Race Name: Colonial Beach 10km
Race Location: Colonial Beach, VA
Number of Years Finished: 7
Years Finished: 1995 to 2001
Best Finish Time (Year): 42:36 (1997)
Course Description:
2001 was the last time we used the loop course around Colonial Beach. Since then, there have been various out and back courses laid out in the town.
Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation were the originators of the race. By 1995, they had already exceeded 15 editions. When they operated the race, they had a 5km starting at 8 am, followed by the 10km around 9:30 am. This schedule allowed people to run both races.
FARC included the 10km in the 1995 Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix. So, organizers dropped the 5km and started the 10km at 8 am.
The original 10km course started at the old Colonial Beach Elementary School on Douglas Street. Since that time, arsonists struck the now-demolished building.
The course headed south on Douglas, turning onto Wilder and Lynnhaven. Runners crossed Colonial Avenue onto Jackson. Turning left onto 1st Street, runners passed Colonial Beach High School and then went north on Dwight.
Until 2001, Dwight Street ended at 12th Street, the north end of town. We took a right on 12th Street and went to Beach Avenue.
Running south along the Potomac River, Beach Avenue ended at 4th Street, where we headed back inland to Myers. We took Myers to 1st Street, then wiggled left, right, left, right, and finally left on Lincoln Ave to reach the Boardwalk.
We stayed south on the Boardwalk until the exit on Taylor Street and Irving Avenue. Heading around the south point, we ran Monroe Bay Avenue north, getting onto Garfield, Dennison, and Douglas. The final stretch on Douglas was the only uphill on the course, rising about 5 feet in 100 meters. We finished at the old Colonial Beach Elementary School on Douglas.
In 1996, Westmoreland Parks and Rec decided to stop managing the race, and I took over as race director, the first race I managed. I don’t remember which organization operated the race from 1997 until the last year of 2001.
The start/finish venue moved to Colonial Beach High School in 1997. The layout remained the same, shifting about a mile along the course.
Even with the multiple turns, the course was beach flat fast. Weather and wind were not an issue with the late September race date.
What makes this race a special memory:
This race never exceeded 200 runners. It was one of the best-kept secret races on the regional race calendar.
With great weather and a fast course, runners from Richmond and DC should have flocked to this beach race. In the late 90s, there were very few regional 10km races, and one would need to travel to find one.
I ran my 10km PR on this course with short surges to gain time and place that were easy to recover from on the next flat stretch.
I’ve always preferred loop-type courses. It seems like going somewhere with easily managed tangents.
The multiple turns and winding roads made excellent locations to run those surges and gap an opponent.
I remember the waistband elastic in my shorts broke in the sixth mile in 1998 and vowing never to buy another pair of shorts without a drawstring. I’ve kept that vow to date.
The residents of Colonial Beach were accepting of the race, and a few came out to watch. At this time, the 10km and Colonial Beach Triathlon were the only races in town.
The inaugural Colonial Beach Triathlon in 1985 used this course. Wanting to host a triathlon, the Rappahannock YMCA picked Colonial Beach because of the river swim, an existing run course, and rural roads for biking.
Sadly after 2001, no organization wanted to operate the race, and it died. Since then, races have come back to Colonial Beach using the roads south of Colonial Avenue. Even the triathlon now does an out and back course on Irving Avenue and Monroe Bay Avenue.
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Over the years, I’ve run 143 different races and finished some of them multiple times. To some, this is not a large number of various events. Over the years, I’ve had some memorable races and have been able to rank my favorite races. If I couldn’t visualize the course and remember how I felt, I moved a race down my rankings.
Other races on my list