Festival of Leaves 5K Saturday
11 October 2008

Front Royal, VA

8:00 AM start

Race Info Entry Form Course Map Past Results

2008 RESULTS & REPORT ARE POSTED!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 9th annual Festival of Leaves 5K! Aside from the spotty fog, the weather was great, and we had a fine turnout too. The official race results have been posted in both overall and age group formats, and we've thrown together a boring but photo-laden race report as well.

LOST & FOUND: Somebody left their white warmup jacket at the registration area. If it's yours, send me an e-mail!

PHOTOS: If you want me to e-mail you any photos I got of you during the race, just e-mail me and I'll see what I can dig up. Each photo may be around 400 KB, though, and I have a very slow connection, so you may have to wait a few days to a couple weeks before I can get a chance to get 'em squeezed through the Series of Tubes.

Many many thanks to my co-race directors, Terry Leckie & Patrick Farris, as well as to our small crew of volunteers, including Nancy Bullock, Kyra Brown, Glenn Luttrell, & Mark Peters. And a crisp salute to the Front Royal Police Department for going above and beyond what we were expecting from them!

Feel free to shoot me an e-mail with any feedback about the race or about getting to and from it. (I hope traffic was not too crazy getting out of town after we wrapped things up!) The 10th annual Festival of Leaves 5K will take place on Saturday 10 October 2009, so mark your calendars now. Race info will be available by August or September. See ya then!

   
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Feel free to stay in Front Royal after the race for the 38th annual Festival of Leaves!

Starting up shortly after the 5K and lasting all day, the festival will feature a parade at 10:00 AM, historical displays, arts & craft vendors, live entertainment, a children's area, food concessions, tours of historic homes, living history interpretations, and more.

It all takes place in downtown Front Royal near the intersection of Main Street and Chester Street, about half a mile from the 5K finish.

For more information about the festival, call the Warren Heritage Society business office at (540) 636-1446!

RACE SPONSORS
Warren Heritage Society
Warren Heritage Society
Shenandoah Valley Runners
Shenandoah Valley Runners

OUR SISTER RACE
  Greasy-Gooney 10K
Looking for another race to run here in Warren County? Look no further than the Greasy-Gooney 10K, the Shenandoah Valley's most scenic road race! The 10K takes place on Saturday 25 October 2008 in Browntown, VA, about eight miles south of Front Royal.
 
Date and Time
Saturday 11 October 2008, with registration taking place from 7:00 to 7:50 AM and the 5K starting at 8:00 AM.

Location
Luray Avenue School (the old Warren County High School) in Front Royal, VA. The school is approximately 20 miles south of Winchester; 24 miles southwest of Berryville; 43 miles south of Martinsburg, WV; 49 miles southwest of Leesburg; 59 miles west of Fairfax; 65 miles northeast of Harrisonburg; and 75 miles west of Washington, DC. See below for driving directions!

Registration
The 5K costs $10.00 whether you preregister or sign up on race day. Members of the Shenandoah Valley Runners or the Warren Heritage Society pay just $8.00. Early registration is always appreciated! Just print up a copy of our entry form, slap it in an envelope along with a check payable to "Warren Heritage Society", and mail it by Monday 6 October to Patrick Farris, Warren Heritage Society, 101 Chester Street, Front Royal, VA 22630-3322. Or you can register at the school on the 11th starting at 7:00 AM. All proceeds benefit the Heritage Society.

Awards
There will be trophies for the top three overall male and female finishers. Medals will be given to the top three males and females in the following age groups: 14 & under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-69, and 70 & over.

Course
The accurately measured 5 kilometer (3.107 mile) loop begins in front of the Luray Avenue School's front steps, finishes on Luray Avenue itself in front of the school, and is run on rolling, paved roads in the western part of town. For more detailed course info, check out our course map page! Important note: The course will be open to vehicular traffic. For safety and insurance reasons, participants may not run the race with headphones, baby strollers, or dogs.

Questions?
Contact co-race director Karsten Brown by e-mail or at (540) 635-1773! (Please note, Karsten is only involved with the race and doesn't know too much about the festival itself. So if you have questions specific to the festival, please call the Warren Heritage Society at (540) 636-1446!)

 Warren County High School
The old Warren County High School, eventually to undergo renovation and become a middle school in 2009
 
Directions
The Luray Avenue School (which served as Warren County High School until 2007) is located at 240 Luray Avenue in Front Royal, VA. (This is the same site at which the race has been held in previous years.) Online maps can be found on Google Maps, Windows Live Maps, MapQuest, or Yahoo! Maps. Here are basic directions to the school:

From the north & west (Winchester, Martinsburg, etc.): Take I-81 to I-66, and follow I-66 to exit 6 (Routes 340/522), heading south towards Front Royal. In about 1.8 miles, turn left at a stoplight, continuing to follow Routes 340/522 south. In 0.2 miles, the road will curve sharply to the right and become Royal Avenue. Get in the right lane, and 0.4 miles beyond the curve, continue straight through a stoplight to stay on Royal Avenue/Route 340. Turn right at a stoplight 0.8 miles later onto West Main Street, and then in about 0.1 miles, turn left onto Luray Avenue. You'll see the school on your left at the top of the hill in about 0.3 miles. To reach the school's parking lot, turn left onto Stonewall Drive and turn right onto the school's entrance drive.

From the east (Fauquier Co., the DC metro area, etc.): Follow I-66 west to exit 13 (Linden, Routes 79/55), turn left at the end of the ramp, and in 0.2 miles turn right onto Route 55. Follow Route 55 for 5.3 miles into Front Royal, turning right at a "T" intersection onto Route 340/South Royal Avenue. In 0.3 miles, turn left onto West Stonewall Drive (just past Royal Oak Bookshop & Donahoe's Florist). The school's entrance drive will be on your left in 0.2 miles. (If you miss Stonewall Drive, take your next left at the Jackson Street stoplight, turn left at Luray Avenue, and turn left onto Stonewall.)

From Luray and the Page Valley: Follow Route 340 north to Front Royal. About 0.1 miles past the north entrance to Shenandoah National Park, turn left at a stoplight onto Criser Road. Follow Criser Road for half a mile to Luray Avenue and turn right. The school will be on your right in 0.3 miles, at the top of the hill. You can park in the parking spaces along Luray Avenue, or continue over the top of the hill to turn right onto Stonewall Drive to reach the school's parking lot.

Race Info Entry Form Course Map Past Results

The Festival of Leaves 5K Web pages are maintained by Karsten Brown.