Today was my 19th finish of the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I’m one of 57 who have finished all 19 years and am part of the Iron Mile Club.
I’m ten weeks removed from my second ablation. I ran the 2024 Historic Half 7 weeks after my first ablation. I may have pushed too hard in 2024 to get back to running, thus the second ablation. This time, I’m sticking with staying under 80% of my max heart rate (133 bpm) for at least six months. In the 2024 race, I topped out at 153 bpm.
My only long run in the past 10 weeks was 10 miles 3 weeks ago, when I developed and tested my plan for today: run 30 paces every 5 minutes and drink at least 4 ounces of fluid every 15 minutes. The test was a success. I was going to give it a go. I expected it to take 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete the race.
I measured this course in 2023 for USATF certification and know all the turns, the ups and downs, and mile locations. I planned to run 30 paces every five minutes, maybe taking advantage of downs and avoiding running ups. I set my alert for 80% or 133.
For the fourth year, the race started at 6 am in the block between Gordon Shelton Boulevard and Fall Hill Avenue.
I woke up at 2:45 am and checked the weather. The temperature was 65 degrees with a dew point of 55 degrees. By the 6 am race start, the temperature would drop to 63 degrees with partly cloudy skies. By the time I finished my race, the temperature would rise to 77 degrees.
I left my house by 4:30, heading through town. I noticed the 4-mile sign was in the wrong location, stopped, and told the volunteers there about the situation. During my race, they flipped the two close signs, correcting both locations.
I used Cowan Boulevard to Rob’s Car Wash, behind the stores, to Fall Hill Avenue. After a quick U-turn, I got into the Navy Federal Credit Union parking lot, where I had a pass, looking out at Gordon Shelton and Wegman’s. I had an invite to the VIP tent, which opened at 5:30, so I stayed in my car until 5 am, listening to JFK assassination stories on Coast to Coast AM.
I hung out at the VIP tent until 5:55 am, taking advantage of its porta-pots and bag check. Knowing I’d be in the sun for a couple of hours, I put sunscreen on my shoulders.
I got to the mass of runners and tried to work my way toward the back to stay out of others while walking within 30 seconds of my start.
I did not see any signs for expected finish times or pace groups. During the race, there were no pace groups.
I started my Timex Ironman when the howitzer went off; so much for noise ordinances. I started my Garmin and Timex countdown timer 4:04 later when I crossed the start line.
I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet, a ball cap, and my Saucony Triumph 23 shoes. Wanting to drink every 15 minutes, I wore a single-bottle belt with an initial fill of UCAN energy. Also, I carried two packets of UCAN hydrate to add when I refilled my bottle.
The first miles went well in 15:37, 15:41, and 15:41. The first three miles were more down than up. My legs felt good during my run sections. There is one long downhill section just before mile 3. I ran more than 30 paces, my heart rate was the highest of the day at 129 bpm, and my mile pace was the lowest at 8:26.
Before mile 1, Alan Godfrey caught me from behind. He thought the race started at 7 am and had not made it to the start before the gun. He planned to run 2:15, but wasn’t feeling it and stayed with me to the finish. I had to point out the tangents I was shooting for so he would move in the same direction. With fewer people around me, hitting those tangents was not difficult.
Miles 4 through 6 are either down or flat. My mile times were 14:06, 16:33, and 15;43. I refilled my empty bottle at the mile 4 fluid station. After about 5.3 miles, we passed Bob Platt, who was stretching and had a pronounced lean while walking. He declined when I asked if he wanted me to send help. Then he sat on a porch in the shade. Within a half mile, I saw a couple of Fredericksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad EMTs on bikes and told them about Bob. They headed in his direction.
The sun was out earlier than expected. I hope I did not get a burn.
The next four miles were 15:47, 15:59, 16:04, and 15:54. I topped my bottle at fluid stations in the seventh and ninth miles. In addition to full sunlight, I noticed my fingers swelling a bit, which is an indication of low sodium or overhydration.
In mile 11, we started the climbs back to Celebrate Virginia. My split was 16:00, which got me halfway up Hospitalization Hill. I walked the entire hill, keeping my heart rate under 120. Fortunately, the skies became overcast and remained so until the finish.
Mile 12 is the remainder of Hospitalization Hill and ends at the base of the climb on Cowan over I-95. That mile was 16:25. From the bottom of Hospitalization Hill to the Mile 12 sign, I walked any of the planned run segments that were uphill. Once I got past mile 12, I did not miss a run segment, even if the course was heading up.
My 13th-mile split was 15:28. Runners who had already finished decided walking in the road on the shortest possible route toward their car was OK, rather than using the sidewalk. I held my line. I wonder what they were thinking?
At the 13-mile sign, I decided to run the last tenth of a mile. I started the race running. I needed to finish the race running. The crowd-control barricades started within a few yards. Two larger-than-typical people were standing in the road, on the shortest route, clueless. As I passed, I gave a “other side of the barricades, please.”
I ran from the mile sign to the finish in 55 seconds.
My finish time was 3:26:01, 45 minutes slower than last year and 25 minutes slower than 2024. The unofficial results for 2026 are 3539 of 3681 overall, 2073 of 2126 males, and 36 of 39 males 65 to 69. I felt good about consistent splits, finishing better than planned, and keeping my heart rate under 130 bpm.
I headed to the beer tent and chatted with friends. Because of medication, I could not drink alcohol, so I had water instead. I had a little food at the VIP tent and had to wait until 10:15 am to leave the parking lot, which was closed in with finishing runners.
On Monday, my fingers were no longer swollen, and my KardiaMobile indicated SVEs. The day before the race, I led the 5 km race on my bike and stood for two hours at the FARC booth at the expo. Sunday morning, my Garmin body battery was low. I could have been more rested for the race.