The Martinsville Mile is set to be held on the Dick & Willie Trail at 7 p.m. on July 20, one of many reasons for the area’s rich history of foot races, courtesy of help from the local YMCA and Joe Philpott, who works to promote the events to the public.
Currently, races are scheduled throughout the year, but this wasn’t always the case, and COVID-19 threw a wrench into many runners’ plans back in 2020.
The community now hosts a roster of different races outside of the races that Philpott works with, including The Great Goblin Gallop and the Mud Run, held during the Smith River Fest.
“Miles of Martinsville is really the running arm of the community” and the YMCA, said Philpott, who added that the races started in 2011 when Brad Kinkema, the current executive director of the YMCA, came to town.
“He got the idea that we would have this running group called Miles of Martinsville and that we would have several races per year,” Philpott said, adding that the goal was to engage the running community.
“The first one I remember was the Martinsville half-marathon in March of 2011,” Philpott said. The race started at the YMCA and went through the city of Martinsville. “It was a pretty big event.”
“After that, we began having around a half-dozen races a year,” he said. These races happen year-round, but the ones hosted in the heat are typically shorter to account for the health of the runners.
There is typically a race during the winter that involves the Dick & Willie. Originally, the race was 9 miles long, but to accommodate different types of runners. “It was the same course, but you turned around at two and a half miles.
“It was a small race, but we had a good following. We had runners coming in from around the region,” Philpott said.
During the Nail the Rail Winter Race, golden railroad spikes were distributed to runners who made it in under 60 minutes. The run times for winning a golden railroad spike have since been adjusted for both men and women to give runners of all ages a chance at the creative prize.
A Super 5k was added in 2012 as part of the Youth in Motion Program. The Turkey Day 5K and Light up the Night 5K were added the same year. The Martinsville Mile started the same year, initially named the Martinsville Speedway Mile.
The Martinsville Mile has also been known as the Smith River Mile, UpTown Martinsville Mile, Bee City UpTown Martinsville Mile, the Martinsville Dick & Willie Mile, and now, simply, the Martinsville Mile.
Races went on for years before COVID-19 hit, canceling the half marathon, Harvest Moon, and Turkey Day in-person races. To promote running, a virtual half-marathon was conceived where runners could submit GPS data as proof of their distances and times.
This took the place of the 10th in-person annual race, Philpott said. “We had a hundred and some people that still registered for it and chose to run the race virtually.”
Runners could do the half-marathon anywhere of their choosing. While the race didn’t give awards due to terrain differences affecting run times, participants were sent shirts. “We had people from all over the country” participating, he said.
“It was a tragic thing that we had to cancel the race, but people got on board,” and by 2021 and 2022, the half marathon came back in person. It wasn’t held in 2023 due to logistical issues.
“Part of the reason was we had to do a lot with the city and closing off streets, and there were some problems with merchants, so we just thought it would be better not to do it,” Philpott said, adding that based on feedback received due to the cancellation, organizers brought the race back for 2024.
On April 27, “we had the SOVAH Health Half-Marathon and 5-K,” Philpott said. “That was a good race. We had some serious run times.”
The Martinsville Mile is the next race set to take place and attracts both local and out-of-town runners. Philpott said the races help to draw business to the local area, which in turn helps to bolster the economy.
Additionally, the races have helped to enhance the community. The Holiday Run Festival raised money and collected donations that Grace Network then distributed to families in the local community. The Harvest Moon Run encourages a family-friendly atmosphere.
The Youth in Motion program is also in place to encourage young boys and girls to run. The YMCA also partnered with the Elster Foundation to give away the Hugh Gerlach Determination Award during the SOVAH Health Run Spring Challenge.
Several races are scheduled for 2024, including Harvest Moon Run 5K-8K and Dancing on Depot on September 13, Turkey 2 Miler on November 28, and the Holiday Run Festival on December 7.
The presenting sponsor for this Martinsville Mile is Lester Building Supply. The event will be run on a one-mile downhill section of the area’s iconic Dick & Willie Passage Trail. The race will start near the intersection of the Uptown Connection Trail and the Dick & Willie Trail and finish near the Liberty Street Trailhead.
All ages, speeds and experience are welcome. Two heats are planned. One for faster runners expecting to finish in seven minutes or faster. A second heat will include those expecting to run the course in over seven minutes plus walkers. The results from both heats will be combined to determine overall and age group winners.
For more details and online registration, interested runners should visit the race website at http://www.milesinmartinsville.com/races.cfm. The online registration deadline is midnight July 17.
More information is available on the website at http://www.milesinmartinsville.com. Questions can be emailed to race officials at braverunner67@gmail.com.
