Madison Mini Marathon Race Report

Today I ran my final race of the summer season, the inaugural Madison Mini Marathon, a half marathon in the heart of downtown Madison. Hosted at the Memorial Union, the course set itself up to show off the best of Madison, the Capitol Square, State Street, Kohl Center, Vilas Park, Arboretum, the Lake Shore Path, and finish line at the Memorial Union.

Straight away, the start was up Langdon. A hill the entire way to the Capitol, it was a good thing I warmed up by running to the start line. It worried me when I glanced at the first mile, a 7:09, so I backed off a bit and settled into a groove of a sub 7:40/mile pace. The miles ticked off relatively fast, and before I new it, mile 5 flew by. By now, I noticed two others at my pace. We constantly traded places, right until the 7th mile. By now the urge to pee that haunted me since the beginning of the race was too unbearable, so I took the break, feeling more relaxed and ready to continue. Out of the bin, I noticed my running mates were only 30 seconds ahead, something I could make up.

I knew that if I made to the lakeshore path and the final two miles in any kind of shape, I could make a decent effort for a decent finish. One last gel, and I was ready for the finish. Around a few bends and the turnaround, I was cruising right along. At mile 12, I saw 1:31 and change on the clock. A sub-1:40 -- an extreme goal at the start of the race -- was within reach.

I made the path a "no comfort zone" to make sure I wouldn't relax and fall into an easy pace. It also helped to pass folks that had passed me much earlier. The final few turns and downhill to the finish, a big high five to Stu, and a fine finish.

Overall, a PR of 1:39:18, with relatively even splits (except for the bathroom break in the middle). I was surprised at how comfortable, but at the same time uncomfortable, the race was. A great course, showing the best parts of running in Madison. Giving the location and timings, it's likely on the list of races to do again.