5 minute read
COMMUNITY
Charlottesville: A Running Town for 40 Years
BY CARLA HUCKABEE
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“Best trail running place in the country,” claims Outside Magazine. “One of the top destination marathons,” says The New York Times. No matter who says it, Charlottesville really is the perfect running town. Blessed with natural beauty, varied terrain, extensive trails, and strong advocates; Charlottesville can even make a non-runner want to get out there and lace up her shoes for a run. Once the shoes are on, there are plenty of local races to keep her motivated.
So Many Places to Run!
Local distance runner and trail expert JoAnne Smart says “We have so many beautiful places to run and the mountains are nearby. Charlottesville is a great place for runners.”
The natural beauty alone is enough to get you out the door. The Blue Ridge Mountains, the rivers and streams, hills, valleys, and parks beckon the champion and novice alike.
Dawn Cromer learned this as an elite track and field athlete and coach at UVA. Now, as a REALTOR® with Nest Realty Group, Cromer points out the closest trails when showing homes to her clients. “It might be the runner in me, but whether or not running is an everyday activity for homeowners, at some point they will want to go for a walk out their door. Knowing how close your home is to trails is an underestimated value. Being able to run to a trail without having to get in your car increases your quality of life immensely.”
In town and on UVA grounds, routes mapped by Ragged Mountain Running & Walking Shop offer varying distances and starting points. The Rivanna Trail loop circumnavigates Charlottesville with nearly 20 miles of uninterrupted soft surface on one of the nation’s best urban trail systems. A two-mile paved section through Riverview Park is enjoyed by walkers, runners, kids, and dogs.
Across the river, the Old Mill Trail skirts the eastern side of the Rivanna River from Darden Towe Park to Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital grounds.
The Saunders Monticello Trail offers a four mile out and back run mix of gravel and boardwalk, sidestepping Carter Mountain on the way to Monticello.
Through town or up the mountain, local runners enjoy consistently high air quality, with Charlottesville always scoring in the best category. In the mountains, it only gets better.
Breathe deeply, because the closer you get to the Blue Ridge, the more challenging those runs become. Deemed a national running destination, eight miles and gravel, Dick Woods Road attracts serious runners and provides incredible scenery with few cars. At the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Sugar Hollow Loop follows a fire road up the mountain to the Appalachian Trail.
Innumerable options exist for distances and difficulty, town or country, level or steep; all with spectacular scenery.
Strong Advocates
Many locals nurtured the running movement in and around Charlottesville. Smart credits Mark Lorenzoni from Ragged Mountain Running & Walking Shop as one of those early advocates still active today. When the Lorenzonis moved to Charlottesville 40 years ago, Mark recalls, “Very little running was happening in Charlottesville, maybe four events per year. What existed, was extremely competitive. The average age was 25 and there were very few women.”
Fast forward 40 years and the average age is 50 with half of them female. The 60+ local races welcome all skill levels, not just the elite. Running truly has become a community sport in Charlottesville. Smart says “Coach Lorenzoni offers a free weekly speed workout and marathon training every summer and has been doing it for decades. He’s at least partly the reason running is so popular here.”
The Charlottesville Track Club, with Lorenzoni’s Wednesday morning speed workouts, boasts more than 500 participants of all levels. The Club sponsors many local non-profit races.
The Charlottesville Area Trail Club (CATs) welcomes runners who enjoy the many trails around town and in the mountains. CATs has training programs for a trail half-marathon, a 50K (in cooperation with Crozet Running), and Tuesday night group trail runs.
On Your Mark, Get Set…
Every day is a runner’s day in Charlottesville. Some months every weekend has multiple events. Here are some of the iconic community races. March 28 - Charlottesville Ten Miler. Charlottesville’s oldest road race, going strong for 44 years. Streets close as thousands of competitors make their way in and around Charlottesville. April 4 – Charlottesville Marathon and Half Marathon. “Considered by many as the most scenic marathon course in the east,” says Running Times Magazine. May 16 - Montalto Challenge 5K. Ascend Montalto, with great views of Monticello, Charlottesville and the Blue Ridge Mountains. July 4 - Kiwanis Independence Day 5K. Started in 1983, this race benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge. September 5 - Women’s Four Miler. Nearly 2,000 women participate in this 27-year-old event supporting the UVA Breast Cancer Center. November 12 - Men’s Four Miler. Charlottesville’s men’s only race, running since 2004. December 5 - Monticello Holiday Classic 5K. A family-oriented 5K supports maintenance of the Saunders Monticello Trail.
See you at the finish line!
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