Magellan Marathon #98

#99 Dopey Challenge

Getting caught up in my post race summaries! Last week I completed the Dopey Challenge in Disney World for #99, including a 5k, 10k, half marathon and full Marathon. Lots more on that with a full post race summary and some RunDisney tips, coming soon!

But I’ve had a LOT of questions on the SURPRISE 98th marathon I ran in Chile just 2 days after Antarctica. So, here goes: 

These (below) are my people! These are the runners that ran the Antarctic Ice Marathon, took a flight the next day that landed at 5am, got a few hours of sleep and then said “YES!” when asked if they wanted to knock out another marathon continent (cause why not?). PS I need more friend like this … if this is something you would do, let’s chat and do some crazy things together. 

The day after Antarctica was a blur. The logistics company was waiting for good weather to bring in a plane… and waiting… and waiting… and waiting . Around 10pm we headed to the ice runway in groups and started boarding. By the time we landed back in Chile, board the buses for the hotel and got back is was 5am. There was a threat option out there to run another race IF we were back in time. As we waited I thought to myself “surely the race is off”. Turns out, it wasn’t…

Another 26.2 miles. Another continent. Why the heck not? 

Straight of Magellan Marathon #98

This race is created primarily for the Antarctica Marathoners if they want to get another continent in while traveling. It’s also not guaranteed and (similar to Antarctica) its timing is subject to quite a few factors, including flights and sleep. 

The course is run on a running / biking path along the Straight of Magellan waterfront in 8 out and back loops. So that’s about a 5k+ for each loop. Its pretty flat with little grades here and there. For my tired legs, this was appreciated.  

Ted Jackson - Race Czar o' Fun & Social Media

Just like the Antarctica marathon, the race crew was there in full force. Race directors, photographers, coordinators and yes, Mr Ted doing all the live social media updates and generally keeping us in good spirits as we approached 52+ miles in 3 days. 

As were many of the other Antarctica marathoners that are clearly more mentally stable than we were that morning. They came out for 4+ hours and walked, cheered and gave us a good breakup of each 5k. Very thankful for our new friends that are so supportive   

Loops 1-4. The solid road with traction was AH-MAZING after a marathon on snow and ice. My feet took off and forgot that the rest of my body was in “recovery and churro” mode…. Including my GI track. 8:15 pace for the first 2 loops? My body: “GIRL, you crazy…. Let’s 💩”

Runners and Running friends spectating

My GI had shut DOWN after Antarctica. If you are a trail runner or have done a very mountainous marathon, you know the post run burn. All those stability muscles that haven’t been trained as much as your core leg muscles got an extreme workout and want recovery. Lifters- you know that post workout hunger after a hard leg day? Yeah multiply that by 20! That’s how I ate for the 40 hours following Marathon #97 and leading up to #98. I was FULL. 

I had to stop 3 times in just the first half of the race. By the third time, standing up after 35+ miles in just 2 days, my legs were locking up. 

The last 13 miles was a PUSH. My legs were locking up. My muscles were screaming. I was EXHAUSTED. The last 13 miles were pure mental. But this is why I like challenges. It’s a chance for your head to tell your body “you’re wrong… you can do more than this.” 

Finishing a little over 4 hours and an hour faster than my Antarctica Marathon as the first woman in the 2024 Magellan marathon. I JUMPED into the extremely cold ocean to get some much needed leg recovery. Then myself and several other runners hobbled uphill to my favorite place in the entire world… the Christmas Chocolate Store called Chocolatta for much deserved Churros and coffee. 

Shortly after Churros I took a shower and discovered that I was SUNBURNED! As in... the worst sunburn I've EVER had in my LIFE. Note: It was like 40's-50's while we were running. It's such an odd concept that the wind can cool you down so much, yet the sun is SO close and hot that you don't feel it sneaking up on you. The same goes for Antarctica. We were warned to NEVER go outside without sunglasses (just 30 min could cause snow blindness) and the sun (and sun reflection off the snow) was incredibly powerful. Dispite putting SPF 50 on (2X's!!!) I had gotten a little red during antarctica where my goggles didn't cover. Coming back to Chile and running for 4 hours in the middle of the day, certainly didn't help! I was a lobster and would be peeling for a week after. 

I had planned on Antarctica being 97, Disney being 98, than running the Kentucky Horse Capital Marathon (one of my favs) in the spring before the Flying Pig Marathon at my 100th. This surprise #98 has throw a little wrench in my plans. After finishing Disney, I'm at 99 and CANNOT run another marathon until May. WHATEVER WILL I DO???

I’ll have to either skip horse capital or run the first 20 or so and just not finish. We shall see! My goals are ever evolving. 

More soon

Stephanie