They call it the Spring Fever 5km. I revert to the original name of Stafford Hospital 5km, which starts at the hospital at Stafford Courthouse.
Mary Washington Hospital Foundation has hosted this race since 2010, including three virtual years due to COVID.
In 2017, I measured the current course for USATF certification. The route goes off hospital property onto Courthouse Road. It then loops through Stafford Middle and Brooke Point High Schools’ lots.
The course is relatively flat, with a few hills interspersed, the largest on the road between the two schools. The start and finish lines are on different roads, but at the same elevation, so all ups are compensated with good downs.
My goal was to keep my heart rate below 120 bpm. Following my doctor’s orders, I went with a walk-only effort today.
I wore sweatpants over boxer shorts, double long-sleeved shirts, a ball cap, a neck gaiter, gloves, and my Saucony Triumph 20 shoes. The weather conditions at the start were 55 degrees with a 35-degree dew point, cloudy skies, and 12 mph winds from the west. I’m not allowed to wear tight bottoms for another week.
They had some parking issues, so they delayed the race start by 10 minutes. Somehow, the group doing the parking set-up was not in sync with race instructions and directed participants to park in the main hospital parking lot rather than the lot near the start/finish, requiring a half-mile walk to the start for those parked there. I arrived before 7:30 am and used the close-in lot.
They had over 500 registered runners with about 440 starters. Not concerned with how fast I started, I lined up about 75% into the field. Kevin Breen walked through the back of the pack and reminded us to move to the sidewalk on the right when the front runners came back at us at the .8 mile mark.
Catherine Norvell comes back towards me, and we chat about her face plant and my opportunities. I’m not paying attention when the gun goes off, so I fumble with my Timex Ironman for a few seconds before starting it. Throughout the entire race, I recorded mile splits on this watch. Even after using an Ironman for 30 years and finishing, I erased rather than saved the splits. But I had a workaround.
I wore a Garmin HRM-Pro Plus chest strap and Forerunner 245 to monitor my heart rate. Crossing the start line, I pressed this watch’s “Go” button. Progressing through the course, the Garmin mile 1 was almost exact with my measurement, mile 2 was a few feet before the sign, and mile 3 was a few feet after the sign. My final Garmin distance was 3.12, so I’m comfortable reporting its splits.
My Garmin watch face showed distance, total time, and current heart rate. I set an alert to signal me when I reached 120 bpm. Throughout the race, I glanced down at my watch to see my heart rate.
After the initial down, Hospital Center Blvd rises to the southern turn onto Courthouse Road. After a flat section, there is a brief down and an uphill heading to Spartan Drive. My heart rate stayed around 104 for most of this section, rising during the ups.
Spartan Drive is at mile 0.8 outbound and 2.3 inbound. I wanted to see if I could get to Spartan before the lead runner was coming back. I didn’t quite make it and moved to the sidewalk for the last 50 feet, hoping those behind me would follow my lead.
Greg McCracken was riding the lead bicycle and telling people to move to their left. That should have been their right so the returning runner could pass on their left. I didn’t hear any collisions behind me.
Spartan Drive is uphill with more uphill onto the connection road between Stafford Middle School and Brooke Point High School. I went through the first mile in 15:08.
Shortly after that, there was a 30-foot drop followed by a 70-foot climb. The climb is the most strenuous part of the course. I noticed my heart rate climbing above 110 and slowed my walk. The highest number I saw in this section was 116 bpm.
At Brooke Point, we do a circuit around the bus loop and return to Courthouse Road. Once back on Courthouse, the course turns downhill, heading west into the wind. With the aid of the slope, I didn’t notice the wind. My second mile was 15:10, and my heart rate returned below 110.
Before reaching Hospital Center Drive, the inclines and wind did not impact my pace. Making the left turn onto Hospital Center, a gust of wind almost knocked me over. Over the last half mile, there were a few ups and downs. My third mile was 14:53, and the last .12 was 1:52.
My finish time was 47:05 chip and 47:45 gun. I placed 285th overall, 127th male, and 10th in the 65- to 69-year-old age group. My recorded average heart rate was 105 bpm with a maximum of 118.
My walking cadence was good at 127 steps per minute.
Though I said the course was flat, the actual ascent is 105 feet, 70 feet in the one hill.
My Grand Prix finish streak is now at 49 races. By 2028, it will be in triple digits; by 2035, I’ll catch Nancy Cooper’s record. On-on.
In its 31st year, this race was the 319th in the Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix series. In this race, the 100,000th finisher in Grand Prix races crossed the finish line. My finish was the 99,949th.
A runner will receive a season-themed medal for each three race finishes in the 2024 Grand Prix. I received my Spring medal today.