NBR Stats:
| Jen McNamee | 1:36:32 | 2nd in 2529 | Age Group! |
| Philip Chiu | 1:37:34 | 14th in 3034 | Age Group! |
| Jennifer Herr | 2:05:26 | Hey, I finished! |
Today, I ran the most beautiful and challenging half marathon course in my racing career, and strongly believe NBR needs to hear about it. The West Point Half Marathon was opened up to noncadet/civilian participation for the first time this year, and three of us jumped at the opportunity to run it. I enjoyed the chilly morning trek to Upstate New York with my fellow NBRs Philip Chiu and Jen McNamee.
This race paid homage to the United States military, as only an elite Army University could do.Phil and I warmed up on the Mieche Stadium field as military trained parachuters dove down to welcome the runners (and then helicoptered away.) There were great crowds of runners from the Navy, Team RWB (military veterans,) the NYPD and of course the West Point Army Cadets. Each mile marker on the course identified a “fallen cadet” of West Point, who had lost their life fighting for our country. I witnessed army recruits dropping and doing pushups at each of these markers along the course as a way of honoring these men.
My ultimate reason for feeling compelled to write this race report, however, is THE COURSE. While the route was beautiful and historic, with mountain and river views at a famed elite military school campus… the term “Hilly” does not do it justice. West Point provided a course map on their website which identified 4 areas in red that represented large inclines. (Up to 8 flights of stairs in elevation change, they said.) A few highlights on a map did not in any way describe the realities of the run. The entire course was rolling hills with several steep, mountainous climbs and descents in between.
Runners pass Trophy Point during the West Point Half-Marathon Fallen Comrades Run at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. The Hudson River is visible in the background at left.
At the start of the race, miles 1 to 2, the decline from the stadium to the austere riverside felt TOO steep to me and a bit uncontrollable. I was mindful of not pounding out too hard on my knees, but by the time I reached the bottom, felt like the cartoon Road Runner with my legs spinning uncontrollably and no ability to stop. The course then flattened out a bit for a pleasant out and back along the river front with mountain views. At mile 4.5, I realized the red marks on the course map indicated stretches which were so freakishly steep and long, they had no business being included in a half marathon course. A half mile winding strip of what seemed to be a 45 degree incline up into the campus may have been the most difficult portion of running I’ve ever done. Only slightly less difficult uphill battles were fought between miles 6 & 7, 8 & 9 and 12 & 13. With three quarters of a mile left to the race, the last hill felt almost insurmountable even as bagpipers and cheering children beckoned us up. About half of the racers around me had nothing left to give and could only walk up. I did my best to trudge to the top and eek out a finishing kick the last flat 200 meters back into Mieche Stadium.
My mile splits were all over the place. At the “too steep” mile 1 downhill, I managed a best pace of 7:45. My slowest pace of 12:57 came at the final mile 12 hill. Everything in between was a scattered range of low 8:00s to low 11:00s. This lead me to a 2:05:26 finish time, about 9 minutes slower than my personal best half marathon.
The West Point Half Marathon redefines the term “hill training.” I can now look at the Williamsburg Bridge and Cat Hill and laugh. This race was a mountain climb that tested your fitness and determination to the fullest. I chose to zone out and cope with it as best I could.
At the finish line, I discovered that my warrior teammates, Jen & Philip both hit HUGE personal records on the course, which I didn’t imagine possible. (Jen even finished 2nd in her age group!) They both agreed that the difficulty of the course was like nothing they’d ever experienced, yet they were clearly physically and mentally equipped to tackle the task at hand in a much better way than I was. I am in awe of them and challenge any other strong, willful NBR runner to sign up for this race next year. I don’t know that I’ll ever run the West Point Half Marathon again but as a singular experience, I highly recommend the military strength course to any runner looking for a true test of physical strength and personal will.
-Jennifer Herr
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So, HILLS. I signed up for this race without looking at the elevation profile. I looked at the profile a week or two before the race when someone mentioned how hilly it was and when I saw it, I thought “Oh no, Ive done no hills this year.” HILLS! I had no idea what an understatement it was.
Based on the elevation profile and where I am physically, I was not expecting much. The first mile was downhill and a bit crowded: 7:29, “ops, going a bit fast.” Mile 2: 7:20, Mile 3: 7:03, Mile 4: 7:16, Mile 5: 7:20, Mile 6: 7:18, Mile 7: 7:34. As the miles went by, I was clicking off splits below my PR pace and I was feeling in control. I was powering through those monster HILLS early on and passing people easily. By mile 7, I was worried a blow up was imminent because I was going way too fast for what I thought my fitness was but I felt in control still. In my head, I was repeating an old favorite, “God this hurts so good” at every HILL and it was working.
Mile 8: 7:03, Mile 9: 7:32, Mile 10: 7:04. The miles continued to click off at paces I thought were unbelievable. I was flying up the HILLS and was still feeling in control. Suddenly, around mile 10.5, the wall hit me like Semi Truck. My legs got heavy and refused to turn over. Mile 11: 7:48, Mile 12: 8:15, Mile 13: 9:33, I was in a world of hurt and those HILLS I was not afraid of earlier in the race became cruel and unusual punishment. HILLS, HILLS, HILLS, they were steep beyond belief and seemed to go on forever in those last few mile. After correcting a wrong turn I made, I was able to have a little left to kick to the finish. 1:37:34, a 27 second PR.
I was an Army Infantryman years ago. When we learned an officer graduated from West Point, we looked at him with a higher expectation. As a soldier, West Point is this holy place Ive always wanted to visit and so when I saw this race pop up, I knew I had to do it. West Point lived up to the hype. The buildings at West Point were truly a sight to see and the mountain range along the Hudson was stunning. On one hand, I want to do this race again but on the other hand, HILLS!
-Philip Chiu
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