Do Every Stupid Thing That Makes You Feel Alive

In unsurprising news, my legs were nowhere near ready to run Lakefront Marathon with only a 9-week buildup. Whoops! Look, I never said that I do smart things. In hindsight I probably should have known that going in but I always harbor these stupid "What if?" dreams. Plus, I was super fired up about missing the Boston cutoff again so I thought maybe I'd be able to ride that energy.

Eh...not so much. I ran a pretty solid 3:45 on a beautiful fall day and funny enough, I didn't even feel mad about not being able to run my sub-3:40 goal. It was one of those days where I just felt super grateful to be healthy and able to participate in this incredibly stupid hobby of mine year after year. Jason came out to cheer for me on the course and I felt excited that he was there for me at the finish line. No tears or pouting for me this time. I was happy that I did my best with what I had and that I enjoyed the day. Running makes me feel alive and I definitely felt alive that day.

Speaking of this stupid hobby of mine, I decided to also run the Milwaukee Marathon last weekend even though it was just two weeks after Lakefront. I mean why not, right? I'm no stranger to a double marathon month! I figured I should be able to take it easy, enjoy the course, and still finish under 4 hours. Also, I was curious to see how the new management handled the event since I quit working for them back in March.

Error leaves PNC Milwaukee Marathon course short.

That time I ran 25.5 miles.

YIKES. Yeah, that's a bummer. The course was almost .8 miles short! Good thing I wasn't trying again for a BQ that day. (I know, I know, like I even could have done it.) My "official" finish time was 3:48 but it really probably should have been in the 3:55 range. I could tell exactly where it happened during the run too- a turnaround point was set too early on a long out-and-back portion between mile 21 and 22. Truthfully, when I realized I was going to be done early I felt kind of relieved, but I also felt a little sick to my stomach since I knew this mistake was going to blow up and be a huge deal. Last year the course was long because of a similar snafu in the EXACT SAME area. I could not believe this was happening again to the new race directors!

I also thanked the sweet baby Jesus I was not working for the event anymore and wouldn't have to answer all the inevitable angry emails and Facebook posts. I mean, let's be real.


I have so many mixed feelings about this race that have zero to do with the time I ran. Really I'm just sad that an event I worked so hard on and really believed in had something this happen two years in a row. I just don't see how it can come back from this mess and that sucks because I feel like Milwaukee runners really deserve a "big city" marathon. There were so many obstacles we faced getting this event off the ground that first year and when we pulled it off it felt like the sky was the limit. Sure, the second year was stressful with the course problems (and about a million other things) but I really, really hoped it would bounce back.

When the race was sold to the new investors I walked away and just crossed my fingers super hard. I figured the new management would have its problems but I honestly still wanted the race to be successful. Other cities similar to Milwaukee's size have big marathons like this but for some reason it's just felt like an uphill battle here the whole time. I could go on and on about all the roadblocks that were thrown up back when I was on the staff but at this point it doesn't matter. They had a chance to turn it around this year and it didn't happen. It's just sad because I really believe a big event like this that celebrates the city of Milwaukee is something that SHOULD exist.

So instead I prefer to remember the finish line of that inaugural year back in 2015 when it felt like anything was possible:

Well, anything except beer at the finish. :)