2013 Marine Corps Half Marathon

Yesterday was the running of the 6th annual MC Half - and my second running of the race. It is a great race. Lots of Marines supporting the runners and lots of other volunteers. The people of Fredericksburg go all out, lining the streets and playing music from their houses that line the course. Last year I was a tiny bit disappointed as I wanted to finish under 1:50 but was 32 seconds shy of that goal. This year I had two great races under my belt, a strong Van Metre 5 miler and a strong Cherry Blossom, both where I set personal bests in those races so my goal was to get the 1:50.

For those that follow me you will know that my Personal Best for a half-marathon is just over 1:44. The Marine Corps Half is very different though. It is a hilly course. There are rolling hills all throughout and though they may be small there are lots of ups and downs and they are taxing. Then of course you have Hospital Hill, which everyone hears about and dreads, but those of us that have run it before know that Hospital Hill is followed by a short flat piece and then a climb up and over the highway that is even more taxing.

I woke early and had a good breakfast, Canadian bacon, toast and fruit and headed down to Fredericksburg. I arrived at the start line with about 10 minutes to spare after taking care of all my pre-race stuff - so I was set. I started fairly close to the front of the almost 6300 runners - I think it only took 38 seconds to get across the start line after the gun start. Oh I should clarify - the Marine version of a gun start is a Howitzer. I had planned to start hard and then relax a bit mid-race so I could be ready for the big hills near the end. My 10K split was under 50 minutes - about 8 min/mile. The next 5 K I ran at about 8:15 so I could relax a bit and fuel up for the hill. The next 5K covered the big hills and I kept that at under an 8:40 and finished the last mile plus at the 8:15 pace before I started the hills. It felt really good. The final finish time - 1:48:00 - a solid 2 minutes ahead of my goal.

Next up - NorthFace Trail half-marathon - in two weeks.

Todays Race

Today was definitely an early morning - rising at 4 AM to head to Fredericksburg for the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon.

It should be no surprise that logistically this race is well organized. They had arranged to use a commuter lot 3 miles from the race start and shuttled people there. When I made it to Warrenton at around 6 I was quickly able to get on a bus and head to the start in Fredericksburg - it was flawless.

The race itself was a good race - I had a plan and stuck to it ... mostly. The biggest part about this race is after running 10 miles you get to face the biggest hill. It only rises 150 feet but it does it in about a half mile. And then you get to face a couple of smaller hills. So needless to say the end of the race is brutal.

The weather was good at the start but was a bit warm by the end - but running through the old neighbourhoods of Fredericksburg is great. The people were all out cheering, kids high-fiving and lots of water and the occasional sprinkler.

I did not know how I would do on this race since I had a great Cherry Blossom but had not trained hard since then. I had a goal to finish with a pace under 8:30. Well I finished with a 8:26 pace finishing in 1:50:32 and putting me 780th of just over 6,000 finishers. I was pleased. The cold beer after helped too :-)