Rails to Trails - November 7, 2010

November 7, 2010
http://www.railstotrailsrace.com/

Jenn did not have the best Chicago Marathon experience so she wanted to give it another shot in Norwalk, WI. Neil and I went with her, but we raced the 1/2 marathon option. It was very pretty, but very small. The pasta dinner / packet pick-up, the night before was in a school gym, with a poster drawn with crayola markers of the course and elevation change. The local volunteers brought in delicious homemade goods, and there was enough parmesean cheese in a can to go around. I did not have a registration, I signed up last minute, as I tend to do (trying to break this habit) and got a same day registration. (They mailed me my shirt and my medal later on in the mail.)

There are not too many options for lodging in Norwalk so we stayed at a lovely hotel in Tomah, WI- the nearest larger city. If you are from Madison, there is also the race day pick up if you are just coming up for the day. Norwalk, is about 1.5 hours or so from Madison, (about 5 hours from Chicago) so not terribly far, but not super close either.

In the morning, what to wear was the biggest anxiety. Jenn must have gone back and forth a billion times, but it was decided, layers were best. It ended up being a bit warm for several parts parts of the morning, with the sun coming out, but pretty cold in that Wisconsin shade. The race was on the trail the entire time, which became a little difficult to run on, impact wise, you could really feel it in your legs. There is a part of the race where 3/4 of a mile, you actually run through an old railroad tunnel. Volunteers stand there passing out flashlights before you enter the tunnel and collect them at the end of the tunnel. We wore glow sticks on our shoes :) The tunnel was lined with lanters, but you had to slow down significantly to watch your footing. The first time you go through, you think "That was awesome" the second time... not so much. A bit cold, drippy and it does slow you down when you just want to finish the second time you go back through the tunnel.
It really is a pretty, peaceful course, but not a loop, just a back and forth. I also found that the majority of the participants were pretty fun spirited (as most Wisconsin folk are :) ) If you are competitive, you could place fairly well in this race.
We finished up the day, waiting for Jenn and cheering her on. She didn't get a PR, but still said she enjoyed herself.
After the race, the chicken dinner was again, very much like a Wisconisn backyard party :)