Cheryl's First Nordic Marathon. The 20 Mile Syttende Mai.

Cheryl Prepares for Battle!

Heart Of Madison.

 I guess the Norwegians do not add that extra 6.2 miles on the end of their Marathons.  Making this...technically,  Cheryl's 6th completed Marathon overall.   I'm sure that will not hold up under any runner's scrutiny,  But since when am I a purist on anything?   And since when do any runners read this blog.

Cold enough to Wear Gloves?

Cheryl runs by at the Start.

20 miles is still 20 miles!  And if you have never walked/ run 20 miles before ( Heck!  Even I have never Run 20 miles!) then you may not truly know the daunting task it is.  I'm still amazed she runs 7 miles for fun... Daily!   But this was never meant as a run she would brag about;   only a "training" run.

Cheryl at Mile 5.

Cheryl runs by at the First mile.

She was a little nervous at first.  Most of the people at the 20 miler were "runner types" and not walkers.   She thought she would be out of her league and left behind.   The route was shared with walkers and cyclist!  As well as the 10 mile runners  closer to the finish line.   With all those people sharing the route,  the thoughts of getting lost seemed slightly less than first imagined.

She has lost the gloves already.

Cheryl at Mile 11

As mentioned before,  she has not done any "long runs" yet this year.   With Grandma's Marathon coming up,   this was meant as a training run to kill two birds with one stone.   Basically to get a race and a training run completed... AND visit Wisconsin again...  She simply loves Wisconsin for some reason.

Refreshing Ice Cold Diet Coke!

One last sip and she is off.

The cool thing about a race this "small" is that I was able to meet up with her at several points along the route.   Sure I had to dodge several runners, walkers, and cyclists along the way;  but I think my presence made a difference in some way.


For example!  At mile 11 I was able to get Cheryl some Ice Cold Diet Coke.... Caffeinated!  She did not think it would be helpful at first, but then got a slight boost to mile 15.

And another Hit of Diet Coke.

Mile 15.  Adding Gummy Chews

At mile 15,  I scored her some gummy chews ( also with caffeine!)  and another hit of the Ice Cold Diet Coke!  It was a one, two punch that helped push her over the finish line. in fact....

And Past. 

In Stoughton,  Cheryl Runs by.

She was so fast,  she ran by me near the end!  I parked the car and waited for the shuttle bus to pick me up.  By the time I reached the runners,   Cheryl was already running past me.   I called to her, but she told me she simply could not stop.

And far, far away....  bye Cheryl!

I spot her at the "Finnish" line. 

I tried to follow her, but I was carrying her purse, a Big Buddy Drink, ( filled with Ice Cold Diet Coke... Caffeinated!)  A map,  30 extra lbs of fat around my middle, and I'm old, bald and out of shape.    So..  Yeah!  She left me in the dust....

She could not outrace the camera!

Os should I say:  Nordic Line!

The good news was that I still managed to get her pic as she crossed the finish line.  Yeah Ethan!   I'm still Awesome!  Kinda.

Cheryl contemplates her awesomeness.

And poses with the Locals. 

After the race,  there were very few festivities celebrating the runners.   Cheryl got a bagel and a shirt.   She places 4th in her age group... Top three got prizes.   She always has to follow those old lady speed demons.

Showing off her Shirt.

Speaking of Speed Demons!  Cheryl repeatedly mentioned that she "might walk" some/most of the race.   She lied!   She ran the entire THING!   Setting a NEW DISTANCE RECORD and feeling like a million bucks afterwards!   She did mention that she surprised herself.   As for me..  Each time I got to the 5, 10, and 15 mile viewing spot...  I did not have to wait more than a few minutes for her to arrive.   And at the finish... I almost missed her completely.    And I had the advantage of the Subaru!  (2.5 Boxer Engine, and Symmetrical All Wheel Drive!)   So,  Yeah!  She was kinda fast on this one.

Eating  a Wisconsin Brat.

With the hard part done,  we revisited the festival and tried out several of the local dishes that tourist travel miles to experience.  Namely.   The Norwegian Brat.  Cheryl was so hungry she dove right in.   Brats from Wisconsin... IN Wisconsin seem to always taste better.   Perhaps it is the sauerkraut.

Rømmegrot  Bars

Custard in the middle.

We also tried Varme Pølse.  Wrapped in Lefse,  a Norwegian flat bread.  It's basically a Hotdog in a really cool tortilla.  Only the Hotdog is more like sausage and the tortilla is more like an unpuffed  puff pastry.   Very good!

Dangerously tasty.

Rømmegrot  Bars.  Imagine Bread Pudding Custard between two extra thick Pie crusts.   Deliciously sinful!  We did not try too many of these things, since the whole point was NOT to gain weight on this trip.  Still,   Cheryl had not had anything substantial that entire morning.  And if running 20 miles does not allow you to eat a bit more,  then I do not know what else does.

Pusheen enjoying the Nordic Dress.

Hiro... Not so much 

So now we are home.  There was no finisher's Beer or Medal at this one,  but Cheryl still managed to find a few things to commemorate the achievement.   A Viking hat and Norwegian flag.   She could not wait to dress up the cats with both items.   At least Pusheen did not seem to mind.   I'm not sure about Hiro though.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far.  If you find your way out to Stoughton,  you may want to give the Norwegian festivities a try.  I hear there is Dancing, singing,  and a parade tomorrow.  And perhaps it carries on through next weekend.   Thanks for stopping in.