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Virginia > VHTRC Women's Half Marathon Trail Run
Fairfax, VA
Date
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Event
Details
Described by race organizers as a "low-key event" designed to encourage
interest in trail running among women, the Virginia Happy Trails
Running Club's Women's Trail Half Marathon takes participants on a tour
of the Fountainhead Regional Park just outisde Fairfax, along mainly
single-track
dirt trails and rolling hills and forest areas. The 13.1-mile course
includes the race's famous "Do Loop," which takes runners in a
lollipop-stick-like formation around a trail, and crosses a number of
streams and
bridges along the way.
The out-and-back course starts and finishes just over half a mile
inside the park from the entrance road off Hampton Road, where runners
make a loop around the parking lot and then head toward Hampton Road
along the entrance road. The course then turns off the road and onto
the single-track trails within the forest, taking runners along the
stretch of the race known as the Do Loop, which got its name from the
the first time the race was held in these woods, and many runners found
themselves missing the loop's exit and repeating the loop thanks to its
then-poorly marked trail.
Now, of course, the trails for the race are well-marked with blue,
yellow and red blazings, but the "Do Loop"
moniker has stuck, and runners encounter some curious sights along this
section of the race, including rusted-out cars and an old abandoned
washing machine. Once they're done with the Loop, runners then head
back off the trail and onto the entrance road for the second part of
the race, a longer trail that takes them northward and westward through
the woods along the Bull Run Trail to Wolf Run Shoals Road, where they
hit the turnaround point and then make their way back along the trail
they've just run to the finish line back at the parking lot on the park
entrance road.
Race
Weather & Climate
The race is run in September, which tends to bring mild to moderately
warm weather to the Fairfax County area, as temperatures average
between 56°F and 79°F during the month. Rainfall tends
to average just under 4 inches during the month.
Fees
N/A
Registration
Registration for the 2009 running of the VHTRC Women's Trail Half
Marathon is not yet open, but you can sign up when registration opens
by visiting the event website.
Website
www.vhtrc.org
Starting
Location Map
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Your Race Story
Ever run in Fairfax's annual Virginia Happy Trails Running Club Women's
Half Marathon?
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your impressions and read fellow runners' stories
and tips for the event.
Post your comments in Runner Reviews for the VHTRC Women's Half Marathon Trail Run
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