The Beautiful Temporary World of Race Day

Photos from pacing the Run Madtown half marathon in Madison, Wisconsin.

Today I had the pleasure of pacing the legendary Run Madtown Half Marathon. If a race wants to showcase the very best of its city, this event is the blueprint.

The race starts near the State Capital and shows off the best of Madison. Every moment of the race feels absolutely intentional, but with a total unserious flair that is so fitting to Madison.

I’ll save most of the talk for parts that need explanation. Today is about photos.

5:50 a.m. pacer call with an hour drive meant an early start. Kwik Trip coffee - a very Wisconsin must.

Check in done, pacer group photo done, and I had some spare moments to walk around before getting into the start corrals. The fountain near the start had flamingo floaties.

Why flamingos? Madison’s love affair with flamingos began in the late 70s with - unsurprisingly - a college prank. Two students had placed over 1,000 plastic flamingos on Bascom Hall. In true Madison fashion, the city ran with it, ultimately leading to the adoption of the plastic pink flamingo as the city’s official bird in 2009. Flamingos are everywhere.

Race day energy in the start corrals.

Obligatory pre-race photo with my co-pacer, Nici. This is our second year pacing together, and her third time at Run Madtown. Her son ran with us the entire way.

Early miles included a view of the State Capital building under an overcast sky.

Passing the Henry Vilas Zoo, one of the few admission-free, community supported zoos in the country.

Madison’s Arboretum is beautiful to run through. Do you see the turkeys? We saw and heard so many of them.

It was a joy to see the incredible Penny Pesch here. Penny is a steady staple at so many races in the Milwaukee area.

The shaded paths were a welcome sight as the sun rose.

Early summer flowers were in bloom everywhere.

The water made for a beautiful view, and signaled that we were nearing the finish line.

As pacers, it is our job to run an even pace while encouraging the runners around us. We paced the 3-hour finishers and came in right on time.

As a runner, I am not gifted with speed, but I am pretty good at keeping an eye on my watch for even pacing.

Free race photos are always a bonus.

Inarguably some of the coolest race medals around.

Running is a ridiculous hobby, honestly. Absurd, even. But standing in the middle of Run Madtown today, watching people cheer for complete strangers, it also felt like a very beautiful one.