On August 8, 2009, amateur radio operators from the King George Amateur Radio Operators  (KGARO) and Rappahannock Valley Amateur Radio Club (RVARC) provided communications support to the Dahlgren Heritage Rail to Trail (DHRT) 50 km/31 mi Run.

The trail is a private recreational 15.7 mile route that was an old railroad designed to ferry supplies and passengers to the Dahlgren Navy Base located in King George County (see http://www.friendsdrht.org/). While the trail features a level grade for running, it has limited access points and motorized vehicles are not allowed.

Race organizers requested amateur radio support to provide communications at the aid stations and start/finish point, reporting race progress reports providing public safety.

Lieutenant Steven Lynd, KD4KNR, Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator for King George Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (KGFRES), served as the lead in developing the public safety plan for the event. ARES Emergency Coordinator (EC) David Collins, N4WDC, coordinated the amateur radio plan. The KGARO and RVARC have a good working relationship with King George County Emergency Management officials. County officials include amateur radio in both the emergency operations plan, exercises, and equipment purchases. The amateur radio station at the Emergency Operations Center consists of HF and VHF/UHF voice and data.  Dual band antennas have been installed at every firehouse in the county. This working relationship was enhanced with the recent promotion of Lt. Lynd, who had been serving as amateur radio liaison for KGFRES.

The King George County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) department created a detailed map of the event. One change made to the original race plan was the identification of the aid stations.  The aid stations were numbered in sequential order based on the leg of the run (either outbound or inbound). Because of this, several aid stations would have two different numbers (ex 5, 7).  The decision was made to rename each aid station for the road it was on (ex; Indiantown). 

There were a total of eleven amateur radio operators participating in the event. Amateurs staffed the command post (start/finish), three aid stations, end of trail turnarounds and the ATV “Gator” EMS response vehicle. The communications plan established that a VHF simplex frequency will be used.  Fire, Rescue Chief David Moody allowed the use of a ladder truck to serve as a 100 ft. tower. With the tower, the team was able to cover the entire course by simplex and the aid stations could use HTs.  From the initial planning, the team knew that since the “Gator” didn’t have a mobile public safety radio, the most reliable communications would be via amateur radio.  The “Gator” was staffed by two Fire/Rescue personnel that were also hams. This allowed filling two important duties while being covered by the department’s insurance. Even though the “Gator” personnel had public safety HTs, all communications were handled by amateur radio. Lessons learned include arranging for extra coverage in-case of “no shows,” using detailed maps to assist the support team, and using tactical call signs to avoid confusion.  A suggestion was made for next year's race is to attach an Automatic Positioning Reporting System (APRS) rig to the race “sweep” to track last runner. Representatives from King George Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services, King George Sheriffs Office, Caledon Natural Area, DHRT, Race Timing Unlimited, LifeCare medical transports, and amateur radio worked together to have a safe and successful event. The first runner finished in 3 hr 50 min 10 sec., the last runner made it in by 8 hr 15 min.

Amateur Radio Operators that participated were David Collins N4WDC, Robby Cherry KD4WUO, Jim Steele NX4Q, Joe Hammel N3KWA, Dave Head K8DH, Charles Doyal W4CTD, Barbara Doyal WE4BSD, David Garvin NO3B, Jack Deem KI4ELI, and Steve Lynd KD4KNR. There was a total of 86 hours of planning and support for this event.

Other local amateurs that helped with the planning phase are Tom Harmon AK1E, Dar Horne KD4CVC and Frank Haas WA4PAG.