Race Information
- Name: Mad City Ultras 50K
- Date: April 20, 2024
- Distance: 50 Kilometers
- Location: Madison, Wisconsin
- Website: https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/122616#resultSetId-449259;perpage:100
- Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11225408991
- Time: 3:04:04
Goals
| Goal | Description | Completed? |
|---|---|---|
| A | 2:50-52 | No |
| B | Sub 3 | No |
| C | Win | Yes |
Splits
| Mile | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5:49 |
| 2 | 5:45 |
| 3 | 5:49 |
| 4 | 5:35 |
| 5 | 5:34 |
| 6 | 5:41 |
| 7 | 5:56 |
| 8 | 5:42 |
| 9 | 5:49 |
| 10 | 5:31 |
| 11 | 5:41 |
| 12 | 5:47 |
| 13 | 5:55 |
| 14 | 5:51 |
| 15 | 5:37 |
| 16 | 5:48 |
| 17 | 5:37 |
| 18 | 5:39 |
| 19 | 5:47 |
| 20 | 5:50 |
| 21 | 5:53 |
| 22 | 5:58 |
| 23 | 6:06 |
| 24 | 5:52 |
| 25 | 6:03 |
| 26 | 6:12 |
| 27 | 6:14 |
| 28 | 6:29 |
| 29 | 6:11 |
| 30 | 6:03 |
| 31 | 6:14 |
Training
Following CIM (Recap: https://www.reddit.com/r/AdvancedRunning/comments/18hyxcl/took_my_shot_at_the_moon_and_finished_thankful/), I took about about a week and a half off running completely. For once I didn’t really have a Spring race locked up ahead of time. Since I wanted to go all-in for this trials thing I decided against signing up for Boston 2024; the first time I wouldn’t sign up since I started marathoning in 2018.
Immediately after CIM, I emailed the elite coordinator to inquire about the pro-development field. Unfortunately the field was full, but I was put on the wait list. I figured I would make my final decision post Olympic Trials, thinking people would most likely scratch afterwards.
My second option was USATF 50K Champs in March but after checking in with how my body was holding up 90 days post CIM, I thought it would be too quick of a turnaround. Plus, from my understanding, members of the 50K Road Team for 2025 would not be chosen from this race. So that made my decision much simpler.
My final, and most likely option would be Mad City 50K. The USATF site said that the third spot from the previous year was typically chosen for the team. So the goal would be to run under the qualifying standard (3:00) and win. Judging from past results it would probably take sub 2:55 to take the win here. Coach and I thought sub 2:52 would be possible.
My first full week of consistent running would be the week of Christmas when I was home for the holidays. It was easy to be motivated when the low temps was 50 degrees instead of the 20 back home. 58 miles on 6 days to start and then it was back to Ohio.
I spent the start of January essentially shitposting all of my runs. Chipotle had a segment challenge in my town where the prize was free chipotle for a year for the most segments on a .18 mile stretch. I had no shot of winning but I wanted to make sure my buddy didn’t pack it in after gapping the field early. This lasted about a week when my coach responded to my text about potential Spring races with:
“…You’d need to get pretty serious now and prob stop running back and forth for 8 miles lol.”
Noted.
The remainder of January was filled with just getting consistent miles, jumping into other people’s workouts, and rehabbing this lingering glute issue. While miraculously the issue from last Fall disappeared the morning of CIM, it came back in full force as soon as I crossed the finish line. I made big improvements and was able to be start working out on the 31st.
February Miles: 324 Miles Highest Mileage Week: 86.09 (6 days)
Highlights:
Feb 3rd: 11 miles w/ 30 second pickups and then 3x 5min on the Olympic Trials Course. Splits: 5:19, 5:02, 4:56
Feb 7th: 20x 1 min @ MP/1 min uptempo (7.41 miles, 5:33 avg)
Feb 14th: 15 x 1 min on/1 min off, 16x 30 seconds on/30 seconds off (8.29 miles, 5:43 avg)
Feb 18th: 12x1k w/ 200 jog 4@ MP + 10 seconds (3:27-26-25-24) 4@ MP (3:19-19-18-19) 4@ HMP > 10k (3:10-09-07-04)
Feb 21st: 20x 1 minute on/1 minute on @ MP + 30 seconds, 5 flat mile 8.26 miles, 5:32 pace, final mile: 4:58
Feb 25th: 15x1k w/ 200 jog recovery. 5 sets at 50k pace 5 sets at MP 5 sets at HMP >
3:26-26-25-23-21 3:19-20-18-16-17 3:10-10-08-08-03
Feb 28th: 30 x 1 min/1 min@ MP +20 seconds (10.78 miles, 5:34 avg). Real feel of 22 degrees, 19 mph winds
Lowlights: Feb 11th: Epic blowup during 16 mile LR (6:14 avg), last 4 supposed to be MP, actual: 5:18, 5:23, 5:53, 5:24. Bad route to finish and massive wind. Completely unprepared and too trigger happy.
