All winning streaks eventually end. But heading into last Saturday’s 48th Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Hurley, Wisconsin, it appeared Ben and Candice Schneider would continue to rack up victories at the venerable Midwest event that usually fetches 100 to 200 runners for the marathon distance.
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But physical maladies leading up to the race—Ben had an Achilles injury and Candice had just started feeling foot pain—dashed the Schneiders’ hopes of adding to their win streaks in 2016. Each managed to claim a runner-up finish, well back of newly-minted champions August Pappas and Emily Jaehnig.
“I was happy to get through it,” Ben said, “but I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around running my slowest marathon in 11 years.”
It was more than 20 years ago that Ben Schneider got his first taste of the Paavo Nurmi Marathon. He watched the race from his family’s cabin near the three-mile marker on the course as a child, and it sparked his interest in running.
Australian Sprinter, 16, Runs Record-Breaking 200m, Ben teamed up with his siblings in the event’s five-person marathon relay in 2004 and finished fifth in the full marathon the next year. Since then he’s brought his personal best down to a 2:23:56 at Boston in 2014.
Candice began running in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. The couple met in 2008 at the Flying Monkey Marathon, just southwest of Nashville. Ben was victorious there in 2:36, and Candice lowered her PR to 3:46. She has since gotten a lot faster, with a best of 3:05:36 at the Cal International Marathon in 2014.
Troubled by an Achilles injury for more than a year before this year’s run, Ben’s weekly mileage had been cut roughly in half, down from a high of about 110 to barely 50 miles.
“It wasn’t a terrible day for the Achilles, [just] general aching for the first 15 miles,” Ben said. “And then fatigue took over as my bigger problem.” He crossed the line in 2:48:23, a full 15 minutes behind the winner.
An odd foot pain popped up four days prior to the race for Candice, but the early miles went by reasonably well. She even reached halfway in the lead.
Right after, however, she felt her foot “sort of pop or crunch.” The rest of the race, she says, “it was a stabbing pain with each landing.” Adidas Unveils Boston Marathon Jacket.
“It’s more disappointing than I thought it would be,” Candice said. “But you have to be the best athlete on [race] day. And I didn’t show up as the best athlete Saturday. Emily did, and she earned it.”
With both winning streaks now ended, Ben and Candice plan to travel from their home in Minneapolis to Germany for next month’s Berlin Marathon. Neither expects to run strong there, but they’re determined to enjoy the trip even if the race isn’t the highlight.
Running the Paavo Nurmi again—and winning again—is already on the their minds for the future.
“It’s become such a tradition to be up at the family cabin the second weekend of August,” Candice said. “I will absolutely run it again someday. And yes, I’d be determined to win it.”
