Festival of Leaves 5K Saturday
8 October 2011

Front Royal, VA

8:00 AM start

Race Info Entry Form Course Map Past Results

THANKS FOR RUNNING! 2011 RESULTS & PICS ARE UP!

Wow, did we ever have a big crowd this year! 136 official finishers, plus one injury DNF and one disqualified non-paying bandit. It was by far the biggest turnout we've ever had at our dinky little event. Samuel Kilpela earned the three-peat as men's champ with a course record of 17:12, while Jill Atherton-Mellish was the repeat women's winner with a new event record of 20:17.

FINAL RESULTS are now posted, sorted by both overall finish place and age group place. If you spot any mistakes, send us an e-mail.

RACE PHOTOS are also up! We've got 437 high-resolution shots up on Picasa Web Albums, and for those of you who are on Facebook, we've uploaded the same 437 photos into three albums (Set 1, Set 2, Set 3). The Facebook albums are public; feel free to tag yourselves and/or any of your Facebook friends you spot in the pics.

Many many thanks to our small crew of volunteers, including April Adams, Wayne Barber, Kyra Brown, Nancy Bullock, Robert Gurtler, Phil Laub, April Lazo, Terry Leckie, Alexander Snyder, and Colleen Snyder. (If I forgot anyone, please let me know.) Thanks as well to Skyline High School, the Front Royal Police Department, and the Shenandoah Valley Runners running club (join us, won't you?), and special thanks to Warren Heritage Society executive director & race founder Patrick Farris for handling all the arrangements. The Heritage Society, our local historical organization, got the $429.05 in proceeds from this year's run, so Patrick is grateful for your support.

Hope everyone enjoyed the race! Any questions or comments, just send us a message.

If you're looking for another nearby race to run in October 2011, we're also hosting the Greasy-Gooney 10K on Saturday 22 October in Browntown (eight miles south of Front Royal). And if the Festival of Leaves 5K returns next year, it would likely take place on Saturday 13 October 2012. The race may be passed along to a new race director in 2012, but hopefully we'll be able to keep the race going!

Come on out to Skyline High School for our fun, friendly, and inexpensive 5K (3.1 mile) race around Front Royal's rolling streets! Founded in 2000 by Patrick Farris (now the Warren Heritage Society's executive director), the Festival of Leaves 5K has always been intended as a small, low-key event for area runners of all ability levels to enjoy. (So, you know, don't get your expectations too high for this thing!)

 
ENTRY FORMS
You can print up an entry form in either Adobe PDF format or regular ol' HTML (Web page) format!
HTML version of 2010 entry form 2011 entry form
(HTML version)
Full 2011 Festival of Leaves 5K race flyer Full 2011 race flyer
(PDF format, 242 KB)
(Note: PDF files can be viewed using the free Adobe Reader software.)

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
We could really, really use some volunteers on race day to serve as course marshals at important spots on the course. If you'd like to help out, contact Karsten Brown by e-mail or at (540) 635-1773!

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Feel free to stay in Front Royal after the race for the 41st 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, roughly a mile and a half from Skyline High School.

For more information about the festival, visit the Warren Heritage Society's festival page or call the WHS's 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 22 October 2011 in Browntown, VA, about eight miles south of Front Royal. (We'll be happy to accept Greasy-Gooney registrations at the Festival of Leaves race, by the way!)
 
Date and Time
Saturday 8 October 2011, with registration taking place from 7:00 to 7:50 AM and the 5K starting at 8:00 AM.

Location
Skyline High School in Front Royal, VA. (Parking, registration, and the finish line will be in the east side of the school stadium parking lot, by the back gate to Criser Road.) The school is approximately 21 miles south of Winchester; 24 miles southwest of Berryville; 44 miles south of Martinsburg, WV; 50 miles southwest of Leesburg; 55 miles west of Fairfax; 56 miles northeast of Harrisonburg; and 71 miles west of Washington, DC. See below for driving directions!

