Mad Marathon – Race Report

With the slogan, “The World’s Most Beautiful Marathon,” this inaugural race had a tremendous amount of expectation to meet. Run in the Mad River Valley of Central Vermont in the middle of summer, with the Green Mountains all around, gorgeous farmland, and wonderful old covered bridges, the beauty part was easy. It was the hills and heat that we had to worry about. Ben Franklin claimed “beauty and folly are old companions” and this race seemed to prove his point.

In training for this race, I didn’t take myself or my time as seriously as I did when I ran Charleston. I have my sub-4 and I wanted a fun marathon without all that worry about pace and numbers and times. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to run well so I made sure to incorporate hills in all my long runs but I also wanted to run a relaxed race so my goal was to run strong throughout and finish without a struggle. That sounds smart; so far, no folly.

But wait there’s more… The day before the race, I drove the course with my parents. They had driven it prior and Mom declared it “not that bad.” As we drove the country roads of Vermont, going up, going down over and over again, I found out that I have a different definition of “not that bad” than my mother. By the time we hit the second half of the course, I was announcing, “Yup, I’ll be walking this one. Oh, and this one. Walking again here.” This is why I never look at the course maps or profile charts or drive the course before the race, it only makesme nervous.

What have I gotten myself in to? Remember what old Ben said about beauty and folly?

Despite the increased levels of anxiety, driving the course actually proved to be beneficial. Right there in the car, I gave myself permission to walk parts of therace. I changed tactics and would approach the coming race like an ultra – Walk the uphills. Run the downhills and flats. I told myself to run strong but walk smart. I would run up the hills until my heart rate started to elevate and then I would break in to a power hike to the top.

Race morning was chilly and clear – perfect running weather – however, it was supposed to warm up quite a bit. The first mile of the course led us downhill and out of town, through a covered bridge on our way to Joplin Hill. The mile-andthensome-long climb to the top of Joplin Hill reduced nearly everyone to a walk but I was prepared and didn’t get discouraged. No, I never thought I’d be walking so early in a marathon but there was plenty of time to run later.

The remaining first half of the course, through mile 12 was on and off rolling, dirt and paved, roads with a few bigger hills that required walking and followed the same course (more or less) as the half marathon. At mile 12, we marathoners split off for a more challenging second half.

Also, just after Mile 12, my knees started to bother me. It was odd since I’ve never experienced knee pain in my training runs. I decided not to panic and see if the pain went away. It did, and I can’t even remember how long it lasted. It was the only point during the race that I started to worry so I am glad it went away as quickly as it came on.

Up to that point, I was alternating water and Gatorade at the aid stations. I grabbed a Gu (orange flavored – not that bad, surprisingly!) and sucked it down with a swallow of water at the next aid stations.

This second part of the course was almost solely on paved roads and had much less shade than the first half. Also, with the sun shining, the temperature had climbed in to the 70s. Running through sprinklers and grabbing two cups of water started to become a priority any time I hit an aid station. I focused on running strong and kept chugging along.

As I was running down a hill, just on the edge of control, thinking “well, this is steep” a spectator yelled out, “Welcome to the Dip!!” The infamous Dip. One-quarter mile up. One-quarter mile down. Steep and brutal. I made it through the Dip but wasn’t exactly looking forward to it on the way back.

Somewhere near mile 16, the course turns to make a long loop before heading back along the road we ran out on and then in to town for the finish. As I made that first turn, my stomach was feeling very full of liquids, which concerned me since the heat was increasing and I knew I needed to keep on top of my hydration. Just as I was shaking my head no to the offered water bottle, a woman offered me a watermelon slice – the most magical watermelon slice on the planet. “Oh, that looks good” I blurted out and the aid station workers had a giggle. Mmmm, watermelon. It was ice cold and tasty and exactly what I needed at that moment.

Reenergized by magical fruit, I took a couple deep breaths and realized that I was actually feeling good and had less than 10 miles left to run. We looped around and headed back to the finish, with only the Dip between me and the end (or so I thought).

The miles ticked off quickly and I kept to my plan – run the downhills and flats, run uphill until my heart rate jumps up and then powerhike to the top. Running along, checking off the miles, I felt like I was running in the zone. Sure, I was tired and hot and ready to be done running but “Run Strong” was my motto for the day and it kept me going.

“Three-fours of a mile to the Dip and then 3.5 miles to the finish once you get the top,” shouted a course marshal on a bike. That was all I needed to hear. I picked up the pace just a bit, told my legs and brain to just shut up and run to the Dip. One more walk and then I could cruise in to the finish (again…or so I thought).

Down the Dip I ran and up the Dip I hiked – breathing hard and anxious to see the top. The crowd support on the way up the Dip was great. Despite the fact that this race is mostly on backcountry roads, the support at the many, many aid stations and people at their houses along the way was phenomenal. Finally, at the top of the Dip, I ran through a sprinkler – oh, that’s cold and feels great. I also sucked down one of the gels I brought – Carboom Raspberry – in an effort to keep on top of my hydration/electrolytes. My stomach was still feeling pretty full but I was also feeling a touch hungry (an odd contradiction that could only happen in a marathon). I walked through the aid station at the top and then off I went with one goal in mind – finish.

Again, the miles ticked by quickly. Each time I saw an orange cone up ahead, I told myself not to get excited, that couldn’t possibly be another mile marker but each time it was, indeed, another mile down. I was getting closer and closer. We hit a long (it felt long anyway) downhill and I started looking for the last covered bridge that meant we were only a mile from the end. We rounded a turn and then there it was. I was tired but feeling better at mile 25 of this marathon than any of my other marathons.

Just as I was heading through the covered bridge, I heard a shout – “Becki! Becki! Oh, I’m sorry we missed you! Go Becki!” It was Mom. My parents had planned on meeting me at Mile 12 but had missed me by a few minutes. Mom ran with me until we got to one last hill up Main Street (darn, I forgot about this one, I thought I was done with the hills.) Off I went, power hiked up the hill, eager to get to the top and run it in to the finish.

I got to the top, started running and got one more “Go Becki” from Mom.

This was the only bad part of the course. Main Street had been opened back up and the runners had a small “shoulder” to run on but it was mostly broken asphalt and dirt. Finding a smooth path to run on was impossible until we were closer to the Waitsfield Village Green and the road opened up to runners only.

As I made the final few turns to finish on the green, I heard a “YAY! Go Becki!!” and there was Dad to cheer me in to the finish line. It was just to boost I needed to kick it in strong. I read 4:27 something on the clock and I was so excited that I beat my expectations. I ran strong the whole day, stuck to my plan and finished a great race feeling happy and proud!

The apple cider was delicious and the apple doughnuts would be a welcome treat later. Dad and I found a spot in the shade for me to take my shoes off (aaahhh), catch my breath and wait for Mom. I shared some French fries (tasted great but not a great idea for recovery) and started craving an iced coffee as soon as Dad told me they were being sold near-by (again, tasted great, hit the spot but it wasn’t a great idea to put more liquid in my belly).

This was definitely one of my best races and I am so proud to have finished the first Mad Marathon in such high spirits. “Strong” will be a key part of my racing strategy from now on.

I highly recommend this race – great organization and support, beautiful and challenging course and an accomplishment to be proud of at the end.