Lynchburg Road Runners Club

The Milepost - July 2026

June brought us the 34th annual LRRC Summer Track Series and the 100 days until the Virginia 10 Miler fun run.

July will start with the 24th Annual Percival's Island Firecracker 5 Miler on the Fourth and end with 4th Annual Kemper's Downhill Mile on the 31st.

Upcoming Events

July 4th Percival's Island Firecracker 5 Miler 8 am

This year we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of some document written by a part-time Poplar Forest resident. This flat and fast (when it's not too hot/humid) race is the ninth in the spring race series. Race director, Jeff Fedorko, always has an event-appropriate shirt that looks great at evening fireworks ceremonies.

Sign me up for the Firecracker 5 Miler

4th Annual KEMPER’S DOWNHILL MILE

July 31 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

What’s one of the fastest ways to a one mile personal best? A downhill mile of course! Join us Friday evening for the Kemper Downhill Mile. Fun, Downhill, and FAST are words that best describe this course. The event is the final event of the 2026 Spring/ Summer Lynchburg Road Runners Race Series.

THE LEGEND OF KEMPER the RABBIT
Sometime around 1912, the same year that the Kemper Street Train Station was opened by Southern Railway, local Lynchburg residents recall witnessing a certain rabbit chasing trains as they left station. It wasn’t long before that rabbit was given the name “Kemper”. Some say Kemper was able to keep up with departing trains for almost a mile! If you are lucky to run the Kemper Street Trail extension early in the morning you might see a descendant or two of Kemper running right along side you.

I want to sign up for the Kemper Downhill Mile

2026 Spring/Summer Race Series

The 2026 Spring/Summer Race series appropriately kicked off (appropriately so) with the Big Game 5K on February 7th. Like 2025, the series will be comprised of ten races of which your best seven will be scored (and a minimum of five is required). There is no separate entry for the series. LRRC members receive discounts to individual events, if you enter early enough.

Note that 7 of these races directly benefit organizations that provide services to our community.

The race series races are shown below.

March 14, 2026 St. Paddy's Day 5K

~~February 7~~ March 21st, 2026 Big Game 5K

March 28, 2026 Rise and Rebuild 5K

April 4, 2026 Point of Honor 5K

April 18, 2026 Run 4 Their Lives 5K

April 25, 2026 United Way 5K on the Runway

May 25, 2026 Memorial Day 10K

June 9, 2026 LRRC Track Series 5,000

July 4, 2026 Percival's Island Firecracker 5 Miler

July 31, 2026 Kemper Street Downhill Mile

Scoring through the first six races can be found on the Riverside Runners Website - Race Results

Additional details about the race series can be found on the website - see link below.

To learn more and to register for individual races

We want your stories!

We’d love to hear your story!

Whether you ran the 10 Miler or the 4 Miler, share your experience with us. Your story can be inspiring, funny, heartfelt—or all three. Tell us about your training journey, race day moments, or how you celebrated afterward.

Your stories help showcase the spirit of our running community, and we may feature them on Lynchburg Road Runners Club social media, website, or newsletter.

I have a 10 Miler story I want to share

LRRC Technical Tops and Singlets - The Store is Now Always Open

Chances are you have seen our silky smooth technical tops and singlets as shown above by our very own models. Mike, Monica, and Donna are sporting the singlets, while A-Aron (seated) and Rick have on our sleeved tops. The club used to have to place orders of a minimum of ten (10). Thanks to BOA, runners can place an order anytime and receive their tops in a few weeks.

Take me to the BOA/LRRC Store to look

Virginia 10 Miler Training Water Stops

Every Saturday morning in August and September, the LRRC and Riverside Runners provides a water stop outside Riverside Runners from 730 to 900 am. Its open to everyone. So feel free to take a pause before and/or after the park and enjoy some liquid refreshment.

If anyone is so inclined to help on one of these Saturdays - send an email to bret@virginia10miler.com

Recent Activities

June 2, 9, 16, 23 - LRRC Summer Track Series

Our 34th year was our best yet! We had a record 542 signups - a 22% increase over 2025. We started 103 races and prepared 1145 ribbons - ribbons will be available for pickup at Riverside Runners after July 9th. As usual, competitors ranged in age (1 to 70+) and abilities, which is our goal.

This event is impossible without the wonderful help we receive:

University of Lynchburg for use of their facilities
Theo McIvor for use of the timing equipment (and filling in on week one with his daughter, Kandace)
Jeff Fedorko and Brooks for the bib numbers (including the emergency extra numbers)
Gregg Cavaliere for timing each race and processing the results, ribbon labels, etc
Evan Davis for writing down every finisher's bib number
Lisa Boman, Linda Shields, Niro Rasanayagaman, Christa Kumar, Susan Coalson, Monica Kamin for all the registration help.
Tony Smith for being there every week to help setup and take down.
Andrew Wilds who took photos the first two weeks.
All those who helped cleanup, put the lacrosse nets, and pitched in to make this a fun event.
Thanks to nearly all of you for either leaving your numbers or remembering to bring them back. This was by far the least number of replacements numbers that we have had to issue. Kudos to you!

