Annapolis 10 Mile Run

A fantastic day for the 50th anniversary of the Annapolis Ten Mile Run

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The Annapolis Ten Mile Run will always hold a special place in my heart. 

I was mainly a treadmill runner and group fitness enthusiast when I signed up for the 2013 race. I didn’t even really consider myself a runner then, though I had run a few 5K road races. I mainly signed up to give myself something to chase outside of work. At the time, I was covering county government for the local newspaper, making less than $35,000 a year to be available at what seemed like all hours of the days, nights and weekends. It was a lot, and I often felt overwhelmed and wondered what the hell I was doing with my life.

That first year, I ran it extremely hungover (because I had spent the day before partying on my now-husband’s boat) in 1:24 and was hooked. Soon I signed up for a half marathon, then another one. Then a marathon. Then I qualified for and ran Boston– 5 times now! I truly believe I have the A10 to thank for that.

I haven’t missed a year of the A10 since I first ran in 2013, except for 2020 and 2021 when the Covid pandemic forced its cancellation. This year, which also marked the 50th anniversary of the race, was my 11th time running it. 

And I ran my second fastest time ever on the course, finishing in 1:10:50, 10 seconds off my course PR from 2022! I won my age group and yes, got my mug this time – as well as the mug I was supposed to have gotten last year!   

Micah, who turned 50 at the end of August, also ran the race for the second time. He had run the 40th anniversary of the race when he turned 40, so it had been a full decade. He doesn’t run much these days and didn’t train at all, but did pretty well all things considered, finishing in just over 2 hours.    

Much like last year, the weather was fantastic. A little humid, but not even 70 degrees at the start of the race, truly a blessing for late August.

The A10 course is challenging and hilly. But it is also very scenic and there is a decent amount of crowd support for a small town race, which always helps pump up my mood. 

I also know the course very well after so many years of running it, which I think gives me a huge advantage. This was easily my best race since, well, last year’s A10. I ran three 10 milers during Boston prep: The Lewis 10 Miler in 1:18:00 (a prediction race where the first half is straight uphill), the Road Runners Club of America 10 Mile Challenge in 1:14:50 and the Shamrock Shuffle 10 Miler in 1:13:23. I actually won the Shamrock Shuffle, but was disappointed in my time, having expected to be closer to 1:10 in that pancake flat race. I did run it two days after a 20-mile long run, though.  

Aside from my familiarity with the course, this year’s race took place 3 weeks out from my September marathon, the Wicked Fast Poconos Marathon, and I felt like I was in peak shape thanks to many of the workouts my coach has given me over the past few weeks! I’ve run lower mileage this training block, but more workouts– each week has a track workout, a tempo run, and of course a long run, but always with marathon pace miles. It’s been tough, but fun, and I think my body is holding up well!  

The race takes you on a tour of historic Annapolis, starting at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and heading downtown, past the Naval Academy and over the Naval Academy Bridge (a tough climb that rewards you with amazing views at the top), through the Pendennis Mount community and then back over the bridge before ending at the stadium. As I mentioned earlier, the crowd support is great. The midshipmen staff a water stop at miles 4 and 9, and they are always cheering loudly and playing great music. Lots of residents of Pendennis Mount come out to support the runners as we run through their neighborhood. 

But my favorite part this year, hands down, was how many runner friends I saw on the course! I said before the race I probably knew a hundred people who were running, and that’s a low estimate. As soon as Micah and I got to the race that morning, I started bumping into people I recognized. “Geez, do you know everyone?” he said with a laugh. It was such a boost to see and hear “go Allison!” from others on the course. I really felt the love this year! A woman who was running near me around mile 7 even said “wow, you’re popular!” I guess this is what happens when you run your hometown race year after year!  

I kept up with the 1:10 group pretty well, but they pulled ahead somewhere around mile 6. Still, I was able to keep them in my sights pretty much the whole way until the finish line, and so I knew a 1:10:xx finish was in the cards. Around mile 8, I saw Coach Beth handing out lemonade and water. She had told our marathon training group she would be out there with refreshments, which was awesome, but at that point I was in too much of a hurry to stop, ha! She later said my running looked “effortless,” but let me tell you, I was definitely working hard at that point. The second trip over the Naval Academy Bridge was soul crushing!

But I am super pumped with how it went and it was a real confidence booster going into Wicked Fast next weekend. When I ran my A10 course PR three years ago, I went on to set my marathon PR later that fall in Chicago. I know my marathon PR is really solid and will be tough to ever beat. But maybe I can get closer to it than I think. I keep saying I’ll be happy with any time under 3:25, and I definitely think that’s reasonable. Plus, Wicked Fast is a point-to-point downhill– designed to run fast. Let’s go see what I can do out there!

The 2024 Annapolis Ten Mile Run: The one where my time didn’t register

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I ran my 10th Annapolis Ten Mile Run last month. The good news – I ran a 1:11, exactly in line with what I was hoping to run! 

The bad news – there was some timing mat/chip mishap that affected everyone who finished between 1:08 and 1:12, so my time never registered following the race and I missed out on getting an award! 

