October 2, 2010
http://www.freedomsrun.org/
Allison participated in the 2nd Annual Freedom’s Run Half Marathon in Shepherdstown, West Virginia on Saturday October 2. Despite two absolutely torturous hills followed up with 6 miles of rolling hills (not as cute and cheery as one may suspect), she was able to clock a 4 ½ minute PR while running through arguably one of the most well-known Civil War battlefields.
The 13.1 (I mapped 13.22) mile course leaves West Virginia shortly after the race’s start on the grounds of Shepherdstown University, crossing over the Potomac River and looping onto the C&O Canal towpath. At about the 3 mile marker, runners make a sharp left onto Millers Sawmill Road for a brutal 1.25 mile climb (0.75 miles at 3% and 0.50 miles at 2%). The climb leads into historic Antietam National Battlefield which is littered with rolling hills and another menacing climb around mile 6 (leaving one runner (not me) violently ill on the side). The course leaves the battlefields around mile 9 and continues along Shepherdstown Pike through the town of Sharpsburg and back to the University campus.
A note on the timing set up: I was not aware that the start of the race was a gun start while the finish was chip-timed. Thinking that both the start and finish was chip timed (crazy, right?) I kept to the back of the pack at the start in order to avoid the mass of runners up at the front. As a result, my finishing time of 1:52:24 was officially recorded as 1:55:30. Dagger. My results are as follows:
Official Results
1:55:30
168/657 overall (male and female)
20/95 (females, ages 20-29)
Actual Results
1:52:24
137/657 overall (male and female)
13/95 (females, ages 20-29)
Freedom’s Run is a (relatively) small yet exceptionally well run event (even with the confusion about the chip timing). I tip my hat to those who ran the full marathon; I have no idea how anyone made it through those climbs after 13 and 16 miles! I highly recommend the Freedom’s Run for anyone looking to really (really, really) challenge him or herself or who may be training for the JFK 50 (a good portion of the race covers the JFK’s course). Civil War buffs, too, will get a kick out of running through Antietam, Bloody Lane, passing the Observation Tower and racing by General Lee’s Antietam headquarters.
Photo credits and thanks to http://www.freedomsrun.org/ and http://www.shepherdstownvisitorscenter.com/
