The 16th Dahlgren Heritage Rail Trail 50km was held on Saturday, August 3, 2024. I was the founding race director for this event. In 2016, we added an associated half-marathon race. This edition was the ninth for the 3H Trail Half-Marathon.
I last managed the 50km in 2020 and sold the events to Arsenal Events. They have organized the two races for the past four years.
So, why would someone want to run a 50km or half-marathon in the middle of the summer? The conditions make the 50km a challenge more than the distance. We called the half-marathon 3H (hazy, hot, and humid) and did not need to add any infrastructure. Anyone complaining about the heat only needs to look at the name.
Race participation has returned since the COVID shutdown. This year, there were 300 registrants for the two races, the most in event history.
I plan to run the races I founded or managed until I can’t run anymore. That “can’t run anymore” clause is getting closer. I’m still on a comeback from heart issues this past winter. If I run sensibly, I may be able to complete a marathon this November.
For the two years after selling the event, I ran the 50km. Abiding by my doctor’s guidance, I’ve stopped running ultras and stepped down to the half-marathon in 2023.
The Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail is 15.7 miles long and privately owned. It is open to the public via a free permit. Over the years, we have used Caledon State Park and the western trailhead as the race venue.
In 2022, Arsenal moved the start to the trail’s eastern end. This location takes advantage of the many hotels and restaurants in that area for out-of-town participants.
The King George Campus of the University of Mary Washington is close to the trail. We used their parking lot for race staging. The Friends of the Dahlgren Trail cut a spur from the staging area to the actual rail trail. Additionally, about 200 meters of pavement was used at the start and finish to get to the spur. Getting to the 15.5-mile post was about .7 miles from the beginning.
I’ve joined a “Couch to 5km” program as part of my comeback journey. The term “Couch to 5km” is trademarked by somebody, so the program is called something else, but you get the concept. We’re on week 3. On my own, the longest I’ve run without stopping since my ablation was 10 minutes this past Wednesday.
The program-scheduled workout for today was a 5-minute brisk walk followed by two repeats of a 90-second run, a 90-second walk, a 3-minute run, and a 3-minute walk. I planned to run the 200-meter pavement at the start, do the workout, and then run 150 paces at every mile post. The trail is marked with a post every 1/2 mile, starting at 0.0 in the west and going to 15.5.
Any finish time would be good. Since the aid stations were 3.3 miles apart, I wore my single-bottle belt with an initial mix of UCAN Energy. I drank after every run that started with a .5 milepost and refilled with water at each aid station.
The races were advertised as cupless, meaning each runner needed to carry an individual drinking vessel. To help, the race provided a collapsible, reusable cup at packet pickup. These cups, made of some rubberish material, hold about 8 ounces of fluid.
I left Fredericksburg at 5:50 am. The start-time weather forecast was 78 degrees with partly cloudy skies and a 70-degree dew point. By my expected finish time, the temperature would rise to 85 degrees. This temperature is the highest in the event’s history, and there have been higher dew points.
I arrived before the 50km started and pulled into the UMW parking lot. I found a spot that would be in the shade most of the morning.
Since I was using a water bottle for fluid on the course, I forgot to bring the cup to get water at the start area. Fortunately, I had an in with the race organizers, who gave me a second cup.
When I was the race organizer, everyone who picked up their number before race morning was required to check in that they were starting the race. Another thing I forgot is to check-in.
I wore my Nike Pegasus 37 trail shoes, shorts over compression shorts, my white FARC singlet, and a ball cap. Forgetting that the local deer flies liked dark colors, I wore a blue bandana headband, Three Oops.
My legs felt OK on the pavement when the gun went off at 7:30 am. Once I hit the spur, I started the “Couch to 5km” program,
I clicked my watch at every milepost. To 15.5, it was 10:53, and then the miles to 10.5 were 14:29, 14:35, 14:41, 14:37, and 14:00. The final section to the turnaround was 10:56, for a first half in 1:34:17. During my outbound walk breaks, a few people passed me, which I passed once running again. Around mile 4, the front runner came back at me; he was at mile 9.
I wondered how many people were behind me. As the outbound section continued, I looked at the person in front of me with the goal of catching them.
After the turnaround, I started counting the people still going out. There were 15.
My running sections felt better on my return trip. Still, I wasn’t processing oxygen well toward the end of each repeat. I put a target on the back of the person in front of me, intending to reel them in. I stopped to tie my shoes and fill my bottle at the turnaround. The initial split back to milepost 10.5 was 13:19, and the next 5 miles were 14:47, 14:25, 15:05, 14:34, and 13:35. From 15.5 to the finish was 9:39. My second half was 1:35:32. I was able to pass nine on the return trip.
As I crossed the finish line, Kristen from Arsenal announced my arrival and that it was my brain malfunction to have a half-marathon in the middle of the summer. I replied that “Hot” was part of the race name.
Surprisingly, only one 50km runner passed me. The 50km started at 6:30 am. With my projected 3:10 finish time, I expected at least eight runners, including the first females, to finish before me.
My finish time was 3:09:47, 40 minutes slower than last year and 8 minutes faster than my February half-marathon on the trail’s western end. I placed 95th overall, 44th Male, and last Male of seven between 60 and 69. More than half of the field of 119 were females.
The canopy over the trail and a slight wind kept the course cool. On the open sections at Little Ark Baptist Church and the spur to the finish, the increase in temperature from the blazing sun was noticeable. The race lived up to its name.
For the apocalyptic weather news we are receiving this summer, with “the hottest average world air and ocean temperatures,” the day was typical of summer in Virginia.
Post-race, there were burgers, chips, soda, and beer. I had a burger and avoided the beer. Let’s thank Warren Veazey for his beer donation to runners.
Thanks to Arsenal Events for managing this race and the Friends of the Dahlgren Trail for staffing the aid stations and road crossing.