race report
Madison Marathon - 2019
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Madison, WI
Quick Race Report
So this race report is going to be a little bit different. I'll share a bit and throw in a few photos. But then I'm going to take a dive into the differences I noticed between a marathon and an ultra-marathon. As some of you may know I'm on my second year running ultra-marathons, but I've never run a real marathon. It was something I was interested in when I first started running. Then through a series of life events, I came across ultras. I ran my first one and developed a deep love for the trails, nature, and solitude. After that I never really looked back. I had gotten past the idea that I would probably never run a real marathon. But when Alex, a college buddy, suggested we run one together, it was hard to say no.
We had both agreed that it was going to be a purely fun run. No competition. No targets. Whoever was running the slower pace was going to set the pace for both of us. He had run the Chicago Marathon a month prior, and I was coming off of Black River Trail Classic, so neither of us had particularly high hopes for a quick finish time. So I ran for 3 hours and 40 minutes catching up with an old friend. I decided to run unsupported for a little extra challenge. This means that I carried all of my provisions with me in my pack and didn't take any food or water from the aid stations along the route. The highlight of my day may have come less than a hundred feet from the finish line. As Alex and I rounded the last bend I heard somebody yell my name. I turned to see the smiling face of Quinn, another old friend, who happened to be watching a relative. I jumped off course quickly, gave him a hug, then had to turn around and sprint to catch back up. Overall my first marathon was a fun time.
Now for a few last items before I start digging into the differences. Firstly, I have run one marathon. It's completely possible that my experience was atypical and other marathons are much different. But from what I have seen and the people I've talked to, I don't believe that's the case. Secondly, based on this one experience I much prefer ultra-events to the marathon, but it has to do more with my personality than anything. The Madison Marathon was a great event and I encourage anybody who is interested to run. I've just found that marathons aren't my cup of tea whereas ultras are definitely my glass of whiskey. I'm going to try and forget that and layout the following fairly without bias. But there is one area where I will admittedly break this. So let's go.
Race Stats
26.2 Miles
1,105 Finishers
Winning Time: 2:23:30
Average Finish Time: 4:21:02
Packet Pickup
Packet pickup for an ultra is typically held the morning before a race. This means a bunch of sleepy runners are wandering around a parking lot illuminated by headlamps at 5 a.m. Runners affix their bibs then crawl back into their vehicles to keep warm and grab a few more minutes of sleep before making their way to the starting line. Some races offer packet pickup in the days prior, but it is still a very uneventful process.
Packet pickup for the Madison Marathon on the other hand was an event in and of itself. Apparently marathons have expos. This means packet pickup is held in the middle of a convention hall full of vendors selling this, sponsors raffling that, and nearly everybody giving samples of these and those. There was music. It was a party.
This is a theme that struck me several times throughout my experience. A marathon is a high profile event where as ultras are much more low key.
The Starting Line
If you've run more than one or two ultras you begin to form a network of familiar faces. At the starting line it's easy to pick a friend out of the group of 50 or so runners who show up. You find the friend(s) and are then introduced to several more. You catch up, ask each other about this year's race schedule, what the goal is, etc. It's about as easy going and light hearted as it gets.
The marathon on the other hand feels like people getting ready for a serious event. Much fewer people are talking and joking around. Many more are getting game faces on and mentally preparing for the task at hand. You look out into the sea of hundreds if not thousands of faces and likely do not recognize another person.
Out of the Gates
The most obvious differences between ultras and marathons is distance and terrain. Marathons are 26.2 miles and typically run on paved surfaces. Yes, trail marathons exist, but they seem to be a kind of intermediate crossover rather than a true even in themselves.
Ultras on the other hand are typically run on trails and by definition anything over 26.2 miles. This creates a very different race logistically and physically. In an ultra, the terrain has always helped to dictate my pace. I jog up "inclines", walk up hills, "fall with style" in downhill sections, and run the flat parts. This constant fluctuation in pace helps me to make sure I'm not going at the right speed, and if I'm not, the terrain will quickly change influencing me to shift gears.
But even a "hilly" marathon like Madison is comparatively flat. That means I had to be much more conscious of pace. It's easy to start out too fast or too slow. And without the natural variation in trail, there wasn't much to make me reassess. I found this to be an issue. Alex, who had run several marathons, kept getting on me at the beginning, reminding me to slow down. And I'm glad he did. I started out like I was going for a typical 4 mile run around town, way too quick for the distance we would be covering. But on the pavement it was hard for me to realize that without an outside influence.
Aid Stations
This is where I'm going to break impartiality a bit. Ultra aid stations are by far superior. Aid stations at ultras have sandwiches, chips, pickles, burritos, soup, pretzels, candy, water, and a miracle juice called tailwind. The key to a successful ultra is proper nutrition during the run, and the aid stations give you every option under the sun to meet your nutritional needs. But the caveat is aid usually only comes every three to five miles.
Along my marathon route I noticed water and Gatorade were available at every mile marker and a few spots were giving out those disgusting gels or bananas. When it comes to provisions, the bare minimum was available.
But the real win for ultras is how the runners interact with the aid station. Aid stations during ultras are a holy place and treated as such. Many races are even now going cup-less (reusable cups or bottles only) to cut down on waste. They are clean and trash is not left. On the other hand I was appalled at how many marathon runners would grab a drink from the aid station and throw their used cup on the ground as opposed to in the trash can mere feet away. This goes the same for empty gel packets.
