Stafford Hospital, a branch of Mary Washington Healthcare, opened in 2009 to service residents in north Stafford County. The 100-bed facility filled the gap with Potomac Hospital, 20 miles to the north in Woodbridge, and Mary Washington Hospital, 20 miles to the south in Fredericksburg.
Mary Washington Healthcare is a non-profit organization whose Mary Washington Hospital Foundation is the primary fundraising component. In the spring of 2010, the foundation organized a 5km run to raise awareness of the Stafford facility and operational funds.
Coldwell Banker Elite was a significant contributor to the hospital, and Kevin Breen helped with the original race organization. Since then, he has been involved with the race, setting the course, and working logistics.
For the initial year, VDOT and Stafford County did not allow the hospital to use the public roadways in the courthouse area. So, the original course remained on hospital property.
The course started with a partial loop followed by two complete loops. It required two 66-foot climbs up Care Lane and an uphill finish. However, those climbs were offset by three 66-foot drops. Like most areas of Stafford County, there are few flat sections.
There were 282 finishers in 2010.
Over time, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Department helped control traffic into the hospital during the race.
For 2015, we slightly changed to reduce stress, with runners wanting to leave before all runners had finished.
By 2016, the race had grown to 450 finishers. That year, the race caused issues with access to the hospital. So, VDOT and Stafford County requested a course change to reduce traffic problems.
For 2017, the course was changed to Courthouse Road between Hospital Center Blvd and Brooke Pointe High School.
Retaining the downhill start and slight uphill to the finish, the course appeared flatter. Still, there were enough strategic hills and a nice long slope down northbound Courthouse Road.
The race promotes corporate and school teams. Stafford residents are encouraged to participate in representing their county district.
In 2019, the race name was changed to the Spring Fever 5km.
In March 2020, COVID shut down public gatherings. Being a healthcare provider, Mary Washington Healthcare decided to hold a virtual event for three years. In those years, the name was changed to Cabin Fever 5km.
By 2023, with COVID behind us, the Spring Fever 5km returned with 398 finishers.
The 15th running of the event will be held on April 13, 2024. As of this writing, 400 participants have registered, and we expect the 100,000th Grand Prix finisher that day.