They say, “Change is Good”. Change causes stresses that I prefer to avoid. I like constant calm.
Change started at the beginning of the year. A 15km was returned to the Grand Prix, and we announced that eight finishes of 13 races were required to qualify for an award.
Within weeks, the organizers of the Deuce Braswell 5km Run Against Teen Violence decided to cancel the race. That returned the series to 12 races and seven races to qualify.
The cost of managing traffic on Courthouse Road for the 2024 Spring Fever 5km exceeded $ 7,000. The organizers of that race needed a new course to eliminate that expense. The new course stayed on hospital property. Though still an April 5km, it wasn’t easy to compare performance from year to year.
Last fall, the Fredericksburg Visitor Center and the adjacent parking lot were sold to a private company. Running past the site on Charlotte Street, the lot is now encased in an eight-foot-high stockade fence. Since 1978, that lot has been used as the starting point for an annual 5-mile race on the Fourth of July.
The organizers needed to plot a new course. The only available venue was James Monroe High School. I helped design and measure the new course.
The race still starts at 7:30 am. I’m not sure if this course will be as shaded as previous courses. The shortest route is typically on the east side of most streets, which receives less sun exposure. It’s another race; I can’t compare my performance to that of prior years.
In early June, the organizers of the 10km Run through History decided not to hold the race. The race expenses were prohibitive for the number of participants. One of the most significant expenses was closing a lane of traffic on the Route 208 bypass, for which I estimate the cost at $20 to $25 per runner.
In the past couple of years, VDOT has required the use of a certified traffic control company to place cones. No longer can a race place their cones outside of the city.
Fortunately, Arsenal Events was able to produce a replacement race on a 10 km course on River Road and the Belmont-Ferry Farm Trail in Stafford County. This change may be good as the race is a quarter mile from my house.
Within days of the cancellation of the 10km Run through History, the Downtown Mile race director resigned. Without a volunteer to take over as RD, I had to step in to create a project plan. It will be a team effort on race day. Most of the club positions are filled.
We had 12 races in the 2024 Grand Prix. We still have 12 races for 2025. However, only half of the races are still the same—stresses I prefer to avoid.