got through the park I saw it. At mile 10.6. THE HILL. It has about a 15% incline, maybe worse. It is a couple tenths of a mile long but feels longer. It is, in my opinion, the worst hill on the course. It makes the hill on Observatory Drive look like a speed bump. I had to literally push on my quads while hiking to get up, but dammit, I did it. Big thanks to the volunteers and spectators who basically screamed at me the entire time up.
Since that was the last significant hill, I enjoyed some gentle downslopes and wondered if Husband would be backtracking at all to find me. At mile 11.5 we turned onto the main bike trail through town, which was as flat as any rail-to-trail and felt great. By now I wasn't jogging nearly as much as I was earlier, but dammit, the end was in sight (figuratively, at least) and I still felt decent.
And my quads were popping, y'all.
At mile 12.1 exactly, as I was jogging down a trail exit ramp to head downtown, I saw Husband waiting for me! Wearing his finisher medal, which he'd earned almost an hour before. Welp. He joined me past the next (and final) water stop, where I asked the young ladies volunteering if they would throw water at me and they were happy to oblige! Winding closer to the Capitol and the finish line, a photographer took our picture, which is always a delight on a romantic date such as this one.
Sweatiest date ever.
I turned up State Street for the last quarter mile, which I vowed to run even though it was uphill. Husband moved to the sidelines and I finished strong. Got a finisher picture and some food, which was presented with gluten-free and vegetarian options. I picked donut holes and got my free unopened can of Michelob Ultra (which is awesome because I could save it for later), then got Husband to take my picture in front of the Capitol on the way back to the car.
Beautiful workplaces are wasted on politicians.
(EPILOGUE: found out later that Husband actually won an age group award, which would be mailed in a month or so! Huzzah!)
Pros:
-Logistics. This race is run by pros and it shows.
-Course. Not only is it a beautiful tour of Madison, it has a good mix of rolling hills and flats (and that one godawful, punishing slope, LOL).
-Extras. Free pictures, extensive food options, the shirt is awesome, and seriously, if you had wanted, you could have taken ENDLESS free Dunkin Donuts coffee coupons.
Cons:
-Not enough port-a-potties near the start, dammit.
Race Grade: A. It's a great one.