March was filled with travel. Two out of state weddings for me and long road trips at the beginning of the month.
February Miles: 341 Miles Highest Mileage Week: 90.41 miles
Highlights:
March 6th: 4x (2-2-2-2) (50k-MP-HMP-Easy)
5:30-5:16-5:00-6:49 5:26-5:22-5:04-6:42 5:29-5:15-5:04-6:31 5:26-5:13-4:59-6:36
March 13th: 6x 1 mile w/ 2 min slow jog 5:04-5:02-4:59-4:58-4:57-4:56
March 17th: 24 miles @ 6:32 avg with final 6 @ 50k Pace: 5:36, 5:29, 5:24, 5:24, 5:27, 5:25
March 31: 20 with progression at 10 starting at 6:00. 6:00 > 5:14. (6:00, 5:59, 5:47, 5:42, 5:35, 5:30, 5:25, 5:21, 5:17, 5:14)
Lowlights: March 2nd: 19.08 miles: 6:11 avg, 12 mile progression 4@5:45-50, 4@5:35-40, 4@5:15-20 Actual: Foot issues with Adidas Pro upper, Blew up at 10.7 miles. High humidity in savannah and driving 9 hours over the last day made for a disaster.
March 9th: 20.12 miles, was supposed to be last 8 @ 50k pace. Made it 5.25 before blowing up because of temps and high humidity in SC.
March 20th: 20x 1 minute on @ 50k/1 minute @ 6:00 10x 30 seconds on @ hmp, 30 seconds @ 6:00 9.08 miles @ 5:39 avg
March 22nd: Wrecked my foot on a trail run in Austin for a wedding and could barely put weight on it for a couple days
April:
April 7th: Tuneup workout/race: 9 miler (start at MP and work down to HMP) 9.05 miles @ 5:14 avg
April 10th: 4x 1 mile w/ 2 min jog Mp-mp-hmp-hmp 5:17-16-03-03
Lowlights: Glute issues began to rear its ugly head following the tuneup workout. I had done this same race the last two years before Boston with little issue. This time I’m pretty sure I got a little too aggressive on a rolling course and just aggravated the spot.
Pre-race
We made the drive out to Madison from Ohio on Thursday morning. My original plan was to stop in Chicago Thursday night and finish the drive the following morning but seeing as it was just about an 8 hour drive from Ohio, I thought it would be best to make it in one trip and try to stay off my feet until race time.
I did a loop on the course with a friend of mine as soon as we got to town to try and scope out what was in store on Saturday. The course would feature some rolling but nothing that seemed to be too much of an issue. Wind was a bit of a menace but hopefully it would die down by race day. As soon as we finished we realized we did the course backwards. Whoops.
Glute continued to be a problem despite how much I tried to roll it out. Shakeout felt awful on Friday and but was hoping that I’d get lucky like I did in December. Spent a fairly lowkey day grabbing my bib, and making a stop at New Glarus to grab beer for home.
We drove the course the correct way after we grabbed our bibs, looking at specific spots to build a race plan. The race would be 5 passes over a 10K loop. The race would start over just behind the finish line. Over the first mile we’d run out of the park, a sharp left a quarter mile in to a neighborhood street, a sharp right for our first hill (first a short small one, a slight dip, and an immediate longer one) before another sharp left onto the sidewalk to pass the first mile. The second mile would begin with a quick downhill section down the sidewalk before jumping on a bike path where it settled fairly nicely. After a quick left to head into a neighborhood section, we’d start a small negligible incline at 2.3, then really feel it ramp up at 2.6 and move up until another set of two sharp left turns 400 meters later. None of these first hills were particularly tough but sharp turns when cresting would make it hard to get back into rhythm, especially when we’d face them later in the race.
