On December 5, 2021, I finished my seventh Blue Gray Half-Marathon. It was not my fastest time. I was happy with the race I ran.
This race is the 21st Fredericksburg Blue & Gray Half-Marathon. Other Civil War Battlefield locations have unassociated Blue & Gray Half-Marathons, the most notably, Gettysburg.
The original Blue & Gray Half-Marathon was held in 2000 on the Dahlgren Navy Base. That course was pancake flat and fast.
The second year’s race was scheduled for September 15, 2001, and was canceled because of September 11.
Because of security reasons, the race was moved to Fredericksburg starting in 2002. The race started near the Hospitality House in the newly developed Central Park and finished downtown on Caroline Street for two years. The course went down Fall Hill in the fourth mile in those years.
In 2004 and 2005, the start/finish venue moved to Pratt Park, and VA Runner became the race’s title sponsor.
In 2006, VA Runner moved their store to Central Park, and for the next 11 years, the race started and finished at their store. At the same time, the race moved to a December date. The courses used in those years consisted of downhill of Hospitalization Hill in the second mile and a return uphill in the eleventh mile. The loops in the city to complete the other eight miles changed over time.
I finished the race from 2002 to 2006. In 2007, Race Timing Unlimited started timing the race. Until 2019, I was the race director for the event, and I don’t run in races I supervise.
In 2017, VA Runner was having some financial issues and could no longer act as the title sponsor. I moved the start/finish venue to Old Mill Park and designed the current course.
Since 2020, Arsenal Events have been the race managers, and I started running the race again. Yes, we held a race during the COVID panic of 2020.
This year, I planned to run the first 5 miles at a relaxed pace then run up Fall Hill the best I could. I wanted to recover in the Central Park section and run as hard as I could to the finish after coming back down Fall Hill. I’d be happy running consistent mile splits and breaking 2:15.
Parking in Old Mill Park is tight for this race. So, I arrived by 6:30 am for the 7:30 am start. I stayed in my car until just before 7 am when I headed out for a 15-minute warm-up mix of walking and jogging. The trees on Chatham Heights still blocked the sun.
After stopping at the restroom, I got back to my car with 6 minutes until the start. I removed my outer layers and donned my race singlet.
The weather at the start was 32 degrees with a 30-degree dew point, no wind, and mostly sunny skies. At my projected race finish time, the temperature was to rise to 46 degrees with a very slight breeze.
With that forecast, I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet over a long sleeve shirt, neck gaiter, gloves, a ball cap, and my Saucony Endorphin Speed 2 shoes. I pulled the neck gaiter up over my ears to keep them warm.
Organizers used three start waves to reduce the congestion in the first couple of miles. I was in wave two, which started a minute after the original gun.
The first 5.25 miles are a loop and a quarter of the Heritage Trail and Canal Path with a side loop on the roads below the college. There are a few sneaky hills on the loop. But, at this point of the race, I didn’t feel the significance. The first 5 miles are 10:15, 10:16, 10:36, 9:54 and 10:09. I took walk breaks during miles 3 and 5 past the water stops. The former break was my longest at 2 minutes. All other walk breaks were about 30 seconds.
Then the course takes a spur up Fall Hill.
Fall Hill goes up 233 feet in just under a mile. The average gradient is 4.5%, with a maximum rise of 12.5%.
The May Historic Half uses the parallel Hospitalization Hill, shorter with a slightly higher average gradient but only a 10.5% max.
In Blue Gray, the significant hill is in the sixth mile, and the Historic Half comes in the eleventh. Though longer and steeper, the sixth-mile hill gives runners time to recover before finishing.
I grind out the sixth mile with a little higher cadence and shorter stride in 10:54.
The course flattens and turns onto Gordon Shelton Blvd, mostly downhill to the slave memorial turnaround. I run mile 7 in 9:49.
Another sneaky uphill comes after the turnaround with the next 1.5 miles, mile 8 in 9:53 and mile 9 in 10:08.
Just past mile 9, I’m running down Fall Hill, and my tenth mile is a 9:27.
You never make up while going down what is lost on the way up. My average pace was 10:08. So, I lost 46 seconds on the way up and gained only 41 seconds going down.
Once at the bottom, the course completes the last three quarters of the Heritage Trail and Canal Path loop with a side loop on the roads of Normandy Village. For good measure, there is an extra down and tough little up in the Village, and I suffered with a 10:15 eleventh mile.
Back on the Canal Path, I’m running as hard as I can. My quads are not very happy with me. Going off the curb at the Fall Hill Avenue crossing was a little harder than jumping up the curb on the other side of the road. Mile 12 was a 10:04, and Mile 13 was 10:00.
I was surprised with my mile 13 split as I thought I was dragging much slower.
I was able to kick a little on the home stretch and finished in 2:12:38, placing 162nd overall, 97th male, and 9th in the 60 and over age group. As typical of our current races, 27 of the 245 finishers were at least 60 years or about 11%.
The temperature at the finish was 43 degrees. I was faster than forecast.
I indulged in a maple-covered Dunkin’ Donut as part of the post-race refreshments. Probably, they have a few too many calories and sugar grams. We’ll see where those land.
With my even mile pace and negative splits, I’m happy with how I ran. I have one more race for 2021, and then I have time to get ready for the spring.