From the 1970s running boom, the most popular road race distance was 10km. You may remember the pictures of President Carter faltering in the Catoctin 10km.
In past posts, I wrote about the 10km races held in the area in the 1980s. By the time the club was formed in 1994, there were no 10km races in the city.
For the initial year of the Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix in 1995, we wanted to include a 10km in the series. The Colonial Beach 10km was still being held and was included.
Westmoreland County Parks and Rec manages the Colonial Beach races. Before 1995, they held a 9 am 5km race followed by a 10 am 10 km race. We convinced them to eliminate the 5km and start the 10km at 8 am. In 1995, they experienced a field increase of 100%.
Colonial Beach has few hills, and the course was flat and fast. It started at the old elementary school.
Two months before the 1996 race, Westmoreland Parks and Rec decided they did not want to manage it. Since it was advertised as a Grand Prix race, I had to take over as race director.
In 1997, the Colonial Beach High School ROTC program took over as race managers, and the start was moved to the high school. Except for the start and finish lines, the guts of the course remained the same.
The ROTC program continued for four more years through 2001. That was the last 10km held in Colonial Beach for a while. The current courses use an out-and-back format on south of Colonial Avenue roads. The town prefers races not to cross that road.
From 2002 until 2010, the Rappahannock YMCA managed a spring 10km race in the city, usually on Memorial Day.
I don’t recall the course used for 2002 and 2003, but I have a map for 2004 and 2005.
The city allowed us to run through town onto Dixon Street to access the shoulder of Blue Gray Parkway. Parts of the course ran on the college mall.
After two years, with the canal path complete, we were moved off the Blue Gray Parkway onto the roads and paths below the college. This course was used for a spring race until 2010.
For 2011, the Rappahannock YMCA continued their spring 10km. With the opening of the Spotsylvania YMCA, that branch was beginning to manage road races. We wanted to expand into Spotsylvania and added their fall 10km Run through History to the series.
The Spotsylvania YMCA started working with the National Park Service to route their course through the battlefield. For the first three years, a course on the roads east of Spotsylvania Courthouse Village was used. The only parts of the course considered history were the cemetery and crossroads. The course was hilly but fair, with an equivalent climb and drop.
In September 2014, the Park Service allowed access to the roads on the battlefield.
We measured the course weeks for the race. This course has been used since 2014. The layout resembles a classic 10km course, a loop with strategic hills and wide roads with no traffic.
The section through the Spotsylvania Battlefield is scenic, with many historical views and signposts. It is one of Virginia’s fall race gems. This year’s race will be held on October 13, 2024.