Wisconsin Marathon - Race Recap

I ran the Wisconsin Marathon last weekend, checking off State #24.  I've enjoyed my races in the Midwest - they're nice and flat!

The race was held in the town of Kenosha, WI, about 45 minutes outside of Milwaukee (just about equidistant from Chicago and Milwaukee), a cute town of about 100K.  Arrival went without a hitch - plane was on time and a nice ride.

As an aside, I'm a huge fan of Southwest Airlines.  Being from Atlanta, I previously flew Delta almost exclusively, but when Southwest announced a companion pass offer for Atlanta residents, I jumped on it!  I have since completed my 3 round trip flights and earned a companion pass for the rest of the year, which will allow my fiance to fly free with me everywhere!

Note:  If you haven't heard about this offer previously, you've probably missed the bandwagon, as the 3 RT flights have to be completed by 5/17.  However, there are tons of blogs I follow that explain how to get the Southwest Companion Pass using credit card offers.  

During our trip we decided to stay close to the MKE airport, since my mom was flying out at a different time - and the hotels in Kenosha were way overpriced due to the race.  We stayed at the Crowne Plaza, taking advantage of Priceline's Express Deals and saving 25% - one of my preferred methods to get hotels now.

We picked up our packets in Kenosha.  The expo was held at the host hotel, right on Lake Michigan.  There were a few vendors there, but it was a fairly small expo.

For food, we tried Captain Mike's Beer and Burger, which had Awesome reviews on Yelp, and lived up to the hype.  Their beer cheese soup was amazing as was the custom designed veggie burger we ordered.

There was a (not insignificant) issue we ran into that evening...my mom, would was traveling with me and running the half marathon, lost her bib.  We never were able to figure out where it fell out of her packet...

After racking my brain, I called the race director (unavailable due to the race!), emailed them on FB and finally called the host hotel once I realized packet pick-up was still going on.  They were super helpful and offered to just create a new bib that we could pick up for her on race morning!  Midwestern hospitality.  Loved it.

Slept like a dream in my super comfy bed that night.  It was a beautiful morning for a race - sunny with temperatures starting around 50 degrees and a high of 70.  There wasn't traffic to contend with getting to the race and there was plenty of race parking, either in parking decks or on the streets.  We managed to find street parking.

There were decent sized lines at the porta-potties, but with 30+ minutes to spare, we were fine...definitely always arrive early enough to wait in line for the bathroom!

The race included three race distances: a 5K, half and full marathon.  The half and full started together at 7:30AM, with the 5K starting later.  Much of the course was run right along Lake Michigan - and let me tell you, that cool lake breeze certainly helped as it started to heat up!  The course was run together for the first 12 miles until the full marathon split and continued down the coast.

I ran the first 12 miles with my mom, pushing her pace while tempering mine.  Slowing down had a good affect on me, as I managed to speed up during the 2nd half of the race, and felt GREAT the entire race (super unusual for me!).

It started to feel a little hot by around mile 10, but it wasn't too bad until miles 16-19.5, when we were running without any shade away from the coast.  It was getting tough then, but as soon as we got back to Lake Michigan, that cool breeze cooled me down and cheered me up!

Spectator-wise, there weren't many people out, but the people out were super friendly and supportive.  The two biggest things that need to be improved are:

1. Need a wave start - there were 3,000 participants in the half and full, and it was one of the most crowded races I've run since there were no wave starts.  The crowding did not thin out after the first mile or two - it was crowded until the half split from the full at mile 12.
2. Need food on the course!  The only food on the course was PowerGel for the full marathoners at Mile 18!  Half marathoners didn't get anything.  I (only half) joked after the race that when I ate my one PowerGel (which I normally hate!) it was the best thing I had ever tasted since I was so hungry!

Now, for the good part:  the BLING!

Loved our race medal, which was the same for the half and full (different ribbon) and is also a bottle opener!  The shirt was also great - black tech shirt with gender specific sizing (v-neck for the women!) and no sponsor information.  Love it.  

I was very happy with my time, knowing I had pushed the whole way and had a wonderful time.  My chip time was 4:39:17, putting me right in the middle of women and my age group finishers.  It wasn't my best time, but I wasn't expecting to break records.  I just wanted to have a good time, and I did.

For the afterparty there was a sponsoring company giving away tons of awesome cheese and each finisher got a free brat and a free beer (I got 2 free beers since I'm a vegetarian). The weather was amazing and we hung out for a couple of hours listening to the (great) band playing and drinking beer.

