Hoping for a Smooth Lakefront

This weekend is Milwaukee’s Lakefront Marathon out on by the local Milwaukee running club called the Badgerland Striders. If you remember my post about the lakefront Marathon last year (I went to cheer friends, not run), there was a bit of controversy. Here is a recap: The woman that won the race was disqualified because she took water or fluids from a friend along the course. The rules stated that you can only take aid from friends IF they were adjacent to an Aid Station. This rule was on the website even for a few days after the race and then suddenly disappeared.

Now, did she take aid adjacent to an Aid Station and what exactly does ‘adjacent’ mean? 10 feet? 100 yards? I am not suggesting she didn’t take aid right somewhere no where near ‘adjacent’, but the rule seems like it needed more defining.

This was the USATF Wisconsin Marathon Championships and the winner was to receive $300 (I think it was $300) so I presume the marathon race director was between a rock and a hard place on this one. But then after a couple days, the second place woman who then became the winner after the DQ was also disqualified when it was discovered via a picture that she was wearing headphones during the race. No race official saw the infraction, just a photo. This one was against the rules but when is that rule EVER enforced. Since then, the USATF has changed the rule to let it be the discretion of the race director.

Anyway, she was disqualifies and now the woman who can in 3rd place and was the defending champion was now declared the winner quite a few days after the race. This woman is one classy lady. She ended up taking her “winnings” and donating them to the Jenny Crain Make it Happen Fund. Jenny Crain is a local runner who qualified for 4 different Olympic Trials and on a run a while back, was hit by a car and has severe brain damage now.

Let’s hope there is a smooth race this year. I don’t really know anyone in the race this year. Chaz and Chris ran last year but Chaz is injured and Chris is running Chicago. Paul is out of the country, Mike is injured, Art now lives in Texas and I am running Grand Rapids. There is one guy I know a little running and he ran a 2:58 last year. Maybe he will have a great race. The weather looks almost perfect. 40’s and mostly sunny. Winds from the NNE and the race is a point to point course going mostly south. I will be down at the finish to watch the Kids Marathon final 1.2 miles but then I need to leave quickly.

I will do another 6 miles today at an easy pace and that will bring my September total to 183 miles, quite large for me. The tapering has begun though and I plan on only 13 or so this weekend. It is too early to look at weather for Grand Rapids but I am praying for ideal conditions like the last time I ran there.

If you are running the Lakefront Marathon on Sunday, good luck. And good luck to everyone else running other races around the country this weekend.

Update: I just got back from my run. After 1.5 miles, I felt good and had a pretty fast pace going at about 8:20ish so I decided to turn the run into a tempo run. I didn't feel like I was picking it up because it felt so smooth. After 3 miles, i turned into the wind for a solid mile and a half and it felt like I was slowing, but when I finished, I think i just was maintaining. I ended up going just over 6 miles at 7:52 pace. I feel good! And by the way, I am just over 1 week and 49 miles into the new shoes and I really like them. Saucony Kinvara incase you were wondering.