26.48 miles. My race was on Sunday, I flew here on Friday morning. I chose to stay in Crystal City, Arlington, VA. This had me positioned near the race start and finish plus close to the DC Metro subway system for getting around. My AirBnB was very nice, a good place to base camp for the weekend.
Friday afternoon I kept in touch with Dale & Jessica Haines who also arrived in the early afternoon. They were staying at the host hostel, Gaylord National Harbor. This is where the expo was. I took a subway to the Eisenhower Station then a shuttle bus to the convention center. We met and collected our race numbers and shirts. Most of the vendors at the expo were the event sponsors that were on the back of the shirt. I saw a few outliers, Marathon Tours and some drink companies, nothing special or out of the ordinary there for me. I came back, dropped my things in the room and walked to a strip of shops near the Pentagon Mall, a place with restaurants and shops. I had Italian food including a spicy slice of pizza.
On Saturday I met Jessica and Dale at the National Mall for a 2+ mile shakeout run around the Capitol area. This was a Facebook group Jessica knew of, so it was informal and a good number of runners of all abilities. I was a few minutes late via subway, but so were the organizers. Right as I came out of the subway escalator, I saw Jessica and Dale. We ran at the back of the group. Dale has an injured hamstring and has limited run ability. Fine by me, it was good to be out and seeing the various government buildings and Smithsonian museums. The temperature was mid 60s, some of what we were told we’d get for the race. We had a light breakfast (coffee & oatmeal) at Café Parc right near the White House.
Dale & Jessica went back to their hotel, they had an MCM lunch at 1pm. I stayed local and rented the Capital Bikeshare bikes. I took photos and had a good time seeing familiar and new things at my pace. The weather was very good and I wasn’t on any time schedule. I parked and went into the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I hadn’t seen some of the exhibits in many years, the numismatics and Star Spangled Banner for example. I rode one of the bikes back to Crystal City, across the bridge we’d be running on in the race. The bike path back to Crystal City went by the Reagan Airport takeoff area and the waterfront of the Potomac. I parked at a dock near my AirBnB, went back to that for a while, then came back out for dinner on popular 23rd Street. . I chose “Urban Thai” for a red curry chicken meal with butternut squash and some spice. I went to sleep early but woke up a few times at night for restroom breaks. I bought Pedialyte at CVS to drink before bed and in the morning if there was any left.
My shuttle bus to the start area was less than a mile away from where I slept, near where I had eaten the night before. It wasn’t too crowded waiting for the buses, I made it on one and sat next to two ladies that were spectators being driven to the start area. So anyone could use the shuttles! They were nice to speak with and had signs and noisemakers for their runners. We arrived at the Pentagon parking lot and I took time for a restroom break before going to the main start area.
The beginning of the race was well organized, there were many clear announcements about the various start times for the 50k runners, the push rim folks and dual athlete rigs. Our start was near on time, to the sound of a howitzer cannon. Two Ospey VSTOL planes flew over right as the National Anthem concluded. We ran past a MILE 26 sign that showed me where I’d be near 4 hours later, coming up a brief hill to get to the finish line and the Iwo Jima Memorial statue. I started in the 3:15-3:30 group. The 3:30 pacers scampered away from me quickly. I could see them ahead for a bunch of miles, then it became crowded and I stopped noticing them. The road was narrow and there was plenty of jostling happening to attempt to keep pace. My first mile was 8+, which I figured would happen. I felt average, and I didn’t want to press any harder or begin zigging around people. This ended up being good for me though, I wasn’t influenced to keep a certain pace. I knew the earlier miles were where the hills were on this course. I didn’t remember that the tallest one was at mile 3, so thinking it was at mile 6 or 7, I kept looking for a sizable uphill.
All of the hills were gradual and rolling. I saw my pace slow up and speed up coming down. We ran on a 3+ mile spur out & back section. Dale was on the right side of the road as I came into the small town that led to the spur area. This was still on the Virginia side of the Potomac River. I saw my side of the course reach mile 6 while the police motorcycles escorted the leaders who were at mile 9 already. My 5k split was 26 mins and 10k at just over 50 minutes. This area of the course is where we had a few encounters with the hand crank athletes. They couldn’t climb the gradual hills as fast as runners, so we passed them on the left and right. Once we made it to the end of the climb, these people wanted to pass us on the left and the right sides. This had runners moving over, calling out the cycle runners, and or just not paying attention.
