Bluemont Fair 10K

Bluemont, VA, September 20, 2008

Race Report

The Bluemont Fair 10K celebrated its 30th running on Saturday 20 September 2008 with a new location and a new course. After at least twenty-two years of starting on Clayton Hall Road and finishing in front of the United Methodist Church in the tiny town of Bluemont, Virginia, the 6.2 mile running race moved a mile south of Bluemont to Great Country Farms on Foggy Bottom Road. No longer would runners experience the old course's opening mad dash down the shoulder of busy Route 7 or the gut-wrenching climb up Snickersville Turnpike to the finish line. Instead, the 80 participants in the 2008 race were treated to a quieter three-loop course, with a large loop on rolling rural roads preceded and followed by a shorter loop on a quiet gravel farm road. Post-race reviews of the new route seemed positive, so perhaps this course will be used for many years to come.

The weather was perfect for this year's race, with mostly sunny skies, little to no wind, and temperatures around 55° for the 8 AM start. After instructions from race director Charley Billman, 77 runners took off through Great Country Farms, with three more runners getting started about 23 minutes late. Just over half the field of 52 males and 28 females was running the Bluemont Fair 10K for the first time; seventeen of the runners were back from the 2007 race.

Among those returnees were Loudoun Valley High School assistant cross-country coaches Justin Fritzius and Chris Sheaffer, who ran last year's race casually yet had no problem taking the top two spots. This year the two 24-year-olds were similarly unchallenged, but the pair ran much harder, blazing through the opening loop at a pace of 5:30 per mile. Eventually Fritzius picked things up even further, taking the men's victory for the second straight year in a speedy time of 33:39. Sheaffer, the 2006 men's champ, cruised in for second place in 34:22.

The finish line crew had to wait a couple more minutes for the next runners to arrive. Taking third for the second straight year was 34-year-old Karsten Brown, who now has the race's longest active streak of finishes with ten in a row. Brown bested his '07 time by a single second, crossing the line in 36:49. Charles Bowles, 26, ran a steady race and finished fourth in 37:56, his best performance in at least five appearances at Bluemont. Rounding out the top five was Arlington's Tom Heinemann, 39, whose 38:34 finish earned him the top spot in the men's 35-39 age group for the second time. First-timer Bill Lasky of Sterling was the top male finisher over the age of 39, running a 43:50 for seventh place. And Shenandoah Valley Runners president Myron Kremer was the top male finisher over the age of 49, finishing in 43:54 while wearing his "wedding outfit". (Kremer met his wife Heather at this race many years ago, and in August 2000, the two donned running attire and got married at the old starting line alongside Route 7!)

The women's field, meanwhile, consisted mostly of Bluemont Fair 10K newcomers, with all but six of the ladies running the race for the first time. Among the newbies was 28-year-old Jillian Atherton-Mellish, an assistant cross-country coach at Warren County High School in Front Royal. Her strong debut on the regional road racing scene resulted in an easy victory in 44:03, the sixth fastest women's performance at Bluemont in the past decade. Taking the runner-up spot was racing veteran Tina Genay, 37, posting a 46:25 in her first appearance at Bluemont.

Not far behind Genay was Harpers Ferry's Jill Montaquila, 41, the top Masters woman with a 46:59 finish. Even more impressive was the performance of 56-year-old Rachel Muir of Reston, whose 47:09 was by far the race's top female Senior Masters effort over the past ten years. And if adjusted for age using age-grading data, Muir's finish was also the best performance by a woman of any age during that span. (Unfortunately the author has no records from prior to 1999.) Also of note were two other Senior Masters women, Bess Stuart of White Post and Debby Rosel of Round Hill. Each has run Bluemont seven times since '99, the most of any female participants. This year Stuart ran her best time since 2002 to win the women's 50-54 age group in 50:17, while Rosel finished second in the age group with a 52:03 finish.

Other notes from the race: Although prizes were not given to the oldest and youngest finishers this year, 14-year-old Laura LaRock of Hamilton was 2008's youngest runner. The second youngest was Purcellville's Keegan Newton, who is just a month and a half older than LaRock. The oldest participants were two 73-year-olds, Paul Christopher of Leesburg and Bob Gurtler of The Plains. Christopher is the older of the two by three months... 18-year-old Jordan Smith was the top finisher from the immediate Bluemont area, coming in 19th in 47:57. Men's winner Fritzius and 21-year-old Angie Farris of Purcellville were the fastest Loudoun County finishers, with Farris finishing sixth among the women in 48:20. Just under half the field (36 finishers) hailed from Loudoun County... Former Loudoun resident Nathan Sowers travelled the farthest to run this year's 10K, coming an estimated 78 miles from Ellicott City, Maryland... Of the seventeen returning runners from the 2007 race, Kim Crisp improved her time the most, knocking off 3 minutes 36 seconds to finish in 52:14 this year. Fritzius improved on his '07 time by 2:32, and 17-year-old Stephen Novitch had his best Bluemont performance to date, taking 2:25 off his '07 time to finish tenth in 45:39.

Race director Charley Billman did an excellent job with this year's newly-relocated race, mapping out a nice new course and assembling a fine crew of volunteers to help out on race day. Among the volunteers were Anna & River Billman, Karsten Brown, Nancy Bullock, Larry Cochran, Sonny & Betty Colbert, Don & Linda Corley, Annabel Hughes, Muffin Quinn, and Kelly Roszel. Thanks to all who participated, and hopefully we'll see everybody next year at the 31st annual Bluemont Fair 10K on Saturday 19 September 2009!

Sponsors: Bloom Purcellville; Bluemont General Store; Bluemont Vineyard; Broad Run Veterinary Service Inc.; Global Emergency Group; Graydon Manor Behavioral Health Services; Great Country Farms; Hair Designs by Rosemary; L.A.D. Reporting & Digital Videography

Special thanks: Round Hill Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Signet Screen Printing & Embroidery, Shenandoah Valley Runners