Race Timing Unlimited and I timed this race from 2009 to 2019. In 2020, Arsenal was to time the COVID canceled race. Arsenal did time the race today.
The race is held at and by Capital Baptist Church in Annandale, Virginia. Pastor Steve Reynolds is the race director and the director of the Losing to Live program that incorporates running to help with weight loss.
Today’s race is the end goal. Participants may run in-person or virtually anywhere in the country. The race has been in existence for at least 15 years.
Organizers always schedule the Losing to Live 5km for the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend.
Initially, I was planning to run the Battling Cancer race today in Fredericksburg. In early May, Battling Cancer organizers wimped out and decided to be a virtual-only event. In late May, I started looking for an in-person race on June 19, 2021, to use for the Battling Cancer virtual result.
So first, I looked on the racePacket website to see what races were in the area without luck. Next, I went to runwashington.com, where the site listed the Losing to Live race with a link to the registration page. The registration process went smoothly with an entry fee of $20 and no service charge. I haven’t seen numbers like that lately.
When I got up this morning, the dew point was 60 degrees, and the temperature was in the low 70s. I was expecting a race temp of 76 degrees.
The first year we timed the race, the organizers had some issues, and runners were going in every direction, with the first runners crossing the finish line under 12 minutes. After 2009, there has never been a repeat of the misdirection issue.
I left Fredericksburg at 6:30 am for the hour drive north. I wanted to make sure I had time to run the entire course before the 9 am start time.
I picked up my bib number and course map and started my warm-up by 7:40 am. I was able to run the entire course by 8:30 am and then another 16 minutes in time to change into my new FARC singlet and arrive at the start line around 8:57 am.
During my course review run with map in hand, I saw chalked arrows in the turns. At about mile 1, I bumped into Bob Platt, who was marking the course. I asked him about his 2021 racePacket Series. He told me he is holding the series. Unfortunately, some runners who ran his series in the past did not get that information and did not attend the race.
This course is hilly and fair. For every up, there is an equal down. The first two miles are downhill with a few ups. So, the third mile is a series of hills with grades of less than 3%. Also, to run a straight line on the winding roads in the third mile, you need to cross from one side to the other.
I’m glad I looked at the entire course. I knew what to expect in the race and determined focus points to help with tangents.
The weather had not changed. Fortunately, the skies were overcast with a temp of 76 degrees.
Usually, before the gun goes off, Pastor Reynolds announces how many tons of weight was lost. I didn’t hear a number this morning. There was a slight delay at the start. I think we started by 9:03 am when he fired the gun.
The race starts uphill. I was about 20 feet off the start line and did not run hard at the gun. Once up the initial hill, I had to start pressing to gain the advantage of the downhills. A small off-road section through a park on grass, mulch, paths, and gravel may have slowed me down. I was able to get past most of the fast and burn starters and finished the first mile in 8:57.
The second mile has the first long uphill section. I geared down, keeping my cadence up and stride length shorter. After cresting the hill and a bit, the organizers placed a water table on the longer side of a curve, where I took a cup of water.
After the aid station, I came upon a taller man with a long stride and slow cadence. He didn’t let me pass. After a sharp right turn, the roadway has a smooth left bend. I ran the straight line to the left shoulder and the taller man and others stuck to the right shoulder. On a track, if I were in lane 1, the rest of the field would have been in lane 25. By the time I crossed back to the right shoulder, I was about 100 feet in front of the tall guy. Somewhere in the curve was the 2-mile marker where I ran the second mile in 8:56.
We next entered the up portion of the course with a hill followed by a little flat and repeat. Most of the field stayed to the right shoulder in this section, and I ran the straight line. I think I passed about ten people in the third mile. The hills slowed my third-mile time to 9:20.
And, I crossed the finish in 27:57. Not great. It was 1:40 slower than last Sunday.
I looked at Gabi’s clipboard and found I finished in 20th place and asked Lynne to look when she could to determine if I needed to stay around for the awards ceremony.
In 20th place, I was reasonably sure I would be in the top 3 men, 60 to 69. I knew of one old guy in front of me and didn’t see any more.
I did a 16-minute cooldown, running backward on the course for 8 minutes. Cathy Ross, the women’s winner, joined me, and we talked about older people running, and she liked my form. She is 49 and likes to know that it is still possible to keep going.
When I was done with my cool down, Lynne told me I was 20th overall, 15th male, and 4th male 60 to 69 years old.
Yes, I was the first loser. I guess I’m just a slow old runner.
Not having to stay for the awards, I ate a banana, drank a little water, and got out of there by 10 am. Traffic was not as lovely driving south. It took me just under 2 hours.
I reported my finish time of 27:57 as my Battling Cancer virtual time. Now, I’m waiting to hear when to pick up my Battling Cancer race shirt.