Thanks for making 2026 a success and we look forward to 2027.

Photos from 1st two weeks Race Results from Each Week

Thursday June 18th 5:30 pm - Virginia 10 Miler 100 Day Kickoff Fun Run

We celebrated 100 days until this year's Moore & Giles Virginia 10 Miler with a fun run. Runners and walkers were invited to gather at First Christian Church on Rivermont Avenue for an out & back course that follows the Virginia 10 Miler course through Riverside Park and back (approximately 3.5 miles).

Thanks to Riverside Runners and Brooks for...
Demo footwear from Brooks (the official footwear sponsor of the race).
FREE Rookies ice cream to the first 100 to check-in.

Commemorative shirts paying homage to the 1981 10 Miler were available for $5
1 lucky participant will win a pair of Brooks running shoes!

Thanks to ENDURANCE - Training for the Long Haul. Your official "training partner" for this year's event. Endurance is offering a 10 week running program to get you to the finish of this year's 10 Miler. LRRC discount available.

I want to learn more about the 10 Miler Training Program

Riverside Runners/LRRC Lending Library - Book of the Month

Children's Books

Moms, Dads, Caregivers, did you know that there are running and recreation books for children? And they are available to you. Check out some of these in the photo below.

You'll find these books at the Riverside Runners/LRRC lending library.

Prior Books of the Month:

Dandelion Growing Wild - Kim Jones

Running with the Buffaloes - Chris Lear

Running for My Life: One Lost Boy’s Journey from the Killing Fields of the South Sudan to the Olympic Games – Lopez Lomong

Marathon Woman – Kathryn Switzer

Once a Runner - John L Parker

The library provides a curated collection of running and fitness books for checkout/return is available at Riverside Runners. LRRC is providing the community with the best in biographies, group biographies, human interest, training, fiction, and children's books (including everyone's fave - Loud Mouth George and the Big Race).

There are two easy means to checkout/check-in books. One, using your phone and two, the old-fashioned card method. Note that this is not a borrow a book, return another book, library. Please return all books so that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy.

Runner of the Month - Lauren Gallagher

When did you start running and what led you to this sport? I joined the track and field team my freshman year of high school because I wanted to throw discus. My coach made all members of the team also run an event. He put me on the 400m run. It was awful, but it also taught me that anyone can learn to run and enjoy it - even a thrower.

How often and how far do you run? I currently run about three days a week. I've been training for the New York Hyrox* event, so my focus has been on shorter fast runs.

* Hyrox is the following events:

1km run
1km ski
1km run
50m sled push
1km run
50m sled pull
1km run
80m burpee broad jumps
1km run
1km row
1km run
200m farmers carry
1km run
200m sandbag lunge
1km run
100 wall balls

Where do you like to run? I do most of my running on a track or a treadmill, but I've been branching out and have been enjoying running around Percival's Island.

What are a few of your best running memories? One of my favorite memories is running my first 10 miler with my friend, Amanda. It was the longest distance I had ever run, and I got to do it with a friend during the 50th anniversary!

What is the toughest race/run you have done (and why)? My toughest race was definitely last year's 10 miler in the pouring rain. Running that distance completely soaked took some willpower.

What is the most fun running event you have participated in? My favorite race was a 20k Tough Mudder. It took about 4 hours to complete, but breaking up the run with obstacles was a fun challenge.

What running goals do you have? My next goal is to run the Richmond half marathon!

Why should a runner belong to the LRRC? You should join because what other club gives you Rookies ice cream after you run?!

You have a big race tomorrow. What are you eating tonight? Pre-race morning? I'm eating some form of chicken and carb tonight. Pre-race is either some overnight oats or a peanut butter and honey sandwich.

You have a choice of free tickets to: Taylor Swift, Coldplay, or Noah Kahan - who do you see (there's only one correct response)? Taylor Swift. That is surely the correct answer!

Editor's note: If only we had an objective way to determine this. Oh, snap... Solo Artists Record - Noah Kahan (sorry, not sorry, Swifties!) made history by becoming the first solo artist to sell out four consecutive nights at Fenway Park.

What questions do you wish you would have been asked (and what are the answers)? Why do you run?

I run for the opportunity to win a wooden foot trophy. That dream has come true.

Other News

Feel free to send in results from non-local races to bret@virginia10miler.com

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