Charlottesville Women's Four Miler

RACE DAY
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Foxfield/ Garth Road
6:00 am - Arrival
7:30 am - Road closes and staging begins
8:00 am - Race start!

RESULTS
If you would like to receive race day results by the time you get to your phone, please follow these instructions!
- Go to your profile in RunSignup
- Scroll down to Women's Four Miler and click on MANAGE REGISTRATION
- In the grey bar at the top of the page, go to RESULT NOTIFICATIONS (top right of grey bar)
- Click on Sign up for Result Notifications
- Fill out your contact info

PARKING GUIDELINES
Parking is one of the main reasons we have to limit the number of entries to this special race each year. Foxfield is a beautiful location, but because of its “one gate entrance” we are greatly limited by how many cars we can park prior to the start of the race. If we can’t park all of the cars by 7:15 am, we can’t stage the runners in their appropriate pace group (a process which takes longer each year . . . last year it took us 20 minutes to get everyone in their pace group and then march them out to the starting line), which means we can’t start the race on time, which in turn leads to motorist, resident, police and volunteer frustration (since the course is only closed to auto traffic for a limited amount of time . . . 7:30 am - 9:30 am). Additionally, it gets hotter and more humid with each passing minute that the race is delayed, so it’s imperative that we start the race at 8:00 am!

The race is over 2500 women this year and add that to our 350 volunteers and loads of spectators and we’ve got a ton of cars to park in a very short period of time. Last year our hardworking volunteers (who arrived to help at 5:30 am), parked over 3,000 cars in a little over an hour . . . that’s parking a car every three seconds! So, we’re once again asking you all to please help us out by following the enclosed instructions. This will help our parking volunteers facilitate getting you to the starting line safely and on time. Thanks for your help and support!

Please DO NOT STOP YOUR CAR until you are in your final parking spot!

• Please follow the parking volunteers’ instructions . . . they are working like crazy to help park the cars efficiently and stopping your car to question them only slows down the process.
• Please DO NOT WALK ACROSS ANY LANE OF INCOMING TRAFFIC. We want everyone to have the same opportunity to park their car without having to stop. Remember: a car has to be parked every three seconds!
• Once you have entered the Foxfield property there is NO TURNING BACK! We strongly discourage “drop-offs”, unless you do it well away from the Foxfield property. There is absolutely no way we can let you out once you’ve arrived because you will be trying to exit against the mass of incoming traffic.
• “Eastbound” is coming from the West (Ivy, Whitehall or Crozet). “Westbound” is coming from Charlottesville.  We strongly encourage folks to drive out Route 250 to Owensville Road (to Garth Road) to help alleviate the heavy flow of traffic coming out Garth Road.
• All parking will be “nose in,” just like parking at the mall. We will be parking every other car on opposite sides to keep the flow going. Parking Volunteers will direct you into your space. Cars will end up parallel to one another. Please wait for the car to pull in next to you before you exit your vehicle.

THANK YOU for taking the time to read these important instructions. We look forward to greeting you and we wish you all a wonderful race  experience!

RACE DAY INSTRUCTIONS

• You MUST wear your race number somewhere attached to your FRONT.  Please pin all four of the small holes to your shirt. DO NOT pin down the perforated section at the bottom with your label.  Please do this BEFORE leaving the house and please do NOT remove the perforated tab along the bottom. If you plan to stay for the raffle, this tab will be collected before the grab bag prizes are awarded.
• You may warmup anywhere you like EXCEPT on the actual Foxfield racetrack (do not climb over or under the fence) and down by the private residences at the south end of the property.  Please be careful if warming up on the road (if you must do so) because the roads stay open to auto traffic until 7:30 am. We have 40 portable bathrooms for your convenience this year and we ask that you use them and NOT the bushes around the Foxfield property.
• At 7:30 am sharp we will begin staging all of the entrants according to your appropriate pace group. We will do this between the large oak tree near the tent. We will place the walkers or slowest group in FRONT and walk you out onto the road with the fastest group (six minute/mile) in the back of the group (please see diagram).  We need to do this as efficiently and quickly as possible, so we may start the race at 8:00 am sharp!
• After the start, go out as gently and easy as possible for the FIRST half-mile . . . in other words pace yourself so you feel strong over the LAST half-mile!  We will have splits read to you at the ½ mile, 1 mile, 2 mile, and 3 mile marks.  We will have a clock displaying your time at the finish line. At the half-mile mark, please listen to the volunteers, who will be guiding you to the RIGHT side of the road.  From this point forward (all the way to the finish) stay on the RIGHT side.
• Once you have crossed the finish line, PLEASE DO NOT STOP . . . proceed at a brisk walk to the very END of the chutes (please do NOT exit under the chutes at any time). Please do not go back out onto the course and run across the finish line again (i.e. pacing a friend), as this complicates the results! Please stick around for the Awards Ceremony . . . we have over 150 age group prizes to award plus 50 grab bag prizes to hand out!

The Runner’s Clinic at the University of Virginia
The medical staff for the Women’s Four Miler wishes everyone a safe and fun race this Saturday. For those who require medical attention, medical staff will be posted at the two turnarounds, the finish line, and the medical tent. The medical tent will be located on the grass inside the Foxfield gate to the left, directly across from the END of the finish chutes.

As you make your final preparations for Saturday’s race, make sure you get plenty of rest and hydrate adequately through the week (but don’t over-hydrate!). A reasonable schedule would be to consume 6 cups of non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverages daily as a baseline. In addition, drink one extra cup of fluids for each 15 minutes you exercise per day. If you are exercising less than an hour per day and spend much of your other time indoors, water and juices are fine. If you are exercising more than an hour or spending extra time outdoors (gardening, watching the kid’s soccer practices) sports drinks are best to replenish salt as well. A little extra salt on your meal will also help with salt replacement. Avoid excessive time in the heat, especially Thursday and Friday.

Unless you are an elite racer or are training through the Four Miler in preparation for another race, this week should be EASY. Your training for the Four Miler is complete. Take care to warmup and ease into your runs to avoid any late sprain/straining syndromes. Stretch gently after your runs.

Blister care: Keep blisters clean, dry and covered. If you have a fluid-filled blister, this can be drained by inserting a sterile needle and expressing the fluid. Be sure to clean the area before and after. Keep the blister covered with a band-aid or blister care bandage. Skin areas prone to chafing can be protected by applying a thin film of Vaseline prior to running. Wear socks.

Running with recent illness: If you have had a recent fever, you should be afebrile for 48 hours prior to the race. If you are nursing a cold, follow the neck check rule: if you have been afebrile and your symptoms are limited to the “neck up” (stuffy nose, scratchy throat) and you feel well enough to run, you are likely OK. If you have symptoms below the neck (congestion in your chest) or belly symptoms (diarrhea, abdominal cramping) you should not run. Folks to cheer are always welcome.

If you have been nursing an injury, don’t run through pain that is more than mild or forces you to change your gait or limp.

On race day:

• Drink one cup of fluids two hours prior to race time and one cup about one hour prior to race time. This should give enough time to hit the porta-potty if needed.

• Arrive early enough to do an adequate warm-up (easy walking, jogging). When not warming up, try to stay as cool as possible (in the shade or in the car).

• If weather calls for sunshine, apply sun screen prior to leaving home.

• During the race, try to consume one cup of fluids for each 15-20 minutes you are on the course.

RESPECT THE HEAT! 
If the weather is hot and humid, adjust your race plan accordingly and go slower than planned. It is always advisable to start out a little slower than your planned pace for the first mile and then adjust depending on how you feel after the first mile.