The Perils of Running a Race on a Civil War Battlefield

Last weekend I thought it would be a good idea to run in the Freedom Run, billed as "a run of health and heritage," which took place in Shepardstown, WV. It was the week of the Army Ten Miler in Washington, DC. If you're familiar with my previous blog that I deleted, you will know that the Army 10 Miler has only ended in tears, and I haven't even run the race yet.

I needed a race to run that was a 10K or over, but the only gig in town was that darned Army Ten Miler. I found an inviting alternative in the aforementioned Freedom Run. The course included a tour of a Civil War battlefield and other historical markers, so I decided it was a perfect fit for my history-loving self. The picture above of President Abraham Lincoln was famously taken at the battlefields, and I imagined running on the same fields where he once stood.

I did my best to get to bed early the night before, but I was doing laundry and probably just making myself nervous by procrastinating to fold it. I did manage, however, to put most of my clothes and food out the night before, although I did forget to wash the shirt I planned on wearing, so that cost me an extra hour of sleep. I had to wear that shirt for no particular reason. I had it in my mind and my mind was made up.

The next morning I woke up and showered just in case there were people taking pictures at the race. I arrived in Shepardstown and had a tough time finding a good place to park because the signs weren't that helpful, and if there were any at all then I didn't see them.

Registration and bag drop off were fairly straightforward and well organized. I did my business the best I could at the port-o-potties before lining up at the start. The Freedom Run also comprised of a full Marathon, a 5K, a 10K, a children's run of some sort as well as the Half Marathon that I ran. As I lined up with the runners, I could've sworn that it started at 9am, but a 10K runner thankfully reminded me that the 10K starts at 9:00 and the half marathon begins at 9:05. That would've ruined my day.

As I lined up in toward the front, I tried to jump around and get myself moving. Usually my first mile is the slowest so I don't line up at the very front, plus I like passing people and I despise getting passed. Slow and steady wins the race, says the tortoise. I also have this thing that I do to myself in the first few miles that is really self defeating. I tell myself that I can quit at any time and that I can just walk back to the start line and go home. "It's OK, you can give up. No one will know or care!" Try as I might not to think about it, those negative thoughts always creep up on me.

The first five or so miles are fine. We mostly run through the town and everything is on a slight upgrade. But then at the fifth mile we enter the battlefields of Antietam and it is very beautiful. It reminds me of Gettysburg. What I didn't count on was the battlefield being so hilly. For about five miles or so, the course was nothing but rolling hills -- and I don't even think they are rolling because it's pretty much up and down the entire time. There is nothing gradual about it.

Even this chart seems misleading because it only captures the gradation every half mile, so it misses a lot, and those hills were plentiful. The marathon runners came at us from the opposite direction and god bless 'em because they had to run up those hills at mile 18 or something ridiculous like that. More than a few were walking and I don't blame them at all. I was passed by this guy and who I think was his wife on one of those hills and I felt pretty crappy about that. It's not nice to get passed, especially while on a hill. I returned the favor to some guy on the hill of death (not the actual name), leaving Antietam. Previously at the start line, he claimed he would run a 6:10 pace, but walking up the hill, he clearly wasn't going to make that.

The next few miles are mostly in the shade and downhill. I see a few more marathoners walking this portion and I feel badly for them because it's only going to get worse. Well I'm going along with about three miles to go, and I hear footsteps behind me, but I keep going. Then with about a mile to go, there is this bridge you have to run up to, and it's really steep and you come to the street and I had no idea which way to go. I started running the wrong way until a pedestrian told me I was running the wrong way. A minute later the first guy passed me. I wasn't happy about that. With the finish in sight, I saw as another guy passed me. I was even less happy so I passed him back! And with a sprint to the finish, he beat me by a few seconds. I was mad at myself for allowing that, but I shook his hand because he deserved it.

I ran a 1:25:37 (6:33 minutes per mile), which was only 26 seconds away from my goal time. I attributed it to the heat and the hills. I was going to go to the award ceremony, but I didn't think I was going to get anything, and what's more, I didn't feel that I deserved anything for letting those two guys pass me at the end. (I later found out that I did get 3rd in my age group.) So instead I went to the booths and enjoyed the city of Shepardstown, which is really lovely. I ate at the Stone Soup Bistro and if you ever have the opportunity, eat there! It's great food at very reasonable prices.

Overall I would recommend the race to others who are looking for a tough course. I wouldn't expect to PR there, but I did really like the course and those who directed the race. I believe it was the inaugural run. Great job. There are a few improvements I would like to make:

1) More signs to tell people where to park.

2) More people at the turns to direct people where to run. Even though the finish line wasn't that far from where I went the wrong direction, my brain was fried and I was seriously confused.

3) Warn people of the hills. I'm just sayin'.

4) As always, more port-o-potties.

5) Are there pictures?

The end.

Epilogue: Here I am getting passed at the end.