The 2025 Eversource Hartford Marathon: A Bittersweet Day
by GRP runner Rachel Schilkowsky
I must admit, when I agreed to write this race recap back in late September, I was convinced I would be telling a very different story from the one you’re about to read. I know it’s cliché to say, but my training really did go perfectly. I only had one unplanned day off (and it was because my darling children infected me with norovirus). I hit every workout, including a 16-mile progression where I started at 6:15, ended at 5:40, and averaged 6:00. I set a massive PR in my tune-up race – 54:35 for 10 miles (which is apparently equivalent to a 1:12:49 half marathon). Everything indicated that I was ready to run well under both my PR of 2:38:19, which I set back in 2019, as well as the women’s Olympic Trials Qualifying (OTQ) time of 2:37:00. As a result, I went into Hartford with some big, bold goals, the pursuit of which resulted in a day that can best be described as bittersweet.
The Bitter
Runners typically hit The Wall (i.e. the point of glycogen depletion) in a marathon for one of two reasons: they go out too fast or they don’t take in enough fuel. Me, being your classic overachiever, did both at Hartford. As a result, I hit The Wall right at mile 20 (like a noob), died a painful death over the final 10k, and had to watch my dreams of a big PR and OTQ slowly slip away.
With regards to pacing, although my training did indicate that I was physically capable of running a marathon in the 2:33-2:35 range, I failed to realize that I likely could not do so at the Hartford Marathon, specifically. First, while I certainly wouldn’t say Hartford’s course is difficult, I also wouldn’t say it’s easy. It has a couple of decently sized hills, including a soul-crushing one over a bridge in the final mile, and also has a number of fairly sharp turns. Second, and more importantly, the field is not terribly deep, especially upfront. I probably spent about 22 miles running by myself, which cost me far more energetically (and mentally) than I had prepared for. In hindsight, it’s clear that I should have been a bit more conservative with my time goals and aimed for 2:35-2:37.
As for fueling, there’s really no other way to put it than I just totally dropped the ball both in the race itself as well as in my training as whole. To make a very long story short, I ended up not taking in any fuel until 14 miles at Hartford, which, as any marathoner knows, is well past the point of no return. There were some extenuating circumstances regarding where the elite fluids and on-course fuel were placed, but ultimately the fault is mine for not carrying fuel with me or having a solid fueling plan in general. The harsh reality is that I’ve had fueling-related GI issues in 7 of the 8 marathons I’ve run but simply have not put in the time and energy to address them. Knowing this - knowing that I was probably in the best shape of my life but effectively sabotaged my own race due a preventable fueling error - has been an incredibly difficult pill to swallow.
The Sweet
As disappointed as I may be with my time and self-inflected run-in with The Wall, I am still extremely proud to have won the race. Breaking the tape is something that I never take for granted, first because I know it’s an experience few people ever get to have, but also because I know there will come a time when it is no longer in the cards for me even on my best day. As we’ve all seen with the recent decline of the great Eluid Kipchoge, Father Time comes for everyone sooner or later.
What made the win even more meaningful for me is that Hartford is where I ran my very first marathon back in 2018. I ran 2:41:03 that day to come away with a surprise win and qualify for the 2020 Olympics Trials (back then the standard for women was 2:45:00). To win again seven years later, this time with my two kids waiting for me at the finish line with my husband, John, was a very special, full-circle moment that I won’t soon forget.
I suppose I should also mention that I did technically set a PR of 2:38:15, though 4 seconds over the course of a roughly two and a half hour race is so insignificant that calling it a PR honestly feels a bit sad. Making this ‘PR’ seem even more absurd is the fact that I actually set a bigger PR in the mile earlier this year (7 seconds; 4:47 down to 4:40). Nevertheless, being able to truthfully say that my PR is from 2025 instead of 2019 goes a long way in terms of proving (mostly to myself) that I’m not washed just yet, so I’ll take it.