On Saturday, the Charlottesville Ten Miler celebrated its 41st race. Since its inception in 1976, the race has supported a different local nonprofit every year. The 2016 beneficiary was the Sexual Assault Resource Agency, or SARA.
The area’s oldest footrace kicked off outside of John Paul Jones Arena. It is one of the hilliest ten-mile running races in Virginia. This year over 2,200 people registered to compete. The winner, Matt Barresi, broke away at the finale of the race and finished with a time of 52:20.
At the finish line, an array of food welcomed the runners. Trader Joe’s sponsored the race and provided various healthy options, from bananas to granola bars. Local staple stores such as Albemarle Baking Co. and Bodo’s Bagels also co-sponsored, donating goodies for race participants.
Second-year University of Virginia student Isabelle Harris ran the race, which was her first ten miler.
“I chose to run because I’ve been running for a long time but never for long distances, so I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could do ten miles,” she said. “The hardest part was not giving up around mile 7 because you are so close yet so far, but other runners were cheering me on which helped me keep going.”
All in all, Harris had a very positive experience.
“I would definitely run again because it was such an exciting atmosphere,” she said, “and it was an awesome feeling afterwards.”
