Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon Will Host The Potomac Valley Association Half Marathon Championship

By George Banker
LDR Chair, Potomac Valley Track and Field

Potomac Valley Association/USATF is proud to be included as a supporter of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon presented by Burke & Herbert Bank, slated for September 19, 2010, 7:30 a.m.

"We're doing everything we can do to present a first-year race to our participants that has everything runners have come to expect from the decades-old established races," stated Steve Nearman, event founder and director.

The destination half marathon will begin at Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia, travel up the George Washington Memorial Parkway and over the majestic Woodrow Wilson Bridge path. Once in Maryland, the USATF-certified 13.1-mile course will travel clockwise around National Harbor resort with sweeping vistas of the famed Potomac River and the bridge before ending at the river in front of the eclectic Awakening Statue. This event is a must for your marathon training program.

The field is closing in on 3,000 paid entrants and is estimated to close out at 4,000 in the coming weeks. Registration can be found at www.wilsonbridgehalf.com.

The Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half-Marathon will host the Potomac Valley Association (PVA) Half Marathon Championship. To be eligible, runners must be members of PVA in good standing. There will be $2,200 in prize money for the top three Potomac Valley Association male and female runners (open and masters). Top three male/female earn $300-200-100, while the top three master male/female earn $250-150-100. To become a member please visit www.usatf.org/assoc/pva/membership.html to obtain a PVA membership.

Prize money is $8,200. In an act of support of American distance running, nearly half the purse is American-only money, starting with $800 for first place. Cash for overall male and female winners is $1,000. 

American Prize Money: Male/Female ($800-$500-$300-$200-$100).

Overall Prize Money: Male/Female ($1,000-$500-$250)

Masters Prize Money: Male/Female ($200-$150-$100) 

The race allows for double-dipping in prize money. Theoretically, a masters runner, male or female, who is a PVA member and who is an American, could even quintuple dip by being the first runner to cross the finish line, earning ($300 Open PVA+$250 Masters PVA+$800 American+$1,000 Overall +$200 Masters) for a grand total of $2,550.

Stop by on race weekend and see the USA Track & Field Mobile Marketing van and meet Stephanie and Justine at the Westin National Harbor, host hotel and race headquarters. The colorful van will be on display and offering official USATF gear.

The race will benefit six charity partners: the American Heart Association, Autism Speaks, Alice Ferguson Foundation, Child & Family Network Centers of Alexandria, Washington Area Women's Foundation and Back on My Feet - DC.

Leading the race will be a Mercedes-Benz pace car, which also will be present at packet pickups during race weekend.

Officials also announced today that AccelGel will be available on the course along with Powerade and water. All finishers will receive attractive and distinctive medals.

For information: visit wilsonbridgehalf.com or call Steve Nearman at