A Map Showing A Sub-3-Hour Marathon In Each State

A Map Showing A Sub-3-Hour Marathon In Each State
Blue dots are the 50 sub-3 marathons and green are the 10 missed attempts since my 1st sub-3-hour marathon at the 2009 Boston Marathon

Sunday, May 20, 2012

16(?)/50 Green Bay Marathon

The Green Bay Marathon was to be my 16th state marathon and 25th overall marathon.  Seeing as it was cancelled, I’m not sure I can technically count it but I did finish the race so I am entitled to at least write about it!  It did not come as a surprise as to how hot this race was going to be.  In the days leading up to the race, multiple warnings were issued about the heat and all the necessary precautions that were being taken by the race staff.  In the end, the heat wrecked all kinds of havoc as it reached 90 degrees without a cloud in the sky. 

I was tasked with the job of being the 3:10 pace leader, a job and pace I had previously done at the 2009 Chicago Marathon and loved.  It’s a lot like being an orientation leader in college except you have to carry a flag with the pace time posted on it.  You keep a steady pace, offer advice, give heads up on the course amenities, get the spectators riled up and crack a few jokes…people tend not to want to think about each excruciating mile.  The role makes running 26.2 miles a bit more of a challenge, in case you needed one! 
At 7am we started the race just outside of Lambeau Field.  Due to construction, this would be the first year that the race would not finish inside the stadium, a bummer for some.  In fact, it was enough of a deterrent that only about 2,500 people of the 4,000 capacity registered for the marathon.  Within my group were about two dozen men and women looking to qualify for the Boston Marathon, achieve a personal best or complete their first marathon in a very respectable time.  Myself and Mike (the other leader) were in charge of keeping the pack of runners on a 7:15 minute-per-mile pace.  What’s funny about this is that neither of us wears a GPS watch; we just base it by feel with a stopwatch!
Green Bay has a great small town feel.  The community really stepped up in support of the runners.  I don’t recall a block where a resident didn’t set up a sprinkler for us in the first half of the race.  The half marathoners turned off as the temperature was rapidly approaching the 80’s.  It was after this that things fell apart.
The full marathoners were left to run a course that appeared to have been abandoned.  The crowd support was thin, the sprinklers few and the shade minimal.  At mile 17, Mike (our other pace leader) dropped out due to the heat.  Our group was down to about eight and I was determined to get us to the finish in time with this flag still in my hand!  At this point, we were almost a minute ahead of schedule. 
At mile 20 (about 2:35 into the race), an officer was informing us that the race had been cancelled.  It was then that I lost my last runner.  In the lonely miles to come, I slowed a bit and reunited with two women from the group as we charged forward, determined to finish close to the 3:10 goal.  Medical staff continued to inform us that the course was closed due to heat but no one had instructed us to stop running.  It wasn’t until mile 26 that we were physically made aware of the closure – as we turned into the parking lot of Lambeau Field and caught a glimpse of the finish line, we ran into a closed gate that prevented us from continuing to the finish line!  With no way through, I ran around the backside through the crowds to symbolically cross the finish line in 3:13.  Not too far off what I was supposed to do; it could have been the heat or the Homewood-Flossmoor 5K I raced the day before!  Not advisable. 
Frustrated, I walked straight to the beer line.  After a few beers and 30 minutes, I saw that the organizers realized their mistake and reopened the gate.  Through it I went so that I could officially cross the finish mat.  In all, it was a great weekend and I’m not going to let this race experience sour my opinion of the city.  I did enjoy some great beers and meal the night before at www.hinterlandbeer.com and a post-race lunch at www.titletownbrewing.com  with the largest beer sample I've ever seen!  Oh, and let's not forget the Mars Cheese Castle and the abundance of New Glarus beer. 

Before (Titletown Brewing)

After (Titletown Brewing)



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