Leg cramps began to set in for Brandon Jaeger at the 18-mile mark. Despite the “grueling” last six miles, Jaeger finished the Madison Marathon Sunday, a race he began training for in July.
“Crossing the finish line is hands down the best part of it all,” Jaeger said. “Just knowing that you finished the 26.2 and now all the pain in your legs can be put to a title.”
Jaeger, a UW-Madison junior studying accounting, said he has always been physically active. He completed his first race, the Tough Mudder, the summer before his sophomore year in college.
Following that race, Jaeger ran two half marathons, one in the winter and one in the spring.
“Running the marathon isn’t the hard part,” Jaeger said, “the hard part is all the work that goes into it before hand.”
Focusing his training on time instead of distance, he ran four or five times a week, with an average start time of 6:30 a.m.
“The biggest aspect of [running] and what also might be my least favorite aspect of it is getting up extremely early in the morning to go for my run,” Jaeger said. “It involves a ton of discipline.”
The week before the marathon, Jaeger said he cut carbohydrates out of his diet, replacing the sub sandwiches he usually had for lunch with protein bars and trail mix.
Jaeger’s father, a three-time marathoner, continuously stressed the importance of hydration, advice that Jaeger wishes he had taken more seriously once his cramps began.
“Everyone says that the last six miles are always the toughest part,” Jaeger said. “I experienced it to a whole different level, pretty much peg legging it in my last six miles.”
Jaeger finished in 4:13:58, about 14 minutes slower than his goal. Following a brief hiatus to recuperate, he hopes to continue running and improve his time.
“[Running] has taught me a lot about myself,” Jaeger said. “[It] showed me how far I can push myself to accomplish a goal.”
