Feb 24th, the day before my 27th birthday. It was a fine morning, chilly, but sunny and much warmer than the ICY-8. Pre-race was rather fun. Only three port-a-jons existed, so the male runners (including myself) helped themselves to the nearby treeline for #1's. There was music, bagels, juice and fruit, and the volunteers had a massive bonfire near the starting line with a variety of chairs surrounding it. Some runners warmed up on the road, some on the trail, others elected to do push ups and high knees in the middle of the packet pick-up line. All in all, the atmosphere was very positive and runners were enjoying themselves.
The race director started runners in eight waves, each two minutes apart. The "elite" group started @ 0700, which included runners from all age groups who wanted to compete for prize dollars. I had no business in that group so I elected to start @ 0704 with the 19-29 males. Good choice, because if I had started with the elites I would have been the last male to finish out of that bunch.
At 0704 the RD said "Go" and we started down the out-and-back rail trail course. I ran the Dahlgren Heritage Rail Trail 50k last summer so I was already familiar with the course - straight out, straight back, lined with poison ivy the entire way. As always, a few guys sprinted off the line, probably a full minute ahead of me by the 1-mile mark. I was fine with that and knew I would catch them later in the race. It is rather easy to pick out those who start to fast by watching their form the first 100 meters - if they are flailing about, legs kicking outwards, arms pumping hard, you know they strarted too fast.
One guy let his iPod play without headphones so we could enjoy the Dropkick Murphy's and other Irish punk tunes, whether we liked it or not. Another guy ran in puma soccer shoes and knee socks with two red stripes across the top - he also had a flat top afro, which I thought way cooler than the knee highs. Another in shorts that barely covered his ass cheeks, which I will never begin to understand why guys wear those things. Where do they put it? And how do things not pop out the side during the race? One of the younger guys started way too fast for his ability, which put him right next to me the first half mile, so I talked him through it and reminded him it was a 13-mile race and he needed to pace himself accordingly. Surprisingly, he took the advice and slowed down, and he looked strong when I ran by him on the return route.
At the turn around point I was in 3rd place, I thought. Now, I don't generally talk about placing for multiple reasons - I don't particularly care where I finish, you probably don't care to hear me brag (or complain) about where I finish, and there are enough runners out there who blog about their credentials that you can read for days and still not even cover the Virginia runners. But this race I will mention it since it makes this recount more enteratining for you.
At the turn around point I ate an orange slice and a gel, drank some water, thanked the volunteers, and made my way back down the trail. The best part about this race was shouting motivational slurs at each other on the way back. Since the starting waves were spread out across 14 minutes there were runners spread out across the entire course. I ran past runners almost the entire return to the finish. We said things to each other like "Keep it up" and "Looking good". Two girls high-fived. The tricky part was staying on the trail while passing people - it got thin in some places, and even though poison ivy was most likely dead during Feb in Virgini I still wanted to avoid the brush.
Skipping to the 12-mile point... I approached a guy and a gal running together. She started with the elite runners @ 0700, he was the leader of my wave. I slowly gained on him the entire second half - the rail trail is long and straight so I watched him get closer and closer for a few miles. When I was shoulder-to-shoulder with him I said "who wants it more?" as I made the pass. He said "oh, hell no!" as he scooted back in front of me. He ran in 2nd place the entire race and I knew he was burned out. He was breathing heavy and slowed tremendously after he passed me. I have a habit of being too nice during races - yes, too nice. Cillo at a race is different than Cillo at work. So, I made him a deal... this is where placing becomes pertinent to the recount. We thought I was in 3rd place, thought he was in 2nd, I didn't really care either way because it wasn't a win in either case, so I said "as long as you don't slow down you can take it". He came back with "sounds good man, thanks".
We ran about 200 meters and he slowed down - a moral dilemma for me. Great opportunity for me to make my move. However, I ran next to him again, but this time encouraged him to run faster with the threat of passing him for good - with that he pressed on. That happened two more times within the last half-mile, and I easily could have beaten him by 30-45 seconds. I was still feeling good because I also have a habit of holding too much back on shorter races - I tend to run every race, 5k or 50 miler, as if it is a 50 miler, so I am usually still fairly fresh at the end of shorter races. Haven't quite found the balance.
We finished :01 apart with him in the front. We all hung around after the race, talking about future races and whatnot, and I helped myself to some oranges and gatorade. I wasn't sure when the awards ceremony was to be held but it wasn't important to me, so when I was full and bored I left. The results were posted online a few days later. When I checked to see who finished 1st overall I noticed that I had finished 2nd in my age group, and that when I let my friend finish ahead of me I actually let him win our age group. The runner who won our wave (19-29 males) was a 19-year old college freshman. He won the 19-and-under division. I laughed to myself and wished that I had stuck around for the awards ceremony after the race - it would have been great to see his face when he realized he got first place!
I received my 2nd place award in the mail the following week - $20 gift certificate to the VA Runner store in Fredericksburg. That weekend I used it towards some Honey Stinger waffles, some gels, and a stick of Glide.
Overall, I liked the race a lot and I recommend it to anyone, road runners and trail runners. If you are looking for a tough trail race in the woods with some elevation change then steer clear of this race. But if you are looking for a rather low key trail run that is well-directed with some healthy comradery then this race should be on your calendar in 2014.
This race reminded me that the racing experience is not determined solely by a statistically-appealing finish.
Sorry for not including pictures - I gave my photographer the day off.
End of recount...
Informative and entertaining as usual AJ. Comment on short shorts a hoot. Hug a Marine folks.
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