R and J in the USA

June 1, 2024

The first race in our 5Ks in 50 States adventure was the Capitol City Chase in Washington, DC. While the District of Columbia is not a state, it is a unit of the United States, so we still had to run a 5K while there as per the rules of our trip. Technically that means our ‘5Ks in 50 States’ is ‘5Ks in 50 States Plus One Federal District’, but that name is not as snappy. So 5Ks in 50 States it shall remain.

The course was a flat out and back along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath in Georgetown, running parallel to the Potomac River, which was just a tree line, staircase, and narrow road away.

As for the race results, well, you get what you pay for. Julie has been training. Ryan has not. Julie got first place in her age group. Ryan got last in his. There may be a lesson in there somewhere.

The race helped raise funds for Warriors Ethos, an organization dedicated to providing assistance in the career planning, professional development, and placement of service members, veterans, their spouses & caregivers throughout their transition to civilian life.

Warriors Ethos connects veterans with the business community and provides them with opportunities to try different real-world experiences in order to gain a better understanding of how some of their military skills translate to corporate America. Service members have the opportunity to learn civilian cultural competency, learn how to sell themselves in an interview situation, and develop the beginning of a professional civilian network. The ultimate goal of Warriors Ethos is to ensure that every service member participating in the program achieves a successful job placement that leads to the start of a successful civilian career.

Detailed Race Report for Running Nerds

Julie came into the 5K having nursed her shins back to health for the last two years with weekly easy runs. When her shins were still in bad shape, that meant one three-mile run per week. By 2024, she was up to 3-4 easy runs per week with a total weekly mileage of a modest 9-15 miles per week. So, when the race started, she had no idea what she would run. She was pleasantly surprised at the half mile mark to see that she was easily keeping her “out the gate” pace just below and above an eight-minute mile, and was confident she could hold onto it for the duration of the flat course before the heat started beating down. It wasn’t until about mile 2.65 that she found herself mildly begging for the finish line to come into sight. That’s when she noticed her heart rate was at a whopping 189! Whoa! That’s WAY too high. It being her first race in three years, Julie apparently had the capacity to run five kilometers at an insanely high heart rate and not notice it. With only her heart rate showing signs of fatigue, and legs that were fine to keep going, Julie crossed the finish line at 25:25 and snagged an age group first-place medal, coming in 28th out of 89 total runners. She paid for that high heart rate for the following 24 hours, but enjoyed the medal nonetheless.

Ryan came into the 5K having pure latent running talent and a history of running in college that was waiting deep within his chiseled calves for its time to come out and strike. For now, since he had done approximately no training in preparation for this race (giving Julie a lovely false sense of security that she might be able to beat Ryan in the majority of their 50 races to come), he started this race with the intention of just shaking out the cobwebs. For this first race, he got out there and took each mile as it came, not trying to be a hero. He went in with a plan to take a two-minute break at the mid-race water station, which he did. A nice flat course to reintroduce his legs to the old familiar movement was just right. He casually crossed the finish line at 33:06, snagging last place in his age group and 82nd out of 89 racers.

Don’t be fooled Julie. Do not be fooled. The stage is set for the hustle to begin. But, for now, Julie walked away proud of a great race and more than a little happy that she beat Ryan, and by so very much.