This is a good one to do if you're looking to go to Wisconsin!

Overall Rating:  8/10

Completed Races

Below are listed all of the marathons (and beyond!) I've completed so far.

#	Race	Date	Location	Distance	Time
1	Walt Disney World Marathon	1/8/2012	Orlando, FL	26.2	4:33:33
2	Country Music Marathon	4/28/2012	Nashville, TN	26.2	4:20:39
3	San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon	6/2/2012	San Diego, CA	26.2	4:04:15
4	Shoreline Oktoberfest Marathon	9/29/2012	Spring Lake, MI	26.2	5:00:01
5	Southern Tennessee Plunge Marathon	10/6/2012	Winchester, TN	26.2	4:35:49
6	Freedom's Run Marathon	10/13/2012	Shepherdstown, WV	26.2	4:36:58
7	Atlanta Marathon	10/28/2012	Atlanta, GA	26.2	4:36:38
8	Nashville Ultramarathon (50 Mile)	11/3/2012	Nashville, TN	50	11:13:56
9	24 Hours of Hostelity	1/19/2013	Dahlonega, GA	24hr	55.4 miles
10	Mercedes Marathon	2/17/2013	Birmingham, AL	26.2	4:30:15
11	Georgia Marathon	3/17/2013	Atlanta, GA	26.2	4:57:33
12	Garmin Marathon in the Land of Oz	4/20/2013	Olathe, KS	26.2	4:28:16
13	King's Mountain Marathon	4/27/2013	Clover, SC	26.2	5:01:14
14	Pittsburgh Marathon	5/5/2013	Pittsburgh, PA	26.2	4:30:20
15	Make it by Midnight Marathon	7/13/2013	Macon, GA	26.2	5:04:10
16	Quad Cities Marathon	9/22/2013	Moline, IL	26.2	4:28:18
17	Silver Comet Marathon	10/26/2013	Mableton, GA	26.2	4:16:14
18	Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon	11/17/2013	San Antonio, TX	26.2	4:26:15
19	Honolulu Marathon	12/14/2013	Honolulu, HI	26.2	4:36:37
20	Mississippi Blues Marathon	1/11/2014	Jackson, MS	26.2	4:23:57
21	First Light Marathon	1/12/2014	Mobile, AL	26.2	5:24:48
22	Albany Marathon	3/1/2014	Albany, GA	26.2	4:11:11
23	Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon	4/19/2014	Louisville, KY	26.2	4:32:52
24	Blue Ridge Marathon	4/26/2014	Roanoke, VA	26.2	4:49:29
25	Merrill's Mile - 24 Hour	7/4/2014	Dahlonega, GA	24hr	64 miles
26	Center of the Nation - Montana	9/17/2014	Baker, MT	26.2	5:42:13
27	Center of the Nation - North Dakota	9/18/2014	Bowman, ND	26.2	6:44:08
28	Center of the Nation - South Dakota	9/19/2014	Belle Fourche, SD	26.2	5:54:34
29	Portland Marathon	10/5/2014	Portland, OR	26.2	4:41:56
30	Indianapolis Monumental Marathon	11/1/2014	Indianapolis, IN	26.2	4:51:02
31	Soldier Marathon	11/8/2014	Columbus, GA	26.2	4:32:37
32	Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon	11/16/2014	Las Vegas, NV	26.2	5:02:16
33	Mississippi Blues Marathon	1/10/2015	Jackson, MS	26.2	5:33:21
34	Miracle Match 50K	1/25/2015	Waco, TX	50K	5:50:20
35	Zydeco Marathon	3/8/2015	Lafayette, LA	26.2	4:46:02

Freedom's Run Marathon Race Report

Freedom's Run Marathon was in (mostly) ideal conditions.  Beautiful, but cold, day.  Started at 30 degrees and never got much above 50, which worked out since I could wear my jacket the whole time.  Ran this race accompanied by both my SO and my mother.  It was the SO's 1st marathon ever (a tough one to start with!), and my mom's 3rd. 

Spent Thursday night driving up through the night, as it was a 10 hour drive from Atlanta.  Yuck.  I only got about 2 hours of sleep in the car (as did everybody else), so it was a testament to how nice the town was that we managed to enjoy it on Friday anyways.  The hotel we stayed in was very accomodating in that they allowed us to check in as soon as we arrived (around 10AM!), so they get 5 stars from me. 

