Rosaryville

Ari Aster movies, COVID, the darkness of the Baltimore Orioles, and the 2025 Rosaryville Veteran’s Day 50K!

I haven’t run Rosaryville since 2018. I don’t know why I waited this long to run it again. It’s not far from me, it’s extremely inexpensive, has cool swag, and a really relaxed vibe.

Rosaryville has results on Ultrasignup since 2010.

Course
Basically, this is a 10-mile loop you do three times; I think you do a little more the first and last loops. It’s not a complicated course and is very well marked.

Race Day
The race starts at 8 a.m., which is amazing. It’s an hour and a half from me, which makes it extremely manageable to get a good night’s rest.

I got to the race with plenty of time and even stopped for food along the way (I usually never have time for this luxury). One thing that really jumped out at me was the temperature. It was dark out when I was headed over, but it was already 55 degrees. I dressed a little on the lighter side and felt vindicated.

When I got there, a volunteer helped me into a spot, then I went to get my bib. On the way there, I saw fellow Fellowship of the Ring runner Karsten Brown! He was wearing a VHTRC shirt. This race always has VHTRC runners there. I talked to him for a minute, then went to my car, got squared away, and headed to a fire they had going. I talked to a wild guy who reminded me of the football player Cam Skattebo. He said he was going for a 4:30 today, and I was like, “Hell no, dude, I’d die.” We laughed and talked about the trail. It’s not a hard trail at all—it’s comparable to Prince William Forest—but if you run it hard like my football player friend, you could trip easily.

Time to Line Up
We all headed over, and I was trying to find a spot to fit in. My goal was to go under 7 hours. I didn’t want to push too hard today but felt like around 6:40 would be a good run for me. I talked to a couple of guys with similar goals and started off with them.

Gooooo
So the guys I planned on running with just immediately disappeared. I settled in running with two women. I talked to one for a while about COVID and movies, especially Ari Aster. Definitely made the time pass, but somehow I ended up getting ahead of her.

Pickle Shorts
I ran with a woman wearing pickle shorts. We also talked about Ari Aster, horror movies, relationships, and the upcoming Taco Bell 50K. She was very wise for a 20-year-old; I was impressed. She was also way too fast—I needed to slow down. I said bye and slowed it down.

Things Get Rough
At about mile 11 or so, after the second aid station—which I blew by the first time, but I had a water bottle and snacks packed—it started to get much warmer than it had been the last few days. I didn’t feel right, so I slowed down and took it easy. I didn’t really have anyone around me for a while. A couple of people passed me, but I was alone during this stretch a lot.

Mile 20
I really slowed down here. If anyone came up behind me, I just told them to immediately pass. I walked more. It wasn’t until about mile 25 that a woman caught up to me. I asked if she wanted to pass, but she said she’d hang, so we talked about a lot of stuff to kill time—relationships, but surprisingly, a lot about the Orioles. The Orioles were by far the most depressing subject discussed all day. They had so much promise a few years ago and now, nothing. It’s rough. It’s easier to quit bad habits or toxic relationships, but I can’t quit this team, and they will contribute to me dying early, I’m sure of it.

We ran together until about mile 30, and then she took off. I asked a volunteer how much farther it was, and they said 3.5 miles. I looked at them with absolute disgust and was like, “Please, no.” They laughed, and I told them they’d been great—other than the 3.5 miles. We laughed, and I headed off.

Final Push
This part right here was brutal. I just wanted to be done. I was moving slow but trying my best. A guy passed me, and I heard others coming. I was just trying to keep the guy ahead in sight and push to keep moving.

It Wasn’t 3.5!
The aid station volunteers were definitely messing with me, but I was okay because I was dreading doing any more miles. The race starts and ends with you running through a field to the finish area. The guy ahead of me was in sight, so I pushed hard to catch up but fell short. But I was done! I got a cup and ate a delicious burger. I changed clothes, said my byes, and headed out.

This race is such a fun time—they take really good care of you. I highly recommend it. Hopefully, I don’t wait another seven years to run it again!

Thank you to all the volunteers, organizers, and runners who made this so much fun!

My major take away from this race is women really love horror movies and real messed up stuff like the Orioles. I didn’t talk as much as I do at most races I do but the conversations I did have were nice. Extremely pleasant group of runners out there!

Photos