Marathons

2010 InStep Icebreaker Indoor Marathon (Milwaukee, WI) 1/24/2010 The Instep Icebreaker was the second of two indoor marathons that I ran in two weeks, and to have to compare the Icebreaker to the Zoom Yah! Yah! is like trying to compare Boston or Marine Corps to other great events like Missoula, MT (recently rated as the top U.S. marathon by Runner’s World) – it just isn’t fair. Zoom Yah! Yah! has a distinct advantage due to its intimate size, something that the Icebreaker will never have, but to say that the Icebreaker, just in its second year, was a disappointment is far, far from the truth. Indeed the Icebreaker was a great event. Housed in the Petit Ice Center, the home of the U.S. Speed Skating team, runners had to complete 95.37 laps of a 484 yard course that ran around the outside perimeter of the speed skating rink. I will start with the organizers – particularly with race director Chris Ponteri. The race was extremely well organized (and it was just one of four separate events run over the weekend including two half marathons and a marathon relay). Not only was the staff extremely accommodating in advance of the weekend, but Chris, Jeff Ferris and Brian Volkman made sure to take the time to connect with me and were absolutely great people. The race has one particular advantage over Zoom Yah! Yah! in that it is chip timed. While it is nice to have personal lap counters/cheerleaders (at ZYY) the timing chips allowed the Icebreaker runners to cross the finish line each lap and look over to see their lap counts and exact lap split times. It sure beat having to fool with a watch or Garmin. For those with less than optimal vision, they even had two people posted to check and report back the next time around to verbally let you know how many laps you had run. The aid station volunteers were also outstanding. A single station was set up in one corner of the track and runners brought their own bottles to drink from which were then filled by the “corner workers”. When you got thirsty – or hungry – you simply would let a worker know that you wanted something and the next time around they were holding it out all ready for you. They even snipped the end of my GU so it was ready to eat! They did a phenomenal job of supplying smiling encouragement as well as refreshments and I only wish I knew their names so I could thank them all personally. One of the best things about the Icebreaker is that if you are fortunate to have friends or family willing to attend and cheer you on, you see them 96 times. I had seven family members present and their cheering and antics removed any chance of boredom setting in. Outside fan support was surprisingly enjoyable as well. Children continually reached over the bleachers to ‘high-five’ the runners and three other groups of people around the track seemed to adopt me, cheering me on every lap as well. If that wasn’t enough, having the speed skaters circling the rink inside was definitely an added treat. I was warned about the track being hard, broken down, and injury inducing. If that is the case, I sure did not feel it. I thought the surface was forgiving and never had a problem with the turns. Congestion was not a problem even though we had 80 marathoners on the track plus another 43 or so doing the Gold Medal Challenge, which was the Icebreaker’s version of Disney’s Goofy (runners ran a half on Saturday and full on Sunday). The track was never crowded – never did I feel boxed in or like I was being held (or holding someone else) back. Brian did a great job as an emcee. You could hear the announcements all the way around the track and the ongoing banter also served as a good distraction. While the Icebreaker did not allow headphones and music, it wasn’t necessary. Runners were asked in advance to provide the names of songs to add to a long playlist and the music was piped in for the entire race over the PA system. The one area where the Icebreaker falls short of ZYY is in the runner camaraderie. At ZYY the camaraderie is created with the small field or runners, a great pre-race dinner, and by giving all runners blank bibs, having them write their name and hometown on them, then pin them on their back. You are continually lapping or being lapped by runners, so to be able to know the other runners names helps create that bond. I probably got to talk with a dozen runners at the Icebreaker, but at ZYY it was more like 75% of the field. Being a Marathon Maniac, the clan was well represented. I counted at least eight MM circling the course at the event, including three from Brazil that had made the trip. The only other areas that could be improved were the medals and shirts, and that might be nitpicking. The shirt was a nice long sleeve technical, but the design was nothing special. Additionally, the medals were OK, but pale in comparison to many other marathons. Again, this is nitpicking, and wouldn’t keep me from recommending the event. The Icebreaker was my 20th marathon and I would rate it in the top third of those that I have run, and I have run some great events. I rate it as a 7.5 on a 10 point scale, which puts it ahead of all four of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Events I have run. Considering that I ran the entire race with a painful IT band injury and still had these positive feelings, that is a pretty strong statement. With this being just the second year of its existence, the InStep Icebreaker will only get better. I look forward to doing it often. – Greg Goebel