Friday evening we drove to a campground outside of Lynchburg, did the whole spaghetti and meatballs for dinner thing, and got to bed early. After sleeping lightly and waking several times Friday night, my alarm finally went off at 4:45 and I was up and at ’em. We walked the dogs, got dressed, and made the 25 minute trek to Lynchburg. We arrived at E.C. Glass High School around 6:15, 1 hour and 45 minutes before the start. I was glad the race offered race day packet pick-up. It was supposed to start at 6:30, but their wonderful volunteers already had everything set up and they allowed us to grab our bibs, race t-shirts, and goody bags (a drawstring backpack with some freebies and race advertisements). I failed to get a picture of packet pick-up or the porta potties, but neither had any lines at that point. Another perk of arriving so early was that we got to park very close to the start. Score!

The pre-race 6 miles went smoothly. My legs felt fresh, thanks to a Friday rest day, and the weather was nice and cool (low 50’s). We got back to the truck with a little over 10 minutes until the race start. Just enough time for me to change into a dry tank top, pin on my bib, top off my water bottle, and consume a Power Gel. The start line of the race was very crowded. The race did not have waves, but they did have signs up indicating where you should line up based on expected pace. We were unable to work our way any closer than the 13:01-15:00 pace area.

Just before 8 AM, the anthem was played by the high school band and then we were off. The first 1.5 miles of the race are practically all downhill and I decided to just let gravity carry me. After that we hit some pretty serious uphill for about a mile. There were very few flat sections during this race. For the most part we were either going up or going down. By mile 2 in the race (mile 8 for the day) my legs were starting to feel a bit tired, but it was nothing unmanageable. I kept chugging along, enjoying the scenery and the bands and crowd support along the course. There were some beautiful and historic-looking houses and (unexpectedly for me) a lot of folks out cheering.

We looped through Riverside Park and hit the halfway point, after coming up a short, but very steep, hill. I ate two Cliff Shot Bloks and started making my way back to the finish line. There were some mean hills on the way back, but I also enjoyed running down all of the hills we had climbed on the way out. The crowd continued to cheer for us and I enjoyed a band that was blasting some Jimmy Buffet. I was still running steady. My breathing was relaxed and my legs were feeling lots of fatigue from the distance and the hills.

When we hit 8 miles, I smiled to myself, knowing I had just hit 14 miles for the day. That meant everything from there on was new territory. I ate my last Shot Blok and enjoyed the last downhill before the 1.5 mile-long climb to the finish line, known as the “farm basket” hill (I’m sure there’s a story or reason for it’s name, but I don’t know it). I was feeling tired, but able, during the final climb. Barry caught up with me with about 1/4 of a mile to go and snapped a picture of me. I am holding up 6 fingers for 16 miles.

I crossed the finish line in 1:54:02. Not very speedy, but my overall pace for the day was 11:05/mile, which is perfect for me for a long run. My goal is to arrive at the start line in Charlotte healthy and prepared to tackle the distance. After finishing I was given a medal (with green sparkles on it!) and a finisher’s hat. They had pink, white, and black hats and I chose a black one.

New personal distance record!

The race had quite a lot of talent, with a men’s winning time of 47:34 and a women’s winning time of 55:38. What amazed me was that the 10th place man ran 49:36. Talk about depth in the race field. During the awards ceremony, an 85 year old man named William Draper finished his 40th Virginia 10 Miler in 3:06:49. He has completed the race every year since it’s inaugural event and this year he wore bib number 1.

This race was very challenging, but also a lot of fun. The organizers do a great job and it’s definitely one Barry and I will run again some day. I am interested to see what I can do with the course if I don’t run 6 miles beforehand. But for this weekend, I was very happy to have completed 16 miles feeling strong.

Do you ever make a race part of a training run?

What’s the coolest race swag you’ve ever gotten?
This is the first time I’ve ever gotten a finisher’s hat!