Today was the start of my 2023 racing season. I wanted to see my response to my improved long runs and training.
I founded the Dahlgren Trail half-marathon in 2010 and was the race director from 2010 through 2020. Arsenal Events took over race management in 2021, and the Friends of the Dahlgren Trail seem happy with Arsenal’s efforts, looking to keep this event going for many years into the future.
The race is run on an old railbed trail. The Navy built the rail line in 1942 to provide supplies to their Dahlgren Base.
There are still trains running from Fredericksburg to the King George County dump. The portion after the dump was abandoned and purchased by a private party, leaving a 15.7-mile-long trail through nature in King George. The Friends of the Trail removed the rails and ties, leaving a nice runnable trail. This race used the 6.55 miles on the trail’s west end, starting at the Rt 605 trailhead.
The Friends have been hard at work maintaining the trail, which resulted in an excellent running surface. However, with the wear on the trail, some buried rail ties are coming to the surface.
This year, the four service academies’ running teams used this race as training for the upcoming Boston marathon. Most of their travel and race expenses were covered by King George Tourism and SimVentions. About 65 runners represented teams from Annapolis, West Point, Colorado Springs, and New London,
The race start time of 9 am was later than most half-marathons. This time allowed me to sleep until 6 am. The forecast was sunny with seven mph winds and temperatures between 33 and 39 degrees. I left my house at 7:40 am and arrived at the trail by 7:55 am. The parking lot was about 98% full, and attendants helped squeeze my car between an Army team van and a pickup truck. I took the next-to-last spot.
I stayed in my car until 8:05 am and then headed for a 1.5-mile warm-up walk.
With the forecast, I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet over a long-sleeved shirt, a knit hat, a neck gaiter, knit gloves, and my Nike Pegasus Trail shoes. I tied a heavier overshirt around my waist, prepared for any potential issue.
The race had one mass start at 9 am. With 225 runners and the trail’s width, I expected significant slowdowns and bottlenecks in the first half mile. So, I was still at my car when the gun went off.
I walked to the porta pots, which had no remaining wait line. Arsenal had four units at the start venue. For almost 300 people, the unit was remarkably clean. After my brief detour, I headed to the start, tying my overshirt around my waist. When the display clock struck five minutes, I was on my way. I could still see the back of the field less than a half mile in front of me.
I wanted to finish under 2:25. I planned to walk the water stops for 2 minutes each,
I felt good in the first half of the race with mile splits of 10:48, 11:03, 11:29, 10:42, 10:49, 10:20, and 6:15. All the while; I’m passing the back of the pack participants.
When I hit the first water stop, the crew of three stood in front of the table, blocking access to the water. I guess they didn’t expect anybody to take water at 1.25 miles into the race. I gave them a “guys, do your job” and grabbed a cup off the table. I walked for about 15 seconds while drinking and started running.
I took a two-minute walk break at mile 2 and a half minute at the 4-mile water station. Shortly after mile 4, the leading runner, Brian Flynn, was returning, hitting 9 miles in 49 minutes. About 30 service academy males followed him before the next local runner appeared.
Just before reaching mile 6, I stumbled on a rock. I was moving well. That was my 10:20 mile split. Fortunately, no one saw my tumble. I hit both palms, my right knee, and my chin. I pulled off my gloves to make sure I was not bleeding.
As I reached the turnaround aid station, I asked Jeff Peterson if he saw any blood and then looked down at my right knee. Two trickles were forming. I asked the aid station for a cloth or gauze to stop the bleeding.
Before turning around, I drank a couple of waters, retied my right shoe, and used my gloves to stop any bleeding. As I left, the aid station people were still fiddling with the first aid kit, and I joked with Jeff, “I don’t think I’ll bleed out.” We’re both on blood thinners.
On the return trip, I concentrated on all the potential tripping hazards and took the smoothest lines. The sun, from the south, cast shadows across the trail that made spotting difficult,
At 5 miles to go, I looked at my knee to ensure no new blood. I walked a little while drinking at the aid station four miles from the finish.
With 3 miles, I asked the person recording numbers for my place. I was 185th. Shortly after, I passed a gentleman who tried to hold my pace. I did a hard 100 meters without issue.
I took a 2-minute walk break at 2 miles to go, then planned to run hard the rest of the way. The aid station was better manned on the return trip, but I still needed to take a cup off the table. A few feet past and my left shoe became untied. I found a stump to fix the issue.
Then it was a push to the finish. I ran the bypass trail rather than between the rails. I could see the orange at the finish with a half mile to go. As I passed a stopping lady, I told her “she could see her destination.”
I pushed the last half mile hard, knowing I was on a time trial for placing. Places were based on chip time, and I gave most people a 4-minute head start.
My return splits were 5:41, 10:29, 10:26, 10:34, 10:18, 11:40, and 9:20. I liked the consistency of miles 8 to 11.
Either my training or asthma drugs are paying off. I was 15 and a half minutes faster than last year,
My time was 2:20:01, finishing 172 overall, 118th male, and 7th of 9 in the male 60 to 69-year-old age group. There were 212 finishers, so I passed 40 along the way.
After finishing, I asked five different race staff members for a first aid kit to wipe off the dried blood on my knee. Including the RD; they could not find it until I grabbed a Krispy Kreme and headed for my car.
After my shower at home, I could not see any punctures in my skin. As Monty Python said, “it’s only a flesh wound.”
Except for the little aid hiccups, the organizers put on an excellent race. The shirt and finisher medals were nice.
I’ve finished 193 Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix races and broke through the 1000-mile mark today. This year was my fourth finish, and fastest, at this race. I’ll go for number 5 in 364 days.