The Greasy-Gooney 10K is named after two streams past which the course runs. The first half of the course parallels Greasy Run, while the second half runs alongside Gooney Run. It seemed only natural to use these two great stream names in the name of our 10K! (Both streams flow down from Hogback Mountain, with Greasy Run flowing into Gooney Run about a mile north of Browntown. Gooney Run, supposedly named after Lord Fairfax's favorite hound, eventually meets up with the Shenandoah River at Karo, about 4½ miles southwest of Front Royal.)

The Greasy-Gooney 10K was first held on Saturday 23 October 1999, so the 2008 race will be the tenth running. The event was founded by Patrick Farris, then a history teacher at Warren County High School and now the executive director of the Warren Heritage Society. While driving the back roads of Warren County and coming up with running routes, he found that the Gooney Manor Loop was an especially beautiful road and decided he wanted to share it with the local running community. And thus was the Greasy-Gooney 10K born! Patrick continued as race director through the 2004 race, at which point he handed over the reins to current directors Terry Leckie and Karsten Brown.

Nothing much! We're pretty much planning on doing things the way we did them in 2005 & 2006-- which is to say, t-shirts available, trophies for the overall and age group winners, same age groups, same fun & relatively low-key vibe.

We're expecting about a hundred runners & walkers this year. Our record turnout had been 47 finishers until last year, when we wound up with a whopping 94 participants thanks to extra promotion and word of mouth. Not bad for a race held out in the boonies!

Yes! The Browntown Community Center will be open so that runners can use the restrooms in there. Many thanks to the Community Center Association for their hospitality! Given last year's increase in the number of participants, however, there might be some pretty good pre-race lines. So you might want to consider using a restroom somewhere on the way to the race or showing up a few minutes earlier. (We didn't hear any complaints last year, but if you were at last year's race and have any feedback on how things went with the bathroom situation, send us an e-mail!) Needless to say, please respect the local residents and refrain from whizzing on anybody's property.

Temperatures have usually been in the 40°s or 50°s at the start, although things were a bit warm (65°) for the 2000 race. The average high temperature for 27 October in this area is 61°, while the average low is 41°. With sunrise coming an hour and a half before the 9 AM start, temperatures will probably only have risen a few degrees from the early morning low by the time the race gets going. Here's how the weather's been at the start of all of the past editions of Greasy-Gooney:

You can check the current forecast for Browntown on the National Weather Service's Web site.

Nope! Because this is a not a large race (relatively speaking), we use the "finish card" method of keeping track of finishers. At the finish, you will be handed a numbered card in the order in which you finish. You'll be asked to fill out this card with your name, age, gender, etc., and turn it in right away. Then we use the cards to figure out the results. Very simple!

Well, ten kilometers is a fairly standard race distance, for one thing. For another, starting in Browntown would require more running along the relatively busier Bentonville-Browntown Road, whereas the 10K course is only on that road for a quarter of a mile. Besides, it's too late to change things now. This race started out as a 10K, and it's gonna continue as a 10K, by gummy!

Yes and no. The first 2½ miles are relatively mild, and the last 3.1 miles are virtually all downhill, so only the last half mile before the halfway point is particularly hard. That section will feel long and steep to just about everybody, although if you make the mistake of taking the first 2½ miles too fast, the steep section will feel especially difficult. But if you're just running the race recreationally, it won't feel as bad-- because you probably won't have any qualms about taking a walking break or two! Either way, expect to lose at least a minute or more off of your average 10K time because of the third mile.

Yes, we'll have two water stops this year, near the 2 and 4 mile marks. (If you know someone who would like to serve as a water stop volunteer, have them e-mail co-race director Karsten Brown!)

Rebecca Nathan claimed both the open and Masters course records with her 42:03 victory at the 2007 race. The men's Masters record also fell in 2007, with 47-year-old Mark Whalley destroying the old mark with his 36:57 finish. The men's open record remains from the inaugural race in 1999, where Frank Curiel blew away the competition with a 34:47 performance. Lots more event record info can be found via our past results page!

Sorry, money lovers, you'll have to look elsewhere. This race is about the love of running, not about a payday. We're too cheap anyway!

