Some good news and bad news. I set a new Garmin PR (post-procedure) with my longest run to date. I went off course and added .48 miles to a half-marathon. And, I’m the one who founded and directed this race for 5 years.
The 17th Dahlgren Heritage Rail Trail 50km was held on Saturday, August 2, 2025. I was the founding race director for this event. In 2016, we added an associated half-marathon race. This edition was the tenth 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 five 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 the same number as the record year of 2024.
I plan to run the races I founded or managed until I can no longer run. That “can no longer run” clause is getting closer.
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 leverages the numerous hotels and restaurants in the area to accommodate out-of-town participants.
I’m very familiar with the western 15.5 miles of the trail. It’s that extra .2 miles where I took a wrong turn. Oh well.
The King George Campus of the University of Mary Washington is conveniently located near the trail. We used their parking lot for staging the race. The Friends of the Dahlgren Trail cut a spur from the staging area to the actual rail trail. Additionally, approximately 200 meters of pavement were used at the start and finish to access the spur. Getting to the 15.5-mile post was about .7 miles from the beginning.
I planned to run the 200-meter pavement at the start, then do repeats of short runs and walks. After 6 minutes, I would walk for 2 minutes, repeating this cycle every 6 minutes. The trail is marked with a post every 1/2 mile, starting at 0.0 in the west and going to 15.5. I recorded splits on my Timex at every mile post and the turnaround.
Any finish time would be great, preferably faster than last year, and my spring trail half-marathon time would be ideal. Since the aid stations were 3.3 miles apart, I wore my single-bottle belt with an initial mix of UCAN Energy. I drank during the first walk break after completing an odd-numbered mile. I refilled my bottle with water at the turnaround and the 9.8-mile aid station. On the return, I drank more frequently.
The races were advertised as cupless, meaning each runner had to carry their drinking vessel. To help, the race provided a collapsible, reusable cup at packet pickup. These cups, made of a rubber-like material, hold approximately 8 ounces of fluid. I had two left over from last year and did not pick one up when I got my bib. Since I had a water bottle, I did not carry a cup.
I left Fredericksburg at 5:35 am. The start-time weather forecast was 67 degrees with partly cloudy skies and a 65-degree dew point. By my expected finish time, the temperature would rise to 71 degrees. These are marvelous running conditions for August in Virginia..
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.
I wore my Nike Pegasus 37 trail shoes, shorts over compression shorts, my white FARC singlet, and a ball cap.
My legs felt OK on the pavement when the gun went off at 7:30 am. Once I reached the spur, I began the walk routine and made it to the main trail in under six minutes.
I clicked my watch at every milepost. To 15.5, it was 10:28, and then the miles to 10.5 were 14:26, 13:55, 13:46, 13:52, and 13:39. The final section to the turnaround was 12:16, for a first half in 1:32:28. After mile 4, the front runner came back at me; he was before mile 9.
Heading outbound, when the sun peeked through to the trail, I was having issues seeing the trail and the potential tripping hazards. It may have been the angle of the sun. I shortened my stride to get around the issue. I did not trip heading west.
My running sections felt worse on my return trip. I tried to chase down the person in front of me and passed a few. The bright sections of the trail were still giving me visual issues. I stopped to tie my shoes and fill my bottle at the turnaround. The initial split back to milepost 10.5 was 11:43, and the next 5 miles were 13:48, 14:22, 15:15, 14:23, and 15:23. From 15.5 to the finish was 17:19. My second half was 1:42:12. Miraculously, I did not trip heading east.
It was that last section where I made a wrong turn. I added 8:06 to my time and .48 miles. My final split would have been 9:13. Still, my second half would have been slower.
Outbound, I had many half-mile splits of 6:53. Even with the visual issue, I remained consistent.
While on course, four 50km runners passed me. The 50km started at 6:30 am. With my projected finish time of 3:06, I expected at least eight runners. I don’t know how many passed when I was off course. The first female ran an excellent time, only 24 seconds off the course record. In 2014, Gina Slaby ran a 3:39:26, which was the fastest 50km on trail in the United States that year.
My finish time was 3:14:40, 5 minutes slower than last year. I placed 116th overall, 60th among males, and seventh among males between 60 and 69.
Around mile 11, I started getting a rub on the back of my left foot. I don’t use these shoes often, and they are 7 or 8 years old. Maybe I need to replace them.
Post-race, there were burgers, chips, soda, and beer. I had a burger and avoided the beer. Let’s thank Warren Veazey for his donation of beer to the runners.
Thanks to Arsenal Events for managing this race and the Friends of the Dahlgren Trail for staffing the aid stations and road crossings.
In the “if it’s not one thing, it’s another” category, I thought I drank enough today. The last time I had to go before the race was at 7:20 am. Now home, I finally went again at 3:30 pm. Up to that time, I had drunk 60 ounces of water and a 12-ounce Coke. For the first time, and I’ve run many miles, I had blood in my urine without pain. It was the color of Coke. I’ll drink more water and monitor for fever, chills, and pain. If it doesn’t go away in 72 hours, I’ll be heading to my urologist. Oh, what fun.