Charlottesville Marathon (Read 368 times)

Just a short report. I decided to run something local after going to Boston the last 2 years. A beautiful day for a run. A scenic and challenging course. But they really should close the roads to traffic. I definitely didn’t want to start out too fast, shooting for about 7 minute miles (or more), but most of the first few were under 6:55. My cheap walmart watch doesn’t keep lap times, so I don’t remember very many splits. I think it was around 1:31:00 at the half. At that point we were on a gravel road in the woods which lasted for several enjoyable miles. This was the only time during the race that I ran with someone, a local guy who said he was hoping for 3:15. I thought, “You’re going way too fast for that”, but I was glad for the company so I didn’t say anything. Miles 15 to 17 was an out and back on another gravel road, so I got to see all of the leaders and say “good job”, “looking good”, etc. about 20 times (probably more talking than I should have been doing at that point). With a potty break around 14 miles, and a stop to pick up a gu pack that I dropped at 18, I had slowed to about 2:21 (7:03/mi) by mile 20. Ok, now I’ll go off on a strange tangent. When I dropped the Gu, I was trying to grab a Gatorade, Gu, and water all at once. For some strange reason, this makes me hear George Thorogood singing “one bourbon, one scotch, one beer”. The worst part about the last seven miles wasn’t the numerous hills, but having to watch for traffic and hope they were watching for me. That and having to stop yet again, this time to tie my shoe. (I blame Blaine, whose “I haven't had a shoe come untied for years, since I started using this knot:” failed me at about 21 miles). But I still managed to average about 6:59/mile once the real race started at 20 miles, and I passed 3-4 runners and lots of half-marathon walkers, including the ones who like to walk 3 wide and block the road. (sorry, I’m really not as bitter as that sounds). The last little steep hill at mile 25 felt like it would bring me to a dead stop, but I managed to keep moving and it was all downhill to the finish. 3:04:18, 16th overall, third in my age group, and I could still walk when I was finished. Can’t complain about that. Downtown Charlottesville is a nice place for the start/finish. Lots of neat little shops and restaurants. The band was good, even the cold pizza tasted good. I talked to the young guy who finished second, David Hryuniak, 23, Christiansburg, VA 2:38:51. It was only his second marathon (the first was three weeks earlier. Sheesh). Wow. That report was a lot longer than I thought it would be. Forgive my rambling.

I would say the hills could be intimidating to people who live in the flatlands. I run on hills all the time, and I love charging up a big hill any chance I get. Pretty strange thing to say for a guy who grew up in NW Ohio, the flatest place in the world. It really is a pretty race, as long as you're not afraid of a little vehicle traffic. The hills are my friends.