Parkway Classic Is Out. Alexandria Half Marathon Is In.

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Baby, it’s cold outside. But it’s not too early to start thinking spring running. Lace up those sneakers and hit the trails because a big Alexandria race is almost around the corner.

Remember the PNC Parkway Classic? That premier April race that rolls through Old Town and then up and down the George Washington Memorial Parkway? This year’s race on April 27 is different and has a whole new look, logo, and design. The PNC Parkway Classic is now the Alexandria Half Marathon. It replaces the traditional 10-mile distance, offering runners 13.1 miles through the heart of Old Town to the scenic GW Parkway. A 5K option also runs through Old Town, and there’s a Kids’ Race.

VIPs and media gathered at Cooper Mill Tuesday night, February 18 for a kickoff party to roll out the new race. The former barrel factory turned restaurant and market is a block from the Old Town waterfront. 

The annual race is produced by Pacers Running and sponsored by PNC Bank. It draws thousands of runners and spectators throughout the DC Metro region for the chance to run on the historic GW Parkway during spring.

Not everyone is wild about the race change and new name. Ryan Callahan, Pacers Running marketing director, acknowledged “the elephant in the room.” He admitted many feathers were ruffled when Pacers announced that the GW Parkway Classic – a race runners have come to love – transitioned to the Alexandria Half. Callahan said the shift was years in the making and a big decision, designing new branding and a whole new direction.

“We came to this intersection a couple of years ago but really in the last year. We looked left and we said, there’s the Parkway Classic. We could keep doing that, we could keep going down that path. And then we looked right and said, what’s over here? What’s this other direction we could maybe go in?”

Callahan admitted it was a tough decision. “We were scared and then we got excited and then we got inspired and then we got buy-in. And now that brings us to tonight where we are very efficiently moving in this direction.”

Chris Farley grew up in Arlington but has made Alexandria his home the last 22 years. He is the president and owner of Pacers Running. “I came to Alexandria many times. I made Alexandria home when I walked by Pacers Running in 1999 and said, ‘This is where I need to be. This is where I need to make my life’s work,’ ” he told the crowd at the party..

“I felt like this was always Alexandria’s race,” Farley added. “We have a flagship store in Alexandria. For us to come to this point where we transitioned from The GW Parkway Classic which was going on for 40 years and used the best parts of the GW Parkway, to be able to make this Alexandria’s home race is just something I’m so excited about.”

The Parkway Classic has been among the most scenic and spacious distance races on the east coast. Since its inception in 1984, it has raised close to one million dollars for local and regional charities and organizations such the Dunbar Alexandria- Olympic Boys + Girls Club, this year’s lone beneficiary.

Runners of all skill levels are welcome. Meet up at City Hall at 7:30 am. Register HERE. A party will follow.

Dr. Matt Sedgley, director of running medicine for Medstar Health, will be on site race day n the Incident Command Center, working closely with Alexandria fire and police departments.

“We have medical doctors, we have physical therapists, we have athletic trainers,” Sedgley told Zebra. “All of those people are on the racecourse at fixed intervals at their first aid tents. We have emergency medicine and orthopedic physicians at the finish line. If anything goes wrong, we can just coordinate care.”

The race takes place on the last day of National Park Week, an annual week recognizing our National Parks.

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