Mile four would have a quick downhill section coming off the sharp left turns as we headed towards the parking lot of the arboretum. We’d pass mile four as we made our way up the final incline, the mildest of the three incline sections of this course. A second aid station would greet us just after 4 miles with portapottys and water. The next mile would be a mild downhill section that could be a place to settle into a nice rhythm. Trees surrounded both sides of the road, protecting us from any nasty winds. The final section would be unshaded on one side, as the view of Lake Wingra and far off in the distance the finish line. One final sharp left turn took us out of the arboretum back into the park to finish the loop and do it once more. Almost a mile of this section would not have protection from the wind if it decided to pick up.
The race had sent out the lineup for the 50k earlier in the week. I had scanned through the competitors and thought I’d have a fairly good shot at the win. It seemed like a lot of the men had chosen the 100k instead, which not surprising because it would be the qualifier for worlds this Fall. Regardless of what it said on paper, I was prepared to have some people to race with. I’ve learned over the years that you can’t be too confident; the distances will humble anyone.
Race plan would be to settle into the first two loops at about 5:40 average and then start moving over next two. No major moves until the marathon distance.
I struggled to go to bed the night prior to the race. I didn’t think I had overhydrated by any means, but I was waking up every hour or so to go pee. I had a beer at lunch, but I typically have a beer at dinner before races. This was worse than I’ve experienced before.
I finally got some sleep and then woke up around 5:30 to get ready to head out. Bottles were prepared and bags were packed. I had a maurten bar and drank a Maurten 320 mix. Something wasn’t sitting right. I was feeling sick and spent the next hour or so trying not to vomit. I thought to myself that while vomiting would probably ease my nausea, I’d most likely be heading into the race with a caloric deficit. To me it was better to be a little uncomfortable early than heading in without some fuel in the reserves.
The weather for the morning was a nippy 33 degrees with a real feel of 24. Wind had died down compared to yesterday but you could still feel a fairly strong gust come up. I decided to put on my brighton base layer under my singlet and double gloves. If I needed to ditch the mittens, I’d drop it after loop one.
With my stomach still struggling I instructed my girlfriend to hand me Nuun Endurance for the first two loops and Maurten for the final 2. The former was fairly easy to drink and would hopefully help settle me down. I took 3 Gus with me and left the remaining with her.
At this point I had made some adjustments to my race plan. The wind was not great and my legs weren’t feeling that race day pop. I would play the conservative game for the two first loops and keep it under 3 hour pace and work my way down. 2:55-8ish would be a great day today. That seemed attainable.
After a 10 min jog and some strides, it was time to head to the start line. The 100k field had already been out for about 90 minutes and we cheered as each passed us. I took my first gu, thankfully I was able to take it down without any issues.
The race official separated the 50k solo runners from the relay teams. I said my final well wishes to one of my athlete’s running in the women’s field and lined up at the front.
Race
After a bit of shuffling at the start I maneuvered my way to the front. I had two relay runners with me and another that had bolted immediately, gapping the field quickly. A quick left turn into a neighborhood and then a sharp right for our first hill. This first loop would be all about getting my bearings for what’s to come. I was okay with a slow first mile. As long was I could maintain an average of sub 5:48 for the loop, I’d be under the 3:00 standard to start. As I crested the first hill and made the sharp turn down the city sidewalk the first beep came through, 5:49. Good good. Stay calm and settle in, don’t get antsy with 30 miles to go. Take the first three conservatively and let the last three be the place to make some ground. I brought the pace down slightly over the next mile with a 5:45 and then hit the next hill section in a 5:50. Fine, just fine. Crest the hill and two sharp lefts to get into the arboretum.
As I made my second left I saw the leader of the 50K relay. A bike had pulled back with him. “I wrecked my achilles.” To be honest I didn’t really know how to respond to this. I said “Are you okay?” knowing full well he wasn’t but that’s the first thing I could think of. I kept going and thought to myself that this was probably going to be one of the loneliest races I’d ever be in. 3 Miles in and I’d been running the majority of this solo already. I was going to have to get real acquainted with my own thoughts.
It was time for the easier part of the course. While this section had some rolling in it, it was much gentler than the previous section, making it really easy to settle into a groove here. I had looked up the splits of one of the women’s winners from one of the past years and saw that this section was the place where you could find a groove. I hit a couple 5:30 mids in this section, trying to focus on holding things back a bit here. A second gu just after 4 where I took some water to help take it down. While the wind was not as nasty as the previous days, the final mile was tougher than it needed to be. A final sharp left to get us back to the finish line as I started to feel some mild discomfort, less than 6 miles in, and I needed to go to the bathroom.