We'd really rather you didn't. With the rise of the iPod over the past couple years, headphone use has become a major safety issue for race organizers. USA Track & Field has banned headphones entirely at USATF-sanctioned events, and the Road Runners Club of America strongly discourages their use while running. We'd rather not have to implement a strict rule at Greasy-Gooney, and we're not going to disqualify anyone seen wearing headphones during the race this year. But our course is completely open to vehicular traffic, and the first four miles are on a narrow gravel road. We'd prefer that you be fully aware of your surroundings in case any cars or trucks come blazing down the mountain. So please, please leave your headphones and iPods at home or in your car.

Again, we'd rather you didn't. Yes, we've had runners run with dogs or baby joggers in the past (never with a dog in a baby jogger, though!). But again, it's an issue of safety (not to mention insurance), especially with the race's size having doubled last year. The road over those first four miles is just too narrow for a dog to be underfoot or a baby jogger to be in the way. And we really don't think a child would enjoy the bumpy gravel ride! So we officially discourage running with dogs or baby joggers in this particular race. (If you absolutely must run with either, we ask that you start in the back of the pack and keep your dog on a leash at all times.)

Like last year, we plan on offering trophies. The top three overall will receive larger trophies, while the top three in each age group will get 6" trophies (basically just a figurine on a marble base). (To save a few bucks, we ordered fewer than three trophies for the women's 55-59, 60-69, and 70 & over age groups, since historically we've seen few if any participants in those age groups. But if we do wind up with three or more runners/walkers in those age groups, not to worry-- we'll order up extra trophies and mail 'em after the race!)

Race founder Patrick Farris threw those onto the original race flyer just for fun. The Lord Fairfax award has so far gone uncontested, since you don't see many runners who look or dress like this anymore. As for the Awkward Race Outfit award, current co-race director Karsten Brown won it in each of the race's first four years, with Mark Vann getting the nod in 2003. In both 2004 and 2005, everyone dressed sensibly and the award went unclaimed, but none other than Batman (a.k.a. Rick Jacobs in full costume) showed up to grab the prize in 2006.

Assuming we end up with any money after the race, it will go to the Warren Heritage Society. The race has never really been intended as a fundraiser, though-- it's just an excuse to share the scenery of Warren County with other runners! We've tried to keep the entry fees as low as possible while still allowing us to cover our costs (trophies, t-shirts, donuts, etc.). The race has come out in the black over each of the past three runnings, with the Heritage Society receiving $110.82 in 2005, $165.41 in 2006, and $233.58 in 2007.

Right here on the Greasy-Gooney 10K Web pages! We'll also try to get 'em posted on the Web sites of the Washington Running Report and racePacket. The names of the top five men and women may also appear in tiny print in the Washington Post's Sports section on Sunday 26 October, assuming they have room.

Absolutely! The four words any race director loves to hear are "How can I help?" So if you want to serve as a volunteer in some capacity, send an e-mail to Karsten Brown and we'll find something for you to do.

Not anymore! Starting in 2007, the end of DST has been pushed back to the first Sunday in November. And even before '07, the clock change always came after the traditional Greasy-Gooney race date (usually on the following morning). So there's no need to worry about your resetting your clocks on the night before our race!

You may have noticed that when you move from page to page, a different "Greasy-Gooney 10K" title graphic, chosen at random, loads at the top of the page (assuming I have things set up correctly). I figured this would be a good way to show off the race's scenery. You can click on the title graphic to switch to another image (although this feature doesn't work in older Web browsers such as Netscape 4). There are a total of sixteen different title images. If you want to see 'em all on one page, click here!

As the Greasy-Gooney 10K is always held on the fourth Saturday in October, the presumed date of the 2008 race would be Saturday 25 October. This, of course, is not set in stone until we get all the proper permissions and such... but the odds are quite good that that's when the tenth running will take place! We'll be aiming to have the race info & flyer available by August 2008.

Just contact co-race directors Karsten Brown or Terry Leckie! Karsten is the guy who updates these Web pages; he can be reached by e-mail or by telephone at (540) 635-1773. Terry can be reached over the phone at (540) 635-1025.