In late 1993 and early 1994, our founders gathered to develop the club’s mission, purpose, constitution, and by-laws. On April 9, 1994, the Road Runners Club of America recognized the Fredericksburg Area Running Club as a member club.
During these months, co-founder Chris Campbell developed the original club race, “The Downtown Mile.” Chris patterned the race after Blacksburg’s Draper Mile. He had run that race several times while at Virginia Tech.
Like the Draper race, he wanted a point-to-point course without any turns. Draper ran all participants in one race. He broke the race into multiple heats.
Sophia Street was a possible option to control traffic easily. With permission from Officer Jim Shelhorse, FPD, we laid out a course for a summer evening race. Chris selected the third Saturday night in July (7/23/1994) for the inaugural race.
In the months before the race, Chris and I used a walking wheel to measure the course.
Unfortunately, Sophia Street was shorter than a mile. We had to use part of Pitt Street to complete the distance with a quick turn in the first 100 feet.
A benefit of the finish at the City Dock area was the use of Charles and Meredith McDaniel’s property for post-race festivities. They were kind to allow us access for many races over the years.
Also helping us was the Amateur Radio Club to coordinate the start with the computer at the finish.
On race night, we had about 130 runners and three heats. While the third heat was lining up, lightning crept into the area. We were young and foolish. The heat started on time, with runners pushing faster than expected.
By the awards ceremony, we huddled in the dark and rain under a 100-square-foot tent donated by Bailey Funeral Home.
Chris continued as race director until he moved to Asheville, North Carolina, with his family in 1999. During his tenure, the race ballooned to 6 heats and 350 runners. The race was included in a regional series of mile races, Loudon Street, Frederick Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue.
In 1995, I did the certification rides and the above map documents that course using USATF procedures. The first Great Train Race used an uncertified U-shaped route in May.
The city liked the Great Train Race course layout as it did not cross William Street at the Chatham Bridge. Before 1996, I measured this U-shaped course for both races.
After Chris departed, Deborah Nastelli took over as race director, and sometime before 2004, Deb Harber took the reigns.
Harber worked at the college and mentored the K-club. Initially, that club provided volunteers; for 2004 and 2005, the Kiwanis were the race organizers.
In 2001, the race moved to Sunday morning. With the move, participation dropped as out-of-town participants did not want to take the early morning drive. The main reason for the change was issues with Fredericksburg Square (500 block of Caroline). They were hosting Saturday night receptions, and we were impacting their access.
With kids trampling their flowers, residents in the 200 and 300 block of Caroline Street wanted the Great Train Race start line moved. In 2004, we altered the course, moving the start to the railroad station and the turn at William.
The Downtown Mile went to this same course.
In 2006, Lynn Thompkins and the Mental Health Association took over as race organizers. They moved the race date to two weeks before the Great Train Race. With the date change, participation continued to drop.
For 2008, they wanted to move the race back to an evening event. Traffic on Caroline Street was too intense for this time frame, so we developed a course below the college.
With their past Memorial Day 5km race being successful, the Mental Health Association picked the Sunday evening of Memorial Day weekend for their race. This date did not prove fruitful, and this race was the last the association produced, changing to a walk format for future years.
In 2009, Kevin Breen took over as race director, and FARC returned as race organizer. He moved the race to the Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend and had some success.
With the completion of the Stafford Hospital, Kevin created a 5km race on hospital property in 2010. Bert Jacoby came up with the idea to hold the mile on a Sunday morning on Gordon Shelton Blvd in Celebrate Virginia South.
He moved the race to late October with a Halloween costume theme. His first race was on October 31, 2010, and he called it the “Wild Mile.”
Without traffic on this road, multiple heats were not an issue. The course was downhill outbound and uphill on the return. A couple of our current Grand Prix races use this same road, but the hill has a lesser impact with the longer distances.
After the 2012 race, Bert moved with his family to Charlottesville to pursue his doctorate at UVA. Aimee Fulwider took over as race director for the 2013 race.
She felt the race would attract more participants returning downtown on a Saturday evening. The city would only approve a course south of William and Princess Anne Streets. We used the James Monroe Museum, Kybecca, and Castiglia as venue sponsors, and the current route was developed.
The first race on this course was on July 29, 2013. Over time, Sara and Greg Gilliam started helping Aimee with the race and eventually became the race directors.
On race day in 2019, a heat wave hit the east coast. Temperatures were above 100, and dew points were in the high 70s. We were ready to hold the event since it was only a mile race, and the evening wet bulb dew point was acceptable.
The day before the race, the city asked us to postpone to reserve resources for others in distress. The postponement moved the race to the Saturday after Labor Day. We held the race in September since then.
The number of heats has fluctuated over the year between three and six.
For 2024, Sara and Greg have passed the reigns to Brian Morgan. CASA has become the event’s primary beneficiary, and its headquarters are on Jackson Street near Lafayette Blvd. Brian has asked the city for a course change using a point-to-point configuration.
His idea is to start on Hanover Street near the college athletic fields, head toward town, turn right on Kenmore Avenue, and then right on Jackson Street to the finish. The course should be fast, with a net drop of 120 feet.
Since this race has been included in the Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix since 1995, results are posted on the FARC website (runfarc.com). Somewhere in a box in my garage, there is a box of old FARC newsletters. One includes the results of the 1994 race. If I haven’t already found them, I need to leave them in my will to retain the contents of that box.
Did you notice the improvement in my map drawing?