As I got smacked around by the wind a bit over the final stretch, I made the decision to ditch the mittens. I have massive raynauds issues but my hands seemed to be just fine with just one pair of gloves. If worse came to worse I’d ask for them back over the next loop. We came back through the finish straight and I scanned the crowd looking for my girlfriend. For a half second I worried I’d miss her, but sure enough she was there ready. I yelled out for a Nuun bottle, tossed my gloves and grabbed the bottle in one fluid motion. Okay got this one without any issues.
One lap complete in 36:09. I took a couple swigs of a cold Nuun and tossed it in a grass ditch 400 meters later. I’d grab them after the race.
As we left the park section I scanned my surroundings. My stomach had begun to tighten up. I need to go pee bad. I took a final look around, jumped in some bushes and did what needed to be done. Back on my merry way. I knew this mile would be slow with this pit stop and focused on not trying to over compensate with a fast next mile. We’d have plenty of time over the last 12 to be a little more aggressive. The next couple miles would be just focused on setting a barrier for myself. A second or two faster per mile would be okay here, but nothing crazy. I took my second gu without any issue.
I crested the second hill with no issues and enjoyed my downhill reward. Up ahead I saw a familiar singlet in the 100k field. “That’s fine.” I knew a couple guys from my conference ran for this club just after college. I had actually run my first marathon in this singlet. I immediately knew who this chap could be.
“Kris!”
“Yeah?”
“It’s Cris from La Verne!”
“Oh I know who it is!”
I rolled past him and another competitor saying hello. He surged slightly and gave me a loving shove forward.
Editors note I hadn’t seen Kris in probably 10 years. I went to my first brewery when I had just turned 21 with this guy before I got all into this scene. Kris would eventually come in third during this race, running a conservative, consistent and calculated race. The meet director said he looked like he was having the best time. I’d agree.
I was in good spirits as I went through the second half of the course. My stomach had settled up and I was able to take my third gu without any issue. As I approached the final straight I yelled “Nuun and two gus please!” My girlfriend was not expecting me to ask for Gu but she made a quick move to grab them just in time for me to pass. It was an awkward pass due to me trying to grab everything in one motion as my hips just started to really feel the movement to grab. I noted this but figured it was just a fluke as I had this feeling during a practice session getting bottles in the past.
I came through in just about 72 minutes and I was fairly confident with how this was going to go still. As I made my move up the first hill I started to get that familiar feeling again. Really, I had to pee again…
Just before 14 I jumped into some trees and went. A 5:51 mile section for my troubles here. This was getting fairly annoying. I thought to myself, this is definitely the last time this is happening, suck it up and get back to business.
I saw another familiar face as I passed a 100K group. Geoff! I said hello and he cheered me forward and it was a nice pep up in a fairly quiet race. I had little trouble getting back into rhythm and cresting the second hill following the pitstop.
As I approached 16 the cracks in the armor began to show. It was a familiar feeling. A feeling back to 2021 when I tried this distance the first time. I’ve never had this feeling at the marathon distance but somehow this was happening 16 freaking miles into a 50K race.
My feet hurt.
Maybe it’s the downhill sections. Maybe it’s the pair of Vaporfly 2’s that have 100+ miles on them already. This causes a quick short circuit to my confidence. This should not be happening. I’m not running that fast. This is 20 seconds slower than I ran in December.
I quickly shake those thoughts. Be here, now.
I take my fourth gu with no issue.
With my feet in mind I make the conscious effort to pull back on the pace a bit. I ran 5:31 for one of these sections last loop. Let’s keep it to 5:38-5:40 to be safe. The pace doesn’t feel like I’m straining but my feet just are achy. Hopefully this is just a fluke.
I pass through final stretch once more to grab my first bottle of Maurten. I’m fairly nervous at this point. I’ve stayed on pace, roughly, but things have been far from perfect and while my stomach is feeling settled, who knows what another chug of maurten 320 is gonna do.
I take the couple swigs and toss it into the patch. I see some familiar bottles. My athlete chose the same area to toss her bottles too.
Over 19 miles in and I’m still pretty consistent here. My feet are still crying out to me but other than that my legs feel relatively okay. As I crest the first hill again, another chip. That sharp left turn is feeling much much harder than it was before. My hips are tight and my left side is beginning to labor with each step. The downhills have been chipping away at an already unstable structure and now 21 miles in, these cracks are starting to show.
