Running

My 200th foot race

| edwinridout

Run 34, Sat Aug 8th, 7:30am, my 200th race: 3H Half Marathon, (hazy, hot and humid), on the Dahlgren Trail, King George County, Virginia. 13.1 miles out and back. 2:47:44, 12:49 pace.1st of 5 in M70-79, but 10th of 21 in M50-99.

Fell on loose gravel at mile 6 and again at mile 7 (possibly same spot!)

Ran on 4 hours of sleep. Thought I heard a bobwhite call, three times, near mile 3.

Sunny but mostly in shade, newish trail shoes. At 7:30am start: 73°F, 23°C, Humidity 94%, Wind WSW 2mph, UV 2, AT 83°F, Activity Feel 83°F, 28°C. By 11am arriving home, the car said it was 93°F, 34°C.

Smoke Day

| edwinridout

July 18th, 7am: I stayed home from the Saturday club run due to the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. This chart had got up to 216 on Friday afternoon. I decided Friday evening it wasn’t safe to run; some did the same, others ran anyway. The smart money seems to say don’t go running above 100 because runners inhale by mouth, and wildfire smoke is particularly hazardous.

4th of July 5-Miler

| edwinridout

Sat July 4th 7:30am, Run 28, race, Fallen Heroes 5-Miler, 1:02:47, 12:34 pace, 3rd of 11 in M70-99, followed by hash and eggs with friends at Silver Diner, very hot and humid, at the start: Sunny, 82°F, 28°C, Humidity 89%, Wind NNW 1mph, UV 3, AT 100°F, Activity Feel 100°F, 38°C

Lee Drive

| edwinridout
Running Lee Drive at dawn, I had to clamber over two big trees blocking the road between Lee’s Hill and Picket Circle. Met this friendly park neighbor, busy with his chain saw. He thought my 2014 Hartwood 10-Miler t-shirt might have something to do with hardwood.

Sunrise running

| edwinridout

Sunrises on Pre-Hyperion Run (run before FARC Saturday group run):

7:03am Sept 12th, Ingleside: Edwin, John A, Emma, Rachel, LaTonya
6:45am Sept 5th, Chatham Manor, we face the sunrise: Edwin, LaTonya, Jeff H, Emma, Cat, Karen.
6:12am Sat Aug 29th, we took our sunrise pic a bit too early: Edwin, Cat Norvell, LJ Darcy, John Ashburn, on the UMW shell path.
8/22/2026 6:27am, the VCR Trail at dawn: Edwin, LJ Darcy, LaTonya Turner, Emma Bathkeel, Rachel Gredler, Victoria Ladd. (Jeff Haber just missed the photo.) Serving as our sunrise photo, but the morning was overcast and drizzly and the camera was facing west.
Edwin, Karen Hawkins, Cat Norvell, at the National Cemetery August 15.
Sat Aug 1st, 6:15am at National Cemetery. Hyperion Run extended, 9.57 miles, 1:44:29, 10:55 pace, 1st 5 with LJ Darcy, Emma Bathkeej, LaTonya Turner, Craig Crenshaw, Cat Norvell, Victoria Ladd, then 4 mostly alone on the 5k loop, extended.
Overcast, no sign of a sunrise Sat July 25th, 6:30am at Howison Hill, with Rachel Gredler, Kaitlin Mulder, Emma Bathkeej (?), Cat Norvell, LaTonya Turner.
Made it to Pickett Circle in time for the sun. Solo this time.
Ingleside, about 6/15am 6/6/2026, Jeff, Edwin, Cat, LaTonya
Edwin, Cat, LaTonya, 6am 5/30/26 sunrise, U of Mary Washington
Megan’s Loop by Karen: Karen, Cat, Edwin, May 16th, 6:21am, at UMW bridge.

Megan’s Loop: 6:27am, May 9th, top of Hospital Hill: Cat N, me, LaTonya M.

Megan’s Loop: 4/25/26, 6:45am, the notorious Gordon Shelton Blvd. The spire is actually Wegman’s grocery store.
Megan’s Loop atop Hospital Hill, 6:35am April 18th: LJ Darcy, Edwin Ridout, Karen Hawkins, John Ashburn, LaTonya Miller, Cat Norvell. Joining us a mile later: Nancy Pcsolyar.

On the Higgins Bridge, 4/4/26 7:30am

About 7:15am daylight savings time (said to be sunrise time), at about mile 5 on the group run course, clockwise: me, John Ashburn, Karen Hawkins, Cat Norvell.
Edwin, Jeff H, Cat N at Howison Hill, 6:57am 2/28/2026. Just a hint of a snowbank left over from early January.

Above, sunrise on Howison Hill, mile 4, 7:30am Sat Feb 14th: Edwin, John Ashburn, Cat Norvell.

Looking into the sunrise this time, mile 5, Feb 14th 2026, 7:40am, with the terraced National Cemetery behind us (Civil War, 15,000 Federal soldiers). Me, LJ, Cat, Jeff, John.

John A, Cat N, LJ D, LaTonya M, Edwin R, at Cossey Park 1/17/26. Photo by fisherman Steve (?).
Dec 27th in Pratt Park about 7:40am: Edwin R, John A, LJ D, Cat N.
Departing Lee Drive about 7:15am, Dec 20th: Edwin R, John A, Jeff H, LJ D.
Photo by Karen on the UMW Shell Path about 7am, 10/18/2025: Karen H, LJ D, Edwin R, Brian M.

Below, from Ingleside Drive, 7:15am, October 4th. Running with tall people: LJ Darcy, Jeff Haber, and me, with Falmouth Bridge in the distance.

Below, from Ingleside Drive, 7:05am, Sept 13th, also showing Falmouth Bridge.

Below, Sept 13th, Ingleside Drive

Below, Sept 6th, Fredericksburg National Cemetery:

Below, August 30, UMW athletic fields:

Below, Aug 23rd on the Chatham Bridge:

Below, with Megan McDonald, July 4th on the Chatham Bridge before we went over to JMHS for the race.

Cold morning run

| edwinridout
Almost 7am, Saturday 1/24/2026, St Clair Brooks Park, at about our third mile. Edwin, Cat, John, LJ, Josh. Only the camera noticed the first signs of a sunrise. I was trying to catch the sparkle of Fredericksburg city lights, here barely seen through the trees. It was cold — the app said “12°F, -11°C, Humidity 31%, Wind N 10mph…” It was cold when the wind was blowing, but mostly it wasn’t. Our first big winter snowfall didn’t start until later, at almost midnight. I finished 9 miles at about an 11:30 pace.