This year was the 18th edition of this race held in memory of Baron P. Braswell II (Deuce), who was senselessly murdered on January 20, 2006. His parents, Gwen Martinez and Baron Braswell, have managed this race all 18 years, with the 2020 race canceled due to COVID.
Without the many volunteers, this race could not exist, as
it is one of the largest races in the area.
With the uptick in violent crime, we need to get the message out that issues need to be resolved by means other than violence, bullying, ranting on social media, and disrupting civil protests and meetings. When will we ever learn?
Fall weather hit quickly. We had a super day to race with a 51-degree dew point, 57 degrees, and sunny skies. On Friday, I joked at packet pickup that I might need to pull out my gloves.
I arrived at Courtland High School around 7:15 am, allowing me to run a 32-minute warmup. I was the announcer for the post-race awards ceremony. So, I roamed around for a while, reviewing the awards and chatting with the timers to ensure they had the correct award breakdowns. On my drive in, I noticed the one and two-mile markers were not in the correct locations. I talked with the course setter to help them with the certification map so they could make the adjustments.
I started my warmup at 7:40 and did four repeats of a 2-minute walk and 6-minute run intervals. After a stop at the restrooms, I got to the start line with about 5 minutes to spare.
I’ve always thought this course was flat. The course starts and finishes on the track, running out and back on Smith Station Road. There was a gradual downhill after mile one that I needed to return up toward mile 2.
Last year, a week after this race, I was in the hospital with A-Fib. Looking at my results from 2022, I was probably in A-Fib during the race. I had already done my Kardiamobile read this morning, resulting in “Normal Sinus Rhythm.”
My goal for the day was to run even splits and break 27 minutes. I had another 5 km race later in the day. I would run this morning race hard and see what I could do this evening. With my age group of Males 65 and over, I did not expect a podium finish. There were five faster runners registered in the age group. I started about 20 meters off the start line with about 100 people in front of me.
Though I did not wear gloves, I wore shorts over compression shorts, my white FARC singlet, a ball cap, and my Saucony Triumph 20 shoes.
It took the entire first mile to thin the field of runners going out too fast. There were a few roadblocks to get around, with younger runners not running at a consistent pace. I went through the first mile in 8:43.
After the turnaround, the course turns uphill for a half-mile. During my warmup, I didn’t notice any wind. However, there was a definite headwind and going uphill. Pressing on my second mile was 8:44.
My note from last year’s race read: “Just before the two-mile sign, I felt like I was dragging a train. The uphills in the last mile felt steeper. I thought I was running an 11-minute mile. However, the third mile was a 9:33.” That may have been a clue.
This year, I was able to keep pushing and didn’t feel a struggle on the third mile in 8:34.
The three-mile sign was at the entrance to the track, which made the last .10686 miles flat. The cheerleaders, creating a funnel at the track entrance, blocked the shortest path. So I was not able to take the direct line. I covered the final distance in 50 seconds for a finish time of 26:52, 106 seconds faster than last year.
I finished 93rd overall, 65th male, and for the second consecutive year, 4th male aged 65 and over. Two of the five registered who are faster runners did not finish.
2023 is the 30th year of the Fredericksburg Area Running Club Grand Prix. Coldwell Banker Elite has sponsored the Grand Prix for the past 29 years. I’ve completed 201 of the 312 series races, and my current finish streak is now at 42 races.
I’ve helped Gwen and Baron for the past 17 years. After a 16-minute cooldown, I emceed the awards ceremony. Post-race, I made sure to drink, stretch, relax, and wait for the 5km at the Stafford Airport this evening, “Go for Bo.” I’m looking at 16 miles today. After all, Saturday is a long run day.