Marine Corps 17.75K Race Report

Hubby and I had to get up early the morning of the Marine Corps 17.75K race, before sunrise, before the hot breakfast was available at our hotel. The U.S. Marines are master event planners; when they tell you to be at a shuttle location before 6:00 a.m., you get to a shuttle location before 6:00 a.m.

3,300 runners registered to run this race. Registration opens on February 20 at noon for the March 23 race and sells out in a matter of hours. It may seem surprising that thousands of runners wait by their computers to sign up to race this unusual distance, run entirely in Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia, but (1.) the race is sponsored by the Marine Corps and (2.) finishing the race in under three hours gives you guaranteed access to register for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. (You can read about my registration saga here.) Typically, you must take your chances in a lottery in order to run this very popular marathon.

After boarding the shuttle bus for the short ride to the race staging area, we were greeted by volunteers directing us to a small, lighted tent city in the parking lot of a church. It was still almost an hour before the start of the race, cold, windy and dark. We had picked up our bib the day before at a tiny expo, so we waited in what we thought was the porta-potty line (we later found out that we were actually standing in the waiting-to-get-inside-the-church-to-warm-up line). Ten minutes later we were waiting in the actual porta-potty line.

We shivered and chatted with each other and some other runners, then 10 minutes before the race started, we dropped our warm clothes in a drop bag and lined up in corrals. Actually, the announcer said we were lining up in corrals, but I never saw them. We just lined up where we found an open space.

At exactly 7:00:00, as the sun was just peeking over the horizon, the starting horn sounded and we were off.

After running for a very short time on a highway, we quickly transitioned to a narrow dirt and gravel park road. The road, rutted and full of potholes that had filled up with rain from the previous day, gave the race almost a trail race-like feel for the first four miles, which I liked. The gravel road had some pretty good rolling hills, some of them steep, but none very long.

What I did not like were the very crowded conditions that existed for the first two miles. It was almost impossible to pass the many runners crowded together on the narrow road and hubby and I made the mistake of starting too far back in the pack. This made for a very slow beginning of the race.

Many of the runners ran the race as a training run just to receive the guaranteed access to the marathon. This was good, because it gave the race a laid back atmosphere, but not good since we were forced to slow way down at the beginning of the race.

After the first aid station at mile two, the crowd thinned out and I felt like I had some breathing room which I was very happy about. This was my first race since recovering from a hamstring injury plaguing me for almost two years. My legs felt good, but I was not sure how running over 11 miles would go. The forced slow start of the race was probably a blessing in disguise.

At mile four, the gravel road turned into a paved one and we started climbing. And climbing. The fifth mile of the race was almost entirely uphill. The hill was steep at places, but running on the smooth paved road after four miles on dirt and gravel felt easy and some well-timed walk breaks helped me reach the top of the hill.

At the top of the hill, the road leveled off and running was easy. We were at approximately the halfway mark when I heard a roar off in the distance. Were the Marines practicing with some type of weaponry out in the forest, I wondered? No, as it turns out, it was a group of former Marines revving their big motorcycles and giving the runners some much-needed encouragement.

After we passed the motorcycle cheering squad, we were treated to some sweet downhill on paved road. My legs still felt surprisingly good. Even though I did two marathons last fall and a trail 25K this winter, they were done mostly at a run-walk pace. This race was the farthest I had actually run in a long time.

At mile nine, we returned to the rolling hills of the gravel road. I was beginning to get tired, so the inspirational signs were definitely appreciated.

I almost never check my watch during a race; I like to run by feel, but I had a time goal (actually, more of a wish) for this race and when I peeked at the time at mile 10, I thought I could meet my goal. Hills in the final mile made me miss my goal pace by three seconds, but I was still very happy with my results. I never felt stressed, my injury was not a factor, and I finished feeling happy and strong, ready to push the pace a little bit next time.

Hubby and I collected our medals, got our bags of food, put on our warm clothes, and boarded the shuttle bus to return to our hotel. Happily, they were still serving breakfast when we returned, so we had a hot breakfast before heading home.

I did use the guaranteed access I earned in this race to register for the Marine Corps Marathon in October (Hubby did too), but I would recommend this race even if you don’t want to enter the marathon. It is a well-organized race at a great distance in a beautiful location run on a variety of surfaces.

If you decide to run the race, be sure to train for hills and be prepared for a sort-of-trail experience at the beginning and end of the race, especially if you typically run only roads. Sign up as soon as registration opens, or you will miss out. Oh, and don’t miss the beautiful scenery along the course!

I am linking up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner for Weekly Wrap, Coach Debbie Runs and Train with Marc for Coaches’ Corner, and Jenn @ Runswithpugs, Brandi @ Funnerrunner, Anna Louise @ Graciouswarriorprincess, Briana @ Matsmilesmedals, Meghan @ Meghanonthemove, and Elizabeth @ Trainwithbainfor RIOTS(running is our therapy).