2010 Green Bay Marathon

14. Cellcom Green Bay Marathon – Green Bay, Wis. – May 16, 2010

As a sports fan, I get excited at the thought of certain stadiums and arenas. Lambeau Field is pretty close to the top of that list. I had heard this was a good race in a small town. My friend Steve McAnnally and I flew through Milwaukee to Green Bay, and headed to the expo inside the stadium.

There are only about 250,000 people in Green Bay, making it the smallest city with a major professional sports team in the country. And since we had a full day before the race, we realized there’s not a lot to do in the town. We drove the course and wasted several hours watching a marathon of some ridiculous television show.

The course wound through a lot of middle class neighborhoods that looked like they could be in any city in America. It was a nice course, even without a lot to look at most of the time. It’s hard to find 26.2 pretty miles in any city, and there was a stretch of about 6-8 miles in the middle of this one that were quite a bit less than scenic. There was a roller rink, some factories and a place that advertised itself as “Green Bay’s Best NASCAR Bar, ” whatever that is. Around Mile 16, the course improved drastically, when it turned onto a bike bath along the Fox River and then through downtown Green Bay. While the course improved, my performance decreased considerably. We headed back into some neighborhoods for the final few miles, and I couldn’t fight through the fatigue. There was an aid station at Mile 24 that was sponsored by A&W. Knowing my race was toast, I became what I’m sure was one of the first people to take them up on the free root beer they were offering. It tasted great. And then I immediately regretted my decision. I ambled toward the stadium for the finish through what felt like my entire torso turning into a side stitch.

My plan all along had been to kick back and simply enjoy the highlight of the course. The final mile includes a lap around the inside of Lambeau Field, and I wanted to take my time and savor it. Instead, it turned into my fastest mile of the day. I was about to head back into the tunnel when I realized what I had done. I was kicking myself, but at the same time I wanted to finish the race. So I just kept going toward the finish line in the parking lot, crossing it at 4:02.

In true Lambeau style, the post-race party was a tailgate in the parking lot, complete with brats and 26.2 Brew (made specifically for the race by local Titletown Brewery). I took a big bite of a brat and quickly regretted it. I forced the one bite down and dumped the rest. The beer, on the other hand, was cold and smooth. Unhappy with his race, Steve set a new personal best by signing up for his next marathon before I even finished showering. I hadn’t been terribly happy about my race either, but the race itself had a lot of great parts, especially running through Lambeau. Even if that was the only fast part of the race.