Friends

Sunrise running

| edwinridout

Sunrises on the Pre-Hyperion run (the run before the 8am Saturday run from Hyperion Espresso):

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.

Virginia Ten-Miler

| edwinridout

Run 2025-56, Sat Sep 27th, 8am, 51st Virginia 10-Miler, my 28th. 1:49:28, 10:57 pace, 1st of 3 M75-79, 89th of 163 M50+. Beat my 2024 pace by 11 sec. Rained the whole way, sometimes heavily. 68°F, 20°C, Humidity 96%, Wind NE 6mph, UV 0, AT 65°F, Activity Feel 65°F. Below, our team from Fredericksburg Area Running Club (Karen H, John A, me, Jeff H, Brian M, 8:23!), moments before the start, then later at the Waffle House. Winners: Athanas Kioko, 48:14, and Werkuha Getachewali, 54:53. Finishers: 563 women, 836 men. Results of the open team competition: TBA.

Race: Heppe 15k

| edwinridout

Fredericksburg. Karen H and I each got an age-group first place, and Stephen F got a second. Stephen and I formed the entirety of the M70+ age-group. The race directors are chiropractors Erica and Scott Heppe. My time was 1:27:54, average pace 9:26 per mile, overall 45th of 85 runners.

My 25th Virginia 10-Miler

| edwinridout

At the top, 2022 with Allen Vaughan (who was first in our age group). Flashbacks: in 1998, Edwin, Walt, Vic, BJ, Connie (and with those flowers in hand, did both Vic and BJ get an age group place that year?); in 2006, Elspeth and Edwin; in 2009, Tim and Edwin; 2010, Edwin, Sharon, Walt (night before, and after the race); 2011, at the finish. This year, 2022, I ran faster than the year before but placed 4th instead of 2nd in the age group. Should have trained more.

Great Smoky Mountains

| edwinridout

Nov 9th-11th at the Swag in western North Carolina, elevation 5,000 feet.

We started with lunch in their tree house.
A view from the porch near our room
Marty, Sandy, Jan, Edwin, on the guided nature hike
A dozen wild turkeys grazed on the lawn below the lodge but only two would stand still.
Our new Swag walking sticks
While I was out for a run, some hikers told me how to find Ferguson’s Cabin. Built 1874, it’s said to be the highest cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, at 4700 feet.  Fergusons lived and farmed here until 1902, growing potatoes, sliding them down the side of the mountain as there was no road. Cabin was reconstructed in 1974 from original timbers.
Our one full day had perfect weather . . .
. . . but next morning’s jog to the marker atop Hemphill Bald (5,540 feet) was wet, windy, and in the clouds.