I won't stand on the moral high ground about much, but I believe ultra-runners are much more conscious of the impact they are having during their run.
Presence of Other Runners
During an ultra, I often find myself alone. Even on a looped course, runners are bound to separate over the hours. This means that everybody has a lot of time for self-examination and reflection. I've come to some of my most important realizations and reflections during ultras because I have nothing to do but explore my mind and my actions. Conversely ultras also mean that you may be spending long periods of time with other runners. After I've covered every crevice of my own mind, the natural thing to do is start chatting up the guy or girl I've been running next to silently for the last half hour. And since we're both in such a state of exhaustion, the filter is gone. I've had a lot of deep conversations with complete strangers on the trails.
But in Madison there was never a point where I did not have another runner immediately in front of and behind me. This was nice as I could use others to gauge and set a pace. This person is running too slow, let's pass. This person too fast, fall back. This person is perfect, let's hang with him for a while. But I always felt crowded. I was constantly navigating around other people and felt like part of my race was being dictated by them. Because I was constantly around people I never got to the place of internal contemplation. But because we were passing, and being passed, so frequently, any conversations with other runners were short and superficial.
This difference profoundly changes the nature of a run, but I'm having trouble finding the words to adequately describe either side of this coin.
Spectators
Spectators at an ultra are rare for various reasons. The events are long. Access along the course is difficult. There's not much extra parking. Any spectators that do show up are typically congregated at focal points like start/finish or aid stations. But most of the route is clear and empty of everybody but runners.
Madison had spectators all over, but I remember Alex saying several times throughout the run that the spectator turnout was a bit low. He had liked the Chicago Marathon better because people lined the entire route. They cheered kept runners motivated. I was shocked that this many people would show up to watch other people run, and this was low? Granted, most of them leap frogged from spot to spot, but I don't remember running for more than a mile without seeing somebody on the side of the course watching. Support him or not, we even passed Governor Evers cheering runners on as we passed the governor's mansion.
The Wall
In every ultra I've run, I've encountered the wall at least once, but often multiple times. For example, in my 50 mile excursions, I hit the wall at mile 30 and then again at mile 40. This creates a very difficult mental state. When I hit a wall at 30 miles, I only have... 20 miles left to go. In the midst of a bodily breakdown this seems like an impossible distance to cover. I know if I focus on this I may as well quit right on the spot. So instead I focus only on covering the next mile. This is a small achievable distance. I focus on the little goals. And soon enough I have caught my second, third, fourth wind and an off again.
The wall in a marathon commonly comes around mile 20. This happened to me in Madison, and my approach was much different than in past races. With only 6 or so miles left to cover, my approach to defeating the wall was simply to shift into mental override and grind it out. At this point in my career, 6 miles isn't very far. So I simply started counting down: 5 more to go, now 4, 3, and so on. Before I knew it I was entering the last mile and knew I would be done soon. I never caught a second wind, but I never needed it.
The Finish Line
Okay so the race is done. Other than the amount of runners there isn't much difference now. My ultra experience has varied widely in this area. Some races end with me getting in the car and driving home, some have parties and banquets, and some fall in between. The marathon had some photo ops, a band, free beer. Depending on the race, the marathon and ultra-marathon finish line were very similar accounting for 200x and many people in the marathon. This is fun and just adds a little cherry on top.
But here is the other place I will hold impartiality, what I want to know is, marathoners, what the hell are those stupid foil blankets for? Never have I been offered a foil blanket after an ultra, and I've run them in 34 degree weather with a constant, soul-sucking rain. After Madison I was told that I would get hypothermia if I didn't take one. I refused it on shear principle that I've never used one before, and therefore, surely didn't need one now. I'll admit I was shivering afterwards, but that had to do more with the fact that I had run most the race in a tank than not having my blankie. Are these really necessary?
Post Race
After an ultra, my muscles are sore. I'm not in pain, but I feel tired and heavy. But after a few days, I feel back to normal and am even running, short distances, again. The strangest thing I've noticed in the few days after ultras is that I'm mentally slower. My thinking isn't as clear, and I often mix up my words. I have a hard time processing new information. Given the amount of stress I subject my body to, I don't find this particularly worrisome, but I am aware of it.
On the other hand, two days after the marathon I was in pain. I'm not sore, I hurt. During the race my hips started to hurt. Days later my knees are feeling it. My feet ached. Mentally I feet normal, but physically I was beat down. I know this has to come from running on hard unforgiving pavement, but I never imagined it would be this bad. I felt worse than after some of my 50 mile races.
Reflection
Running a marathon was something to check off the list, but I was happy to do it with a friend. That being said, I truly did not enjoy it as much as an ultra. I think my personality is much better suited for the low profile and largely solitary journey of an ultra than the high profile, athletic event that marathons are. So for now, I'll be returning to the trails. And to anybody reading this who is curious, if you’ve run a marathon there is no doubt in my mind that you can run a 50k. So go out, push you limits, and try something new.
Shoes: Saucony - Kinvara 10
Gear: Saucony - shorts and tank, Inov-8 - pack
Wearables: Garmin - Vivo Active 3, Oura Ring
Nutrition: ATH Organics - supplements and electrolyte drink
Recovery: ATH Organics - Post, LifeAid - FitAid Rx