Again, I pivot on easing for the next couple miles. Ease the pace and hammer that last 10k. “You’ve run 5:20’s before.” There’s still a chance here. The harsh reality is starting to set in as I crest the second hill that even the prospect of sub 3 hours is fleeting. My head isn’t short circuiting here. It’s focusing it’s energy on checking in on how I’m feeling. I know this isn’t going well. But thinking about it more isn’t going to help. I have to live with the cards I’m dealt right now.
The “fast section” is now filled with 5:50s, 10+ seconds slower than miles I was joyfully running an hour earlier. Over the last two miles the thought of dropping out at the end of this loop comes to mind.
I’m not having a good time. My main goal for this race is gone and my feet hurt. Why am I out here…
“Well you’re 24/25 miles in this race. You have nothing left on your schedule. You drove and invested all this time/money to do this. You’re also winning. Finish this up dude.”
As I made the penultimate pass through the finish line area I tried to look somewhat composed. Mostly because I didn’t want to alarm my girlfriend. lol. The wind down the final stretch definitely made that a tougher endeavor than I would’ve thought.
This last bottle had no issue. I had another thought that maybe I could thug it out and pull something out of my butt to take me under. But after that final first hill, I knew it was all gone. I passed the marathon mark in 2:32 and with my muscles now screaming at me with every step I knew these last miles would be about survival.
A 6:13 off the hill. A 6:15 down the hill. The climb up the second hill didn’t feel too horrible but once again, I needed to go pee. Of course. Let’s rub some dirt in it. I have to pull to the side again. Getting back onto it was harder this time. My knee drive is pitiful as I struggle with each unforgiving next step. The nice downhill sections over 20 miles ago are now my nemesis. I try my hardest to keep myself under 6 minute pace as though that would help heal my fractured ego. But alas, I can’t. These legs aren’t going. I need to get myself to the finish line. What was my redemption at this distance was an ego check.
I pull myself over the next two miles as the wind keeps smacking me in the face. By the time I hit the final stretch I can’t even kick. I put my arms up as I cross the finish. My legs aren’t stinging like they did at CIM, I don’t have the sharp stabbing pains. My body is just tired.
I’m done. I won. 3:04:04.
Post-race
I came out of this race feeling fairly bittersweet about my experience. The event and weekend itself was incredible. Aside from my performance over those three hours, this had to be one of the most memorable trips I’d done. But if I had to be honest with myself, my performance was the worst I’d had in since Boston 2021.
I had some time to unpack it all over the following days and weeks. I felt conflicted, particularly when trying to answer the question How did it go?
Well I won. I set a pretty big PR at the distance. But I struggled to hide my disappointment. The confusion in their reaction made it worse and left me feeling like I was just being greedy whiney.
Dude you won. That’s huge.
While I did travel to Madison to win, that was a far C goal for the day. Getting under the qualifying standard for Worlds next year was my consolation prize for a hard fought battle last December. And I came nowhere near close to what I thought I had on the day when I signed up for this.
As I thought more on the subject, I realized that while this may have been a gut punch, it was a nice reminder of how these distances work. As I said before, this was my worst race since Boston 2021. Since that time, I’ve been lucky to have had a string of home run races since then. I’d argue that I’ve overperformed in most goal races that I’d put on the calendar in the last 2.5 years.
That Boston Marathon was just over a 2:32:01. Since then I’d run 2:28:23 at Boston, then 2:23:58 at Chicago, 2:23:27 at Boston, and finally 2:19:13 at CIM. I was due for a tough outing.
Mad City was a harsh reminder of what the distances can do to you if you’re not 100%. I have New York in the Fall. This course has very similar elevation. Had New York been in the Spring it would have ate me alive in my current state. So I take away knowing that I still have a lot I need to work on to make sure I’m ready come Fall.
I’m fairly disappointed with this effort but I’m thankful all the same here. It’s a great learning experience and I had an incredible trip.
As a note for anyone looking at these Mad City races. I was pretty blown away by how they treated us. The event coordinators are incredibly passionate about the race and the people. I received a handwritten card that came in today saying congrats and referencing a conversation we had after the race. I’ve raced a lot of big races over the years but little things like this mean a lot.
I’ll be back eventually. I still have a bone to pick with this distance. I’m proud of this effort and while I’ve done plenty of typing on my great days in the sport, I think it’s really important to talk about those days that just don’t go your way. To me this effort was much harder than CIM last December and I didn’t quit despite my body yelling at me to do so. I thankfully recovered much easier than I had from the last couple marathons though I still have general aches and pains from the issues I had heading into the race.
I have some time, but as this block showed me, November will come quickly. So for now, it’s time to dust myself off and try again.
Beers and Miles 