Enjoyed checking out the little town.  It was a cute little college town with a lot of nice restaurants and boutique type stores.  My mom found some great vintage consignment clothes and I found a lovely yarn store (I enjoy knitting).  The food was pricier than I expected, but I suppose that's because of the college type of atmosphere and the fact that, although a tiny little place, apparently Shepherdstown, WV is considered a touristy place! 

The race expo was mostly just a packet pick-up.  There were a couple of vendors, but nothing too exciting, which was fine since we were pretty exhausted at that point. 

Race itself was a point-to-point marathon that started quite a ways from Shepherdstown (ending in Shepherdstown), so there were shuttle buses (school buses!) to the start, leaving at 5:30 AM.  Early wake-up call, but that's typical and wasn't a downside to me. 

The marathon and half marathon are on entirely different courses, so we started the race at 7AM, just with other marathon racers, which was great.  No start corrals or anything, as this was a small(ish) race. 

Now, the race itself.  GORGEOUS.  My favorite race in terms of scenery, bar none, including all the smaller races I've ever done.  Ran through 4 (or 5, we got different amounts from different people) state/federal parks.  Ran really far downhill within the first few miles, which I greatly enjoyed - I fly down the hills, no braking for me, unlike most of the other runners.  Went over a beautiful bridge, then spent a good 10 miles running along the C&O canal over dirt roads, and then ran along the roads to Antietem.  I loved running through Antietem, with all of the history there.  The killer hills were there, though.  More like mini-mountains, really.  It was almost impossible to run most of them, so I tried to make up time by flying down the backside of them.  Hills just kept on coming until around mile 24 (monster ones stopped around mile 21, but there were still rolling ones after that).  Then there were a few miles through a town, which I considered the worst - the scenery of the town was cute, but the course had us on a little side of the road - no lane shut down or anything - which wasn't fun.  Gave me extra incentive to speed up, though!  The race finish was inside the Shepherdstown football stadium, which was a cute touch.  No cheering crowds to be found, though, so make sure you can be your own cheerleader. 

I finished in 4:36:58.  I was 15/31 in my age group (F20-29) and 230/371 overall. 

The race swag was pretty good - long sleeve technical shirt, which I really like (I'll try to post a picture later).  The medal is sort of odd and nothing neat looking like I'm used to, but fine.  The race itself makes up for anything lacking in the actual medal. 

If this race were not so far away, I would Definitely put this on my yearly schedule.  I hope to do it again someday anyways!

Overall:  5/5

Shoreline Oktoberfest Marathon - Michigan

Having run three marathons before, I felt like I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from a race.  However, even I knew that signing up for a marathon that had all of 133 finishers in 2011 was going to be a big jump for me.  To summarize my marathon experience to date:

January 8th, 2012   Disney World Marathon            13,524 finishers

April 28th, 2012   Rock 'n Roll Nashville Marathon   3,942 finishers

June 03, 2012   Rock 'n Roll San Diego Marathon     7,106 finishers

So, on a whim, after "tentatively" (for those who know me, once I've made a decision and a plan, it's generally pretty set in stone) deciding to run a marathon in all 50 states, I signed up for the Shoreline Oktoberfest Marathon in Grand Haven, Michigan.  I chose this one mainly because I was able to find a flight to Grand Rapids using 25,000 skymiles (rather than 35K/40K), and the timing was right, as I already knew I was taking that Friday off.  And, I always use marathonguide to figure out if a race is a win.  

My personal rating for this marathon:

Course:  4.5/5

Organization: 3/5

Fans:  3.5/5

Swag: 4.7/5

Overall:  4/5

Course

I enjoyed this course.  It was run around small towns in northern Michigan and through many little neighborhoods, which is something I enjoy seeing.  The race was mostly flat, with small hills throughout.  To put it in perspective, it was not as flat as Orlando, but not anything like running in Atlanta/Nashville.  Certainly closer to Orlando.  There were a good number of turns throughout the course.  Parts of the course, although not as much as I would have expected, were run along Lake Michigan.  The weather was perfect - it started at 47 degrees and couldn't have gotten much above 60 degrees while I was out there (the high for the day was 70).  There was a 6 hour time limit which I believe was extended somewhat this year, as I'll explain below.  

