High Bridge Half Marathon & 5k Slated for September 7

Farmville Downtown Partnership and High Bridge Trail State Park have teamed to present the High Bridge Half Marathon & 5K race scheduled for Saturday, September 7th.

The first ever race of this type in Farmville, the High Bridge Half & 5K will also have a companion event, the Riverside Festival at Riverside Park in Farmville Downtown.

“We are really excited about the High Bridge Half,” said Eric Hougland of High Bridge Trail State Park. “This is something we’ve wanted to do for some time, so seeing it come to fruition is like a dream come true.”

The Half Marathon will take runners on the out-and-back course from the starting point at High Bridge Trail on the east side of North Main Street in Farmville Downtown. The race will commence at 7:30 a.m. with the 5K start slated for 8 a.m.

Riverside Runners (www.riversiderunners.com), Lynchburg, is handling the online registration and timing for the races, according to co-organizer Sarah Miller.

The two races are expected to draw up to 500 runners, Miller said. Early registration is open online until August 17th with all online registration ending September 1. Paper registration can be accepted up until race time with on-site registration from 6:45—7:15 the morning of the race. Onsite registration and packet pickup will be available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning at Virginia’s Heartland Visitor Center at 121 E. Third Street in Farmville Downtown.

Race day parking, courtesy of the Town of Farmville, will be in the lots at the South Street Conference Center.

The Riverside Festival will be from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in Riverside Park. It will feature food, music, an arts show and sale, a children’s area by Awesome Party Supplies, and activities sponsored by local civic groups. To extend the festival into the Main Street District, Farmville Downtown merchants will be sponsoring store specials and promotions throughout the day.

Farmville Downtown Partnership is a member of Virginia Main Street and the National Main Street Center. The non-profit (applied) organization works in partnership with the Town of Farmville to facilitate revitalization of Farmville’s historic commercial district.

High Bridge Trail State Park, opened in 2007, is a 31-mile Rails-to-Trails recreation area built around the former railroad lines that serviced the south central Virginia region. The centerpiece of the park, the High Bridge, spans the Appomattox River four miles east of Farmville. Site of one of the last battles of the Civil War, the High Bridge was opened for visitors in April 2012. The park is part of the Virginia State Park system.

For more information, call the Farmville Downtown Partnership office at 434-392-3060, or visit our website www.downtownfarmville.com.