08/15/2025:

truly don't like to repeat races. I say that often enough and its true but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. It seems that the Marine Corp races kinda fall under that category. To make it clear, I did their inaugural 50k in 2019. Done and done. Then in 2022, I did the Devil Dog Double which was a 13.1 (Historical Half) followed by a 5 mile race (Semper Five) in May and the 50K again in October. Now I was truly done. Fast forward to now... I have always wanted to do a marathon or such for all the armed forces and now they have that challenge. Problem is it just started and doesn't recognize any that you've done previously so... Gotta repeat Marine Corp and the Airforce Marathon. Of course, Marine corp has a Semper Fidels challenge and here we are. Just did the Historical Half (again) and scheduled to do the Marine Corp Marathon as well. Now this year is actually even more interesting. It's the 50th running of the marathon so I hope they really make a big deal out of it. Also, they aren't doing the 50K this year which I'm happy about. I actually like the 26.2 medal much more than what we got for the 50K so that's awesome. Caught up?

It's a bit crazy to drive out to Viginia for 13.1 miles but I really do need the mental health day so I will take it.

Friday PM, I look up Waze. I know it's a 4 hour drive but Waze says 5. Saturday AM, I run with Wilton and Jamey. Get home and take a small nap and get ready. I'm mostly packed but not really. Look up Waze and we are up to 6. Shoot. I was going to leave at 10am. Now I leave at 9ish. Driving, I'm making a list of things I forgot. Why oh why am I not going through my usual list???

Traffic is heavy. The expo closes at 6pm. My ETA is 3pm but I'm worried. Traffic is heavier. Waze has me getting off the Belt Parkway and into Brooklyn. Wise idea? I do it anyway. It doesn't know about the Brooklyn Half-Marathon. It wants me to cross Ocean Parkway. Not happening. I circle around Brooklyn. Stress level is through the roof. I call Jamey who puts up a message on the Marathon Maniacs Facebook page. Mikey does it on the Half-Fanatic page as well. I found someone on FB and reach out to him but that's a no-g- either. I'm freaking out. I call anyone I know who might be going. Nada. Stressed. I finally figure out a way to get back to the Belt. Lots of EMS vehicles screaming by. Jamey said nothing happened. I'm worried.

I'm worried but at least moving.

ETA is slowly slipping from 3pm to 4pm. Not comfortable. Every time I stop, I lose double the time. I've noticed this before. You stop for 10 minutes, Waze penalizes you by 20 minutes.

Driving. I don't know why but I decide tp check my phone. I never do. But I do this time. There's a message from someone I don't know. She says, "I'm at the expo. Do you still need a pickup?". Oh. My. God. I send her my number and ask her to please call. She is awesome. I thank her profusly. What a gift. She finds out that she only needs my QR code. No picture idea required. I pullover on the highway and send it. She texts back with DONE! I call her again. I now refer to her as "Savior". That's what my contact for her is. She texts me her hotel address and I can now breathe again.

We meet at 4:15. I guess I could have gotten to the expo but I do remember the expo parking being sucky and truly it intimidates me. I don't need the expo. I need my bib. From there to the hotel and try to relax.

I snacked the whole way so not sure if I should eat or not. I try to relax tho. Race starts at 6am so early wake up. I end up sleeping 2.5 hours but that's ok.

Woke up early and did my thang. Drove to race site. Easy parking. Walked to the start. Talked to some people. Talked to a marine. Spectated at a dude delivering water screaming at this woman who was in charge. He really let her have it. Dude... Take a chill pill.

Eventually lined up and off we went.

For the last few months, I've been feeling that my running is not what it used to be. Last few weeks, I've tried to revitalize it. I used to do all my 13.1, sub 2 hours. Wasn't sure if I could do that this time. I decided to try tho. There's the 2 hour pacer leaving me. So, I run up and catch up. I leave them. I'm doing fine. The first mile was a 9 min pace. Mile 2 was 8 something. Too damn fast... My shins are burning. Gotta slow down a little. I leap-frog with them but around mile 4.5, they pass me. Oh well. I just don't see them anymore.

Did I mention that the course is beautiful? Did I mention that the course is really well supported? Did I mention that the course is hilly?

In terms of support: Every intersection has LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers) and marines. Every aid station has about 100 marines. Every so often, out of the blue, there's a marine with a radio.

In terms of beauty: They changed somethings about the course. I definitly don't recognize some areas.

In terms of hilly: Lots of ups and downs all leading to Hospital hill...

They talk about Hospital Hill being the worst. Here's an excerpt: Hospital hill Like the Marine Corps Marathon, the Marine Corps Historic Half in Fredericksburg has its own vertical challenge: Hospital Hill, a 0.53-mile segment of the 13.1-mile course. Runners arrive at Mary Washington Healthcare campus at mile 10.5. Hospital Hill is in the middle of a two-mile uphill climb that peaks at Cowan Boulevard crossing over Interstate 95. The much-talked-about Hospital Hill stretches over 930 yards in which the hill’s elevation doubles from 100 feet to 200 feet, or the equivalent of climbing to the top of a ten story building. Add to this the tease of a slight leveling off partway up Hospital Hill before encountering another eight percent grade. To finish the Historic Half means a runner has conquered Hospital Hill.

So, I get to Hospital Hill and there's a guy who at this point is walking it and he gets on his phone and he says. "I don't know... Maybe I'll just check myself into the hospital now.". He was kidding but before I could stop my big mouth, I yelled to him, "No! You can't check yourself in. Let's go...". Guy looked at me all shocked and said on the phone, "some random guy told me that I cannot check myself in so I guess I gotta run...". I clapped and left him. Me and my big mouth...

I ran up Hospital Hill. They changed parts of the course but not this part. This part still stinks... I did meet a runner at 1 point, whol told me that he's not worried about hospital hill but rather the hill right after it that no one talks about. I forgot that one...

I finish both and looking for the damn finish line. Can't seem to find it. They changed the course. Seems like 2 hours are definitly not happening. Now I see the finish line. I go faster. Just over 2 hours... That's ok.

Straight to the car. Not sure what to do. Try to rest a little and leave or just leave. Pondering thile I change clothes. Decided to leave right away. I wasn't tired and there were a LOT of cars that needed to get out of there. Drove for about 2 hours before I needed to stop and rest. So annoying that a 20 minute rest == 40 minutes on Waze. Even a simple 10 minute restroom break is equal to 20 minutes. It's like every stop you make is worth double the time in delays.

In any case, it took me 8 hours to get to Virginia and it took me 8 hours to get back home. Sucks!!!

Was it worth it? Yes...