Registration
The 5K costs $5.00 if you register in advance or $7.00 on race day. Members of the Shenandoah Valley Runners or the Warren Heritage Society may take a $2 discount (thus $3 early or $5 race day). Members of other eligible Virginia, Maryland, and DC running clubs (see list below) may take a $1 discount (thus $4 early or $6 race day).

(Eligible clubs: Annapolis Striders, Baltimore Road Runners Club, Chesapeake Bay Running Club, DC Road Runners Club, Frederick Steeplechasers Running Club, Fredericksburg Area Running Club, Howard County Striders, Loudoun Road Runners Club, Montgomery County Road Runners Club, Shenandoah Valley Track Club, South Riding Running Club, Tidal Basin Run, Virginia Happy Trails Running Club, Westminster Road Runners Club, 50 Plus Club)

Early registration is always appreciated! Just print up a copy of our entry form (available in either Web page format or Adobe PDF format), slap it in an envelope along with a check payable to "Karsten Brown", and mail it to Festival of Leaves 5K, c/o Karsten Brown, 1195 South River Road, Front Royal, VA 22630-8317.

Or you can register at the school on race day starting at 7:00 AM.

Although this is not a fundraiser, all proceeds (if any) will benefit the Warren Heritage Society. Additional donations are welcome. Or think about becoming a WHS member!

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, 60-64, 65-69, and 70 & over. We'll also have some inexpensive prizes (Halloween candy, books, etc.) to hand out randomly during the awards ceremony!

Course
The wheel-measured 5 kilometer (3.107 mile) route starts and finishes on the school campus and heads out Criser Road to follow a rolling loop through the western part of town. For more detailed course info, check out our course map page!

Important notes: This is a low-key race with little in the way of resources or manpower, so you will be responsible for your own safety. The course will be open to vehicular traffic, and most intersections and side streets will be unmanned (although the route will be marked). For safety and insurance reasons, participants may not run the race with headphones, baby strollers, or dogs. (We will disqualify runners seen with headphones.)

Questions?
Contact 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 much about the festival itself. So if you have questions specific to the festival, please call the Warren Heritage Society at (540) 636-1446!)

Directions
Skyline High School is located at 151 Skyline Vista Drive, off of Route 340 just south of Front Royal, VA. Parking, registration, and the finish line will be in the east end of the school stadium parking lot, by the back gate to Criser Road. (We don't have access to the school building or stadium, but we do expect to have a porta-john available near the registration tables.)

Skyline Vista Drive is relatively new and may not appear on all online or GPS device maps. It does appear on Google Maps (the green arrow shows where registration will be), Bing Maps, and MapQuest. Coordinates for the race site are "38.9095, -78.2037".

Here are detailed 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. Continue straight for two miles, passing through town and eventually passing the entrance to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. Just beyond Skyline Drive, turn right at a stoplight onto Skyline Vista Drive, and proceed past the school to the back end of the stadium parking lot.

(Additional note for those coming from the north or west: If you linger after the race is over, you may find Route 340 [Royal Avenue] temporarily blocked near the center of town around 10 AM for the Festival of Leaves parade. To avoid this while returning north to I-66 exit 6, you can use Route 522 to bypass the parade area. Directions: Leave the school and turn left onto Route 340 north. In 0.8 miles, turn right onto Route 55 east [South Street], follow it for 0.6 miles, then turn left onto Route 522 [Commerce Avenue]. Follow 522 north for 1.6 miles, at which point Route 522 meets Route 340 [North Royal Avenue]. Turn right onto the now-combined Route 340/522. Continue north for 2.5 miles to I-66.)

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 west for 5.2 miles into Front Royal, then when you reach a "T" intersection at Route 340 (South Royal Avenue), turn left at the light to follow Route 340 south for 0.8 miles. After passing the entrance to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, turn right at a stoplight onto Skyline Vista Drive and proceed past the school to the back end of the stadium parking lot.

From Luray and the Page Valley: Follow Route 340 north to Front Royal. 0.7 miles past Skyline Caverns, or 0.3 miles past the stoplight at Route 619 (Rivermont Drive), turn left at a stoplight onto Skyline Vista Drive, and proceed past the school to the back end of the stadium parking lot.

Race Info Entry Form Course Map Past Results

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