Race Name: Shamrock Marathon
Race Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Number of Years Finished: 10
Years Finished: 1994 to 1996, 1998 to 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007
Best Finish Time (Year): 3:23:03 (1996)
Course Description: The course layout I liked best started on 19th Street outside the Virginia Beach Pavillion, heading toward the ocean. We took at right on Atlantic to the Rudee Inlet.
After looping the Rudee Municipal lots, we took a path to the Boardwalk and headed north to the end around 38th Street. We got back on Atlantic Avenue and ran in the right lane until turning inland at Shore Drive.
Going west on Shore Drive was the only uphill section of the course. We may have climbed 20 feet in elevation. Shore Drive had woods on both sides, which provided shade.
Eventually, Shore Drive intersected with Atlantic Avenue at the west entrance to Fort Story, where we turned west, running through the fort. After the east access to Fort Story, we turned around and headed west on Atlantic.
We retraced our route back through the fort, onto Shore Drive, south on Atlantic and the Boardwalk. At 25th Street, we cut past the Norwegian Lady Statue back to Atlantic and a right on 19th Street.
We ran west on 19th Street to the Pavillion driveway and finished inside the Pavillion.
By 2007, when the organizers offered a half-marathon option, the course had changed to start on Atlantic, heading south, completing a 13-mile loop through the Navy Base before completing a 13-mile loop through Fort Story, finishing on the Boardwalk.
The original course had few turns and no hills. Except for wind issues, the route was fast and fair.
What makes this race a special memory: In October 1993, I ran my first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington. Like most people, my initial response to my first marathon was “never again.”
Later in November, I was at a running shoe store in Richmond and picked up a flyer for the Shamrock Marathon for the following March.
In 1993, there was no internet, no FARC, and no running store in Fredericksburg. The only information on upcoming races was flyers, Free Lance-Star ads, and running publications. There were very few race options, and Runner’s World listed most races in the country.
The local Fredericksburg race season spanned April to November. To run a race in other months, we needed to travel. Winter races were limited to the Frostbite 15km in Richmond, Washington Birthday Marathon in Greenbelt, and half-marathons in Hampton and Williamsburg.
After a cold winter, a trip to the beach in March is appealing.
Shamrock’s initial offerings were an 8 am Masters 8km race, the 9 am Marathon, and a 9:30 am Open 8km. Somehow, the pull of a flat course with warmer weather got me to register for a second marathon.
I believe the price was under $20. Being the offseason, rooms at the beach were reasonable.
In 1994, with FARC still in the idea stage, I traveled solo. By 1995, the club started an annual trip to participate in the Shamrock races.
After running 4:18:00 at the 1993 MCM, I trimmed my marathon time at the 1994 Shamrock to 3:56:01. That year, I experienced the races winds, first pushing me and then the problematic headwinds in miles 15 to 17.
Talking with others over the early years, my 22-minute decrease in time was typical for runners doing their first marathon at MCM in the fall and Shamrock the following spring. Most showed a decline of 20 to 30 minutes.
Reasons for the declines could have been better training, the flatter course, or a less crowded field. MCM field size was around 13,000, whereas Shamrock had 2000 starters.
By 1996, I had failed to run a Boston qualifier for the 100th running and turned my training to run JFK. I surprised myself that year by running a 3:23:03, still 2:04 BQ slow, four weeks after running negative splits at the Washington Birthday Marathon.
The 1996 race had moderate winds and starting temperatures in the high 40s. I ran a relaxed effort through the city out to Fort Story. At times, when gaps formed in front of me, I ran brief surges to close the spreads. I recorded near-even splits of 1:40 and 1:43. Strangely, my half-marathon PR is 1:38:30.
After turning around in Fort Story, we hit a strong headwind. I was running with two other people, and we shared wind-breaking duties for the next 2 miles.
By the time I got to mile 17, I knew what a 15km felt like and started running that pace. At mile 20, my thoughts went to running a 10km, and at mile 23, I pushed to a 5km effort.
I had a few hamstring cramps in the final miles that did not slow me down.
When I finished, I was a little sunburnt and smiling. Though, I needed to go to the first aid room to have some foot blisters treated.
The following year, 1997, I ran the Master’s 8km race. We got blasted with high headwinds from the north on the Boardwalk. I remember seeing groups of runners snaking as nobody wanted to be the wind-breaker. The person in front moved to the side, and those behind followed.
After 1997, I made the trek to Virginia Beach seven more times. With the race on a Saturday, I usually stayed two weekend nights to enjoy the holiday from work.
In 2004, I did the drive from Fredericksburg on race morning, completed the marathon, and headed home. That was my only 4-hour Shamrock Marathon finish. 2007 was my last of nine sub 4 hour Shamrocks and the last time I ran a sub 4 hour marathon.
Perhaps, it is time to renew the FARC Shamrock road trip.
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Over the years, I’ve run 141 different races and finished some of them multiple times. To some, this is not a large number of various events. Over the years, I’ve had some memorable races and have been able to rank my favorite races. If I couldn’t visualize the course and remember how I felt, I moved a race down my rankings.
Other races on my list