The Madison Marathon - RunMarathon

This was the hardest run I've ever done. I was shooting for a 4 hr finish, which I thought would be pretty do-able. It was 55 at the start, and there was NO humidity, and felt great out. I started slowly on purpose, planning on running a 2 hr first half, and then pick it up. The hills took a toll. There were mile long hills that gained several hundred feet, and with the altitude, it was tough to recover. Miles 12-13 were downhill and I cruised those, but they felt a lot harder than normal at the altitude. I had my Fuel belt, and drank every 2 mile, but apparently, I didn't take in enough. With the dry air, I never felt like I was very sweaty, and never felt too hot. At the 19.5mile turn-around, we had a 1/2 mile straight back up the hill from which I never recovered. I was feeling nauseated, and didn't drink much because of that. I was walking a lot and was cool enough, I thought, but it was hurting. The last 3 miles or so were a 100yard jog, followed by 1/4 mile walks.

I got done, walked around for a couple of minutes, and suddenly had the urge to pass out or vomit. I laid down for a couple of minutes and felt better, but after getting up adn trying to take in some Gatorade, I felt terrible again. I(t took me about 30 min before the nausea passed. Luckily, Nancy was there to drive home. I laid bakc reclined on the car for an hour, and felt remarkably better by the time we got back to civilization. It was the worst I've ever felt after a race, though.

Drink a lot more

altitude, heat


This was the hardest race I've done, hands down. It was in the middle of nowhere on a beautiful course. There were few amenities, but this was all noted on the website. The Tech T-shirt was very nice, there was a nice poster, too. There were aid stations set up every 3 miles with water only - no gels, foods, etc. Most of the stations were not even manned. The race website told you all of this, so it was expected. The course and scenery were amazing. The race pics were the bet I've ever seen, and the ONLY one I've ever bought. It was just a hard course, with virtually no support and no spectators- all of which was publicized on the website, wo it wasn't unexpected.