Running the Sentara Colonial Half Marathon: A Review

The Sentara Colonial Half Marathon was preceded by the Colonial
 Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps (picture by Lisa Jahnke)

Before last fall, I had not heard of the Sentara Colonial Williamsburg Half Marathon. I was familiar with the Run for the Dream Half Marathon, also staged in Colonial Williamsburg later in the year. Turns out the Colonial Half was celebrating its 35th year. Not many races around have a lineage that goes back that far. I signed up and convinced a few of my Cornerstone Strider running pals to join me.

Kevin on his record setting pace! A PR by 3 seconds.
(Photo by Danny West)

As this race drew closer, I began to notice a disturbing trend. Unseasonably warm weather. After all, it was February 23rd. Thanks Groundhog! I say a disturbing trend, because lately, a number of my long races have been on unseasonably warm days: the Crawlin' Crab in Hampton was in the 80's in October, the Seashore 50K was in the upper 60's in December and yesterday it got into the mid-70's in February. Given the choice, I prefer a start in the low to mid-40's. Oh well, you can't pick your weather.

Andrea kicks it into high gear on the back half of the race.
(Photo by Danny West)

Let me say that this is a pretty course. We started on the campus of William & Mary and then headed out along England Street toward Kingsmill. We looped through Kingsmill on Carter's Grove Country Road and then headed back the way we came. A couple of spots in the course were trail and were a bit soggy, but mostly paved trail. If you run this race, be prepared for some hills. I had been warned about that and the warnings were on the money. You hit a hill less than a mile into the race and then regular hills throughout the course. On a seasonable day with temperatures in the 40's or 50's, this would have been a moderate challenge. However, with temperatures in the upper 60's to mid-70's, it really took its toll on your endurance. 

The Colonial Half Marathon course was hilly
including  the uphill after crossing  the bridge
(Photo by Danny West)

I would definitely run this race again, hopefully on a cooler day, but a couple of criticisms come to mind. First, the initial water stop was at Mile 2 and then not another until well into the course (perhaps Mile 6 or 7). Normally, that would not have been a problem, but with the heat yesterday, a more regular spacing of the stops would have been preferable. I was carrying a hydration belt, so I had my own source of fluids, but I saw more than a few runners without anything. Also, the water stops seemed to be just that, I have never run a half that did not have Gatorade or Powerade. Again, on a hot day, water is good, but an alternative would have been better. Second, more than a few cars ended up on the course during the back leg. Not sure if these were Kingsmill residents that could not be bothered to take another route, but the course marshals should have turned them around, absent some emergency. While a cooler day would have been better, the race organizers have no more control of the weather than I do.

Hank and Jeff managed to keep their sense of humor
despite the challenging conditions (Photo by Danny West).