From 2009 to 2019, the Fredericksburg Area Running Club hosted a spring 15km in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia. J Brian’s Tap Room sponsored the race with the finish line in front of their restaurant.
With COVID and other issues, the 2020 race never happened.
Three weeks before the Marine Corps Historic Half, a 15km or 10-mile race fits into most training programs. In 2023, with that in mind, Heppe Chiropractic resurrected the race using the same course, with a modified start and finish to use the new Riverfront Park.
In the past, I had five finishes in this race, the last in 2014. I measured the guts of the current course in 2015. That year, the Heritage Trail was completed. In 2022, I measured the new start and finish location, altering the first and last 3/4 miles.
The course is fair, starting and finishing at the same elevation. Compared to alternatives, this course is flat with a few ups and downs.
I was not sure about the new race director, so I memorized the mile locations from the certification map with identifiable landmarks before the race.
I did my usual status monitors when I got up at 4:47 am. My Kardiamobile reported Supraventricular Ectopy (SVE) for the second consecutive day. My blood pressure was 115/90. The SVE and high diastolic readings were abnormal and concerning.
My plan for the race was a 15 to 20-minute warmup from my house, run the first six minutes, then walk 2 minutes every six minutes after that. The 2 in 6 pattern is what I used in a 10km run three weeks ago. My long training runs have been 2 in 8. My goal for the race was to finish and keep the streak alive.
With a 7 am start time, I headed out my door at 6:33 for more walking than running to the start. After getting to the start, I put my bag under the Arsenal timing table and moseyed to the back of the start pack.
I wore shorts over compression shorts, a white FARC singlet, a ball cap, and my Saucony Triumph 22 shoes. Weather conditions at the start were 66 degrees with a 64-degree dew point, cloudy skies, and light wind. The weather radar had a front with rain starting at 8 am. At my current speed, warm, humid weather doesn’t slow me much.
They had 125 registered runners with about 109 starters.
The gun goes off, and we’re running west on Sophia Street. I’m running relaxed and easy. There were a few roadblocks to go around. But most of the pack was pulling away.
The trail bike comes up behind me when I start my first walk break on Sophia Street. I asked her if I was DFL. She told me there was a handful of people behind me.
Before the first-mile marker, I’m the only one running the left tangent. My first mile was 11:27.
The route turns onto the Heritage Trail past Old Mill Park a quarter mile later. The first section is rolling ups and downs, with one long uphill under the Falmouth Bridge. We continued along the river and arrived at the 2-mile marker and a water station. My second-mile split was 12:14, a pace I was expecting.
Around 7:30, there were a few sprinkles of rain. I was concerned that the last 7 miles would be wet. It stopped after a few minutes.
Before I reached the three-mile sign, the front runners were coming back at me. They were through five miles. I had to run through the next walk break until I reached the turnoff point. It’s vain, as you can’t let them see you walking. My third-mile split was 12:16. The next miles have the most ups and downs. I made sure not to walk the downs. My fourth mile was 12:03. I came back at the last runner before reaching mile 5 in 12:00.
By this time, I could not see any runners in front of me nor feel one coming from behind. I had passed three or four in the past couple of miles. Other people were out running, some from the FARC Saturday group run. From behind, I could not tell if runners were part of the race.
My miles 6 and 7 were 12:28 and 12:16. The seven-mile sign was placed 20 yards short.
There was a water stop after 10km, which I covered in a post-procedure Garmin PR of 1:14:38.
The event included a companion 5km race starting at 8 am. That race merged to run the last 2.1 miles with the 15km. I hit that merge point at 8:40 am. I did not expect to catch the back of the 5km,
My eighth mile was 12:19. The eight-mile sign was placed 60 yards short. The last two miles crossed some major roads. I made sure to run across them to avoid making the officers hold traffic too long.
With about eight-tenths of a mile, the course merged onto roads of my daily runs. I modified my walking pattern to match my daily pattern. While in this section, I see and catch the back of the 5km and a few 15km runners.
Crossing Prince Edward Street, the officer says it’s all downhill from here to the finish. He was the first to make that comment at a race who was telling the truth.
Once across Prince Edward, I stayed on the right side of Charlotte, and the runners in front of me moved to the left side. The last quarter mile is all downhill—many thanks to the Fredericksburg Police staffing the road crossings in this section.
There was no 9-mile sign. I knew where it should have been. My ninth mile was 12:07, and that last .34 miles was 3:17.
My finish time was 1:52:32, which is a 12:03 pace. I’m happy my pace was consistent. I received a finisher medal after crossing the line.
The rain held off until I finished. It started a little after 9 am.
I placed 93rd overall, 49th male, and 7th in the 60- to 69-year-old age group.
Post-race, I hung out under the FARC tent, providing the list of potential Lucky Road medal recipients.
By this time, it had started raining and the medal distributors had abandoned their posts at the finish line. I fretted about walking the five-quarter miles home. A late finisher came to our tent looking for a medal. He couldn’t see where they were being handed out, so I gave him mine.
I qualified for the first piece of the Lucky Road medal at the Stafford Hospital 5km and didn’t pick one up. I received one today.
After the award ceremony finished, I started my walk home. The rain sounded harder on the tent than it was actually falling.
The course was well-marked, and all road crossings were staffed. The people at the water stops were friendly. The water stop on Sunken Road was near Heppe’s house. The neighborhood kids were handing out the drinks there. Grand Prix races always have the most competitive fields of area races.
I have a half-marathon scheduled in 3 weeks. I’ll do my last long training run this coming Friday. Next weekend, I’m working a track meet in Charlottesville on Saturday and the Great Train Race on Sunday.
Today, my heart rate averaged 133 and maxed out at 154 bpm. These are the highest since I stopped Flecainide 5 weeks ago.
When I returned home, I did a second Kardimobile. This reading indicated PVCs. My pulse has returned to below 90, typical for my post-race days.
I watch MeTV, which airs shows from my youth. Emergency (1972 to 1979) is one of those shows. On many occasions, the paramedics have a patient dying on the ground hooked to a two-lead EKG. Their comment is “showing PVCs”. I’m glad to continue moving while throwing PVCs.
My Grand Prix finish streak is now at 61 races. By 2028, it will be in triple digits, and in 2035, I’ll catch Nancy Cooper’s record. On-on.