Thoughts Upon My Reaching 30 Years Competing in the FARC Grand Prix…
Later this year will mark 30 years since my first FARC Grand Prix race, the 1996 Colonial Beach 10K, held on September 21. In that 10K, I finished 8th of 166 overall in a time of 35:13, a 5:40/mile pace. I had recently turned 30 years old. Ahead of me were some familiar names, at least to the Grand Prix old-timers: Matt Boyd, Jason Van Horn, Rudolph Pekarek, and David Lovegrove.
Before I delve into 30 years competing in the FARC Grand Prix, minus more than 10 years (2003-2013) away in the Shenandoah Valley, I want to thank those who have made the series possible. Of course, that list includes Vic Culp (and his former company, Race Timing Unlimited); Ken and Kristen Loescher (and their company, Arsenal Events); Kevin Breen (Broker-Owner of Coldwell Banker Elite), who financially supports the grand prix; and all the Grand Prix committee members and individual race directors. As a side note, Kevin Breen sold our house in 2002 (in one day!) when my wife and I, and our then-preschoolers, moved from Fredericksburg to the Shenandoah Valley.
As Vic Culp continually observes, racing competition—in the FARC Grand Prix and everywhere—was far fiercer a few decades ago. Today, there are many more recreational runners and walkers, which is wonderful to see. Thankfully, there are still a few fast runners to keep us old folks honest.
When we arrived in Fredericksburg in 1996, I was coming off a 5-year stretch (1991-1995) of winning the Queen City Striders Racing Circuit, based in Cumberland, Maryland. The premier QCS event was the net-downhill Great Allegany 15K Run—still in existence today and affectionately called the GAR. At my first GAR in October 1990, I ran 51:40 and finished 33rd overall! The next near I ran a 15K PR (50:34) and finished 15th overall but did not make the age-group podium (fourth place in the 25-29 age group).
Internet capabilities were in their infancy in 1996. The Fredericksburg Area Running Club had a web presence, although the FARC acronym was sometimes confused with the “other” FARC: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a far-left Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group. I remember making occasional phone calls to an automated FARC recording, which listed upcoming Grand Prix races and other club events.
I was thrilled to find a running group in Fredericksburg that had what I was accustomed to: well-run, competitive races and a club series. After running the final two of seven FARC Grand Prix events in 1996, I was hooked. During the 1990s and early 2000s, FARC mailed out postcards after each Grand Prix race with individual results. I still have a stack of more than 50 results cards from 1996-2002, my first tenure in Fredericksburg.
On November 23, 1997, the Potter Homes Turkey Trot 5K became part of the FARC Grand Prix, using a course similar to today’s SPCA Rescue 5K. There were 619 Turkey Trot finishers that day, and I snagged a 12th place overall finish (2nd in the 30-34 age group) in 16:55. Less than 5 years later, the VA Runner Blue-Gray Half Marathon became part of the Grand Prix. That half marathon—my last Grand Prix event before moving away—became one of my better races, as I finished 6th overall of 391 finishers. I finished in 1:21:48, my second-fastest half marathon time. Matt Boyd was third that day, and Terry McLaughlin was seventh.
Between 2003 and 2013, I made only one appearance in a FARC Grand Prix race, and that was July 4, 2003. At that 2003 Heritage Festival 5-Miler, I snagged a top-ten placement, finishing eighth in 28:23. I was second in the 35-39 age group, just behind long-time friendly rival Scott Mersiowsky. Well ahead of me that day were legendary racers Ted Poulos and Matt Boyd. Up-and-coming road racer Bert Jacoby, then 20 years old, who would later outright win six Grand Prix titles (2006-07 and 2009-12), was just behind me at the 2003 Heritage Festival 5-Miler, ending up tenth overall.
From that point, I followed FARC from afar for more than 10 years. During that time, I competed in the Shenandoah Valley Runners’ 8-race Winter Series each year from 2002-03 to 2012-13. I managed to become the SVR Winter Series champion twice, in 2002-03 and 2005-06. The 2002-03 Winter Series was plagued by bad weather, including the epic Lincoln 4-Miler, near Purcellville, Virginia, on February 22, 2003. The hilly course, already covered by snow from a major storm a few days earlier, turned into a skating rink when heavy rain developed the morning of the race. Almost everyone fell at least once, although fortunately no serious injuries were reported. I still use a photo from that race as my avatar on Athlinks.
When our family returned to Fredericksburg at the end of 2013, a lot had changed, but some things remained the same. Traffic in Fredericksburg was still crazy, but the building boom had been temporarily slowed by the recently ended Great Recession. However, the FARC Grand Prix, to my relief, was still rolling along. A few familiar runners were still around, but many had moved away or retired from running.
The 10-race series had become a 12-race series, and many of the races had changed. The SPCA Rescue 5K Run was being held on the course once occupied by the Turkey Trot, which had outgrown the FARC Grand Prix. The Downtown Mile was still being held, but on a different and more difficult “saddle” course, instead of the net downhill course finishing at the City Dock. The John Robbins 8K and the Hartwood 10-Miler were still in existence, but the former would become a 4-Miler and move from Fredericksburg to Stafford County in 2019, then disappear after the 2020 edition, which happened to be the last Grand Prix race before the covid-19 pandemic shut down the world for a while. The 10-Miler would have its last hurrah in the rapidly developing Hartwood area in 2016 before moving to Culpeper and becoming the Devil’s Den 10-Miler in 2017. Only two races – the Heritage Festival 5-Mile and the Blue and Gray Half Marathon – were effectively unchanged between 2002 and 2014; both continue today under different management and on different courses, with the former now being called the Fallen Heroes 5-Miler.
Like everywhere else, the trend toward slower average finishing times in FARC Grand Prix events continued while I was away. As I mentioned earlier, there are still a few speedy runners, although the average age of the “fast folks” (and the entire field) has trended upward. For the first time, I occasionally cracked the top five overall in Grand Prix events and much more regularly finished in the top ten. Each year from 2014 to 2025, I achieved a top-ten overall finish in the men’s FARC Grand Prix competition, something that would have been unthinkable in the 1990s with the times I am running now.
Through it all, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my 19 full years competing in the FARC Grand Prix and missed my 11 years away. It has been interesting to see the names, faces, and level of competition change over the last 30 years, but it is also amazing to see a handful of individuals who have been around for most, if not all, of the existence of the Fredericksburg Area Running Club. We all join FARC for different reasons, but I know for sure it has been a pleasure interacting with many of you at various times over the last 30 years at Grand Prix events. And thank you once again to those who have made it all possible.