The spur wandered first down into a curvy valley then up a slight grade to the turnaround. After making my turn I saw Jessica on my way back, she was easy to spot in her bright 80s themed shirt. This road wound it’s way up to the town again then led us to a bridge over the river. We were now in Georgetown on a wider street and with less runners alongside moving at my pace. It took nearly nine miles, but now I was running easier with less concentration and concern about crowded conditions. This route was flat all the way into the District of Columbia. I knew we were there when the Marine Band played the Marine Hymn on the back stairs to the Lincoln Memorial near mile 10. We ran along the Potomac and around the Jefferson Memorial, then to the Blue Mile at 11.
This notable section starts in a grassy filed with the river on the right side and a quiet golf course on the left. Small blue placards are arranged on both sides of the road with the photo, rank and lifespan details of deceased servicemen and women. This lasted for maybe ½ mile. Then we ran up to a cheering group of blue clad people each holding full sized American flags on white poles. They stood next to the photos of their loved ones that had passed while in the armed services. The runners were silent, the families made all the noise for us. It was a “time out” moment to think about their families and their attending this event for us.
Around the other side of the little peninsula were more views of the golf course and a long row of funny hand written real estate signs to distract us. This led us to the base of the bridge that leads over to Crystal City and again behind the Jefferson Memorial. I tried to figure out how we crossed over or how we’d get next to the runners heading to the Blue Mile but I was distracted by the a high school band and their cheer section. This was past Mile 13 and approaching Mile 14. We came out onto the roads again near the Lincoln Memorial. My hamstring and glute area was sore, I’m guessing from the distance and climbing hills. It was getting warmer, but still not a direct sun experience.
Next on course was the run to the Washington Memorial and the National Mall. This is about at Mile 17 – which is where the first course “gauntlet” was. A place on the course where for later runners, if you didn’t reach there in a certain time, you were directed to continue on a shorter course towards the finish area. Taking this shortcut would shorten the course by 2+ miles and get these runners heading back over the long Interstate 395 bridge back to Virginia. I later learned that the first gauntlet closed earlier than scheduled at noon, only 4 hours into the race.
The second gauntlet was on the other (Virginia) side of the bridge. The bridge was mile 20 to mile 21. When I crossed it, two runners were lying on the ground in the road. One was being attended to by medical personnel, the second was being helped by other runners and one that took charge and looked as if he had medical experience. This was during my time on the bridge which I’d estimate was 2 hours and forty minutes into the race. If the gauntlet times were being adjusted, the heat and humidity were the reason why. I was now running in the sun for the first time. When I got across to Mile 21, we turned into Crystal City to head south for a few miles. I looked for the aid station as there wasn’t a regular aid station on the bridge mile, but one was conveniently located soon after on the streets of Crystal City. We ran to mile 22, turned around and back up to Mile 23. My pace was dwindling but I kept watching my heart rate. I wouldn’t let it get too far into the 160s – that’s where I wanted to keep it. three more miles and I’d be happy to be done. It was warmer out, most of the runners I encountered were passing me, going strong for their 3:3x finishes. I saw one gal that ran ahead and stopped. I told her she could run with me – I’d been near her the whole race, she was strong and deserved a good finish. She pepped up and kept going!
My last two miles had me looking for the distinctive Air Force monument and Pentagon. I knew we had to run past the parking lot where the race began, then past the original starting line. The final “chute” was beyond an underpass and up a short hill to the left. Marines were lining up to shout and encourage runners not to walk up the hill. Some ran alongside the runners to help them by cheering next to them. I made a quick right turn then under the finish line archway that read, “Mission Accomplished!” I received a lightweight jacket, a cold drink, and the finisher medal with dogtag inside. They give that to you right in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial statue.
I saw the girl that passed me before we reached the Capitol building sitting nearby – I introduced myself and we chatted about how she hear people cheering “Go Palm Beach” when she ran behind me and wondered if her county was somewhere on her bib. How did they know she wondered? Her name is Mary from Boca Raton, this 3:38 was her first marathon. I told her about our group and she was welcome to join us for things north of where she lived.
I waited for Jessica to finish while tracking her on the phone app. She did break 4 hours – I texted to Jane & Dale and found her easily getting her medal and finisher’s goodies. We found Dale, took a few photos and got our finisher’s beer. You had to stay in one area to finish the drink. Dale & Jessica went back to their hotel – I took the train from a crowded station back to the Pentagon City Station.
I went back to my house, showered and stayed on the bed watching football for two hours. I wandered around after that – went to Embassy Suites. I met & spoke with a few runners from Washington State. I got a full rundown on the many “tunnel” marathons that happen throughout their summer. Then I went to a local kebob place for a middle eastern meal.
This was a great event and weekend. Washington is easy to get around on the metro system. I’ll do this one again – it’s a winner!
-dm
drun4fun 