Potomac Heritage Trail 50k 2010

A more detailed report will follow in a week or so, but meanwhile here are a few photos and comments from Sunday's fun run. Kudos to the volunteers and organizers!

The Potomac Heritage Trail 50k of 2010 takes place on 7 Nov 2010. It begins in the Woodley Park neighborhood at VHTRC member Kerry Owens's home, meanders west through DC to Fletchers Boathouse, and then follows the C&O Canal towpath down the Potomac River to cross into Virginia at Rosslyn via the Key Bridge. From Teddy Roosevelt Island the course goes ~10 miles upstream to the American Legion Bridge. Runners then proceed back to Chain Bridge, follow the towpath back to Fletchers, and then return to the start. My GPS says the actual distance is ~46k.

This year I finish in about 7:14, ~30 minutes faster than in 2009. Perhaps a third of the improvement is due to not getting lost, a third due to better weather conditions, and a third due to running harder.





(map by Google, trackfile plot by GPSvisualizer) |

Coming into the Turkey Run aid station I pull down a glove to flash my "bib number" written on the back of my hand: 99. Really I want to be 999. but during registration Doug Sullivan refuses to give me the extra digit. (photo by Shawn Ferry)

Pimmit Run is rocky, like many of the creeks that the PHT encounters. This year the water is low and I manage to tiptoe across with dry feet. Compare with 2009 where I'm standing almost knee-deep in the stream. (photo by Bobby Gill)

Returning to the Chain Bridge Aid Station with only ~5 miles still to go, the gloves have come off and I show my race number upside down and with an attitude. Too bad I wasn't #999! (photo by Robert Fabia)

(cf. Potomac Heritage 50k 2007, 2009-11-01 - Potomac Heritage 50k 2009, ...) - ^z - 2010-11-12