Organization

Although I loved this course, there was a disconnect on the most important part of the organization aspect of this race this year - the course itself.  The marathon was first, followed by the half and then a 5K.  There were lead cyclists for each race.  The lead cyclist for the marathon must have gotten the wrong instructions as we were taken on the first part of the 5K course, which led us to run 27.5 miles rather than the appropriate 26.2 (per two of the other participants who ran with their garmins).  I will say this, however - the race director was there at the end of the marathon speaking to each finisher individually - apologizing, explaining what happened and that it would be rectified in the future.  I appreciated that.  

The one other big thing that needs to be improved is to add a gear check.  There was no gear check of any sort.  As such, having traveled by myself, I had to run with my rental car keys for the entire race.  This is a simple thing, but would help a lot.

Port-a-potties were plentiful along the course, which was much appreciated.  They were located every other water stop (about every 4 miles), and there were probably about 15 at the start.  The water stops had plenty of volunteers, who were encouraging and helpful.  They served water and gatorade.  It's worth noting, that while not necessarily a negative on the race's part, they only have gel at mile 16/18, so it would be prudent to bring your own (which I didn't do!).

Fans

There were not many fans on the course, as you might expect when the course is run in small towns (Grand Haven's population is less than 3,000) and only has 150 runners.  However, those that were there were very enthusiastic and encouraging.  Since it was a small field, the spectators that were there could easily move from place to place so you were able to get encouragement from them every couple of miles.  

The fellow marathoners were also very supportive, which was great.  I was able to speak to a couple before and after the race, which was nice since I went there without knowing anybody.  It was also common to have a fellow racer say a few words of encouragement as they passed/you passed on the course.  

Swag

The swag, along with the course, are generally the most important aspects of a race to me, so I felt it deserved its on category.  I was highly impressed with the swag in this race.  The only improvement I feel could me made is to create a race shirt specific to the marathon, as currently it is the same for the 5K, half and full marathon.  However, the medal was Very nice as was the pint glass at the end. 

All in all, I was very satisfied with this marathon.  I went into it to have a good time and not to try to PR, but to use it as a training run for my upcoming ultramarathon (Nashville Ultra - 50 miles in November), which it did well.  

Performance

Finishing time:  5:00:01

I estimate that my actual "marathon" time would have been more like 4:45 since the course was so much longer than it should have been.  Even so, this was my slowest marathon to date.  However, I was very pleased as I have not been running the mileage to just get out there and run a marathon (my longest run hasn't been over a half marathon since the end of July).  Additionally, it's Monday now, two days later, and I feel okay, not even that sore!  If the weather holds up for this weekend I may do another one this Saturday.  We'll see how I feel as the week goes on.

Starting not quite at the beginning

I've been running for about a year and a half now, and with the number of races I've done (still to be determined, but probably in the range of 20-40) ranging from 5Ks to marathons, it seems like it's time to start writing about the experiences, if only to help other people choose races. 
I love going on marathonguide.com to help pick my marathons (of which I've done three so far), but sometimes a blog is just more interesting, not to mention informative, to follow.  I can't promise to be incredibly entertaining, as I've read a fair number of witty and clever blogs.  Instead, I want this to be a place to reflect on what I've done as well as provide some feedback on my runs and races. 

Just a bit of background on myself.  I live in Atlanta, Georgia and work a demanding job (public accounting doing taxes) that has large peaks and valleys, so I expect there will be stretches during which I won't post, although as this becomes more routine, I'll try to keep them to a minimum.

I'm 25 and before a year and a half ago had never run, nor aspired to run, any sort of race in my life.  I grew up a bookworm and did not play any sports.  In fact, I've struggled with my weight most of my life, despite enjoying exercising on a fairly consistent basis.  Running has given me an outlet.  I consider myself to have somewhat of an "addictive" personality, and running has served to give me something healthy to latch onto. 

Running wise, I aspire to run a marathon in all 50 states.  How long that will take has yet to be determined.  3 down (Florida, Tennessee and California), 47 to go!  Additionally, I am exploring the world of ultramarathons, and running my first on November 3rd, which will be the Nashville Ultra Marathon of 50 Miles.

I just ran a local half marathon, the Heroes 1/2 Marathon in Hampton, GA, and will be running the Shoreline Sport & Spine's Oktoberfest Marathon in Spring Lake, MI in two weeks, so I'll provide feedback on those in the coming days and weeks.