Sigh. This actually isn’t the first time this has happened to me, but it is always disappointing. 

However, I had a good race nonetheless! If you have followed me for a while, you know I run this race every year and I consider it my favorite. It’s certainly not an easy race. The course is hilly, and the weather is often hot and humid – it always takes place on the last Sunday of August. But it is also a very scenic course, I know tons of people who run it, and the premium is always legit. I always recommend it to other runners! 

This year, the A10 fell at the end of my 2nd week of Ocean City Marathon training, and it also happened to come at a time where we were experiencing cooler than usual weather. Like, my morning runs were in the high 50s some days. In August! In Maryland! This is pretty much unheard of. I think it was in the mid-60s with very low humidity when Shannon and I arrived at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on race morning. Fantastic! 

The race kicks off right at 7, and after a few trips to the porta-potty, I was in the starting corral by 6:50. I saw my friend Trish and a few other runners I know and we chit chatted a bit, then were off! 

Since I’ve now run this race 10 times, and I live locally, I know the course like the back of my hand. The first few miles are fast. You leave the stadium and do a lap around it, then head toward downtown Annapolis and down Main Street (I always have to be careful not to trip and fall on the cobblestones here!) I saw a big crew of She Runs This Town friends at the intersection of Rowe Boulevard and Taylor Avenue, and they cheered for me so loudly, which really pepped me up! 

Then it’s past the Naval Academy, over Weems Creek, and toward the Naval Academy Bridge, which is probably the toughest hill in the race (but it sure is a beautiful view from the top!) I ran these miles with my friend Rich, who teased me that my Alpha Flys were too squeaky. They were being quite noisy! 

I was hanging onto the 1:10 pace group until we crossed the bridge and turned into Pendennis Mount, then they dropped me. I felt good, though, and was maintaining a steady pace in the low 7s and feeling like I could hold it. I crossed the timing mat at mile 5 in 35 minutes and some change.  

The next few miles are always a blur for me, and this year’s race was no exception. It’s more rolling hills through miles 6 and 7, and there’s a turnaround point right before you hit mile 7 so it’s always fun to cheer for friends going the opposite direction. Then you turn out of the neighborhood and run onto Route 450 and head back toward the bridge. Yep, you go over it twice – but by the time you get to the top, you’re in the home stretch! The midshipmen staff the water stop at mile 3.5/mile 9, and they’re always loud and boisterous. They’ll also dump water on you if you ask for it, which I definitely have in hotter years. 

I saw the She Runs This Town cheering squad again about a half mile before the finish, along with my 5 Peaks friends Kelly and Matt (Matt was supposed to run, too, but injured his ankle.) And before I knew it, I was making that final right turn and up the last little hill – yes, there is a small hill right there at the finish! I crossed the line, hit my watch and saw 1:11:17. I was hoping for a time between 1:10 and 1:12, but given that I just started to get back into harder training, I wasn’t sure how feasible that was. My fastest time on this course was a 1:10:40 in 2022, when I was in peak shape training for Chicago. Last year, I ran a 1:11:10. So yeah, I was quite pleased! 

I hung out around the finish line for the next hour or so, waiting for friends to finish. As I said, I know a ton of people who run this race! Eventually, Shannon and I headed over to the after party area, where we could get our breakfast beers and listen to a local band, Rickshaw Lizard, play. I was also eagerly awaiting the awards ceremony. In 2022, I won my age group and last year I was the 2nd Masters female, so I assumed my time would get me something this year! 

So, I imagine my surprise when they started handing out awards and I didn’t hear my name – but I did hear the announcer giving out awards to other women in my age group who ran in the 1:13-1:14 range. Huh? That’s when I learned that everyone who finished in the 68-72 minute window didn’t have their time recorded.  

I, along with a few others, approached the organizers afterwards and they reassured us they knew about the error, that we should email the timing company, and it would be corrected in the coming days. 

Again, I was disappointed, but there wasn’t much I could do about it, and I knew I had run a strong race and that was the important thing. Although I did wish they had held off on doing an awards ceremony once they realized the times were messed up. But I took my beer, sat my butt down on the ground with Shannon, and we soaked up the sun and enjoyed the band. I also met a couple from northern Virginia who had been running the race for years – since 1998! 

My mom was actually a lot angrier about the whole screw up than I was. When I was texting her about the race afterwards, she said it was so unfair and they needed to give me my award. She was just absolutely livid on my behalf. Parents! I half thought she was going to reach out to the timing company herself. 

I did email them, and the results were corrected that week. Although I don’t think my time is entirely accurate. I am listed as having run 1:11:31, and even if I stopped my watch a second or two early, I didn’t stop it more than 10 seconds early. But it looks like I am listed as the second place female in the 40-44 age group. So then I emailed the Annapolis Striders, who put on the A10 every year, and they said they would be in touch about getting me my award. (The prizes are great– beautiful mugs from Annapolis Pottery.) It’s been almost a month now and I haven’t heard anything, so I guess I should reach out again. 

I will look forward to running my 11th A10 next year – even though my mom told me I should never run it ever again. Ha!