(2019 FB page)

Race #10 in the MD RRCA Grand Prix Series Hosted by Piney Point Lighthouse Museum, Piney Point, MD in cooperation with St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks. To benefit Piney Point Lighthouse Museum and Chesapeake Bay Field Lab.

Register online or with mail-in form downloadable form.

• Start/Finish at the Lighthouse Museum Park at the end of Lighthouse Road
• General start time is 7:45 am. Early start (age 70+) is 7:30am. (At race director's discretion, early start may include age 60+.)
• Fast, flat, scenic course from the Lighthouse Museum Park to the Chesapeake Bay Field Lab on St. George Island. and back. No pets, strollers, baby joggers, bicycles, rollerblades/skates, or portable listening devices.
• Post-race cookout and awards ceremony at the Lighthouse Museum Park
• Time limit is two and a half hours. Runners must be on Lighthouse Rd by 10:00 a.m. Runners not maintaining pace for a timely finish will be swept from the course.
• Limited to 200 runners
• Awards to the top 3 men and women overall, and top 3 men and women in 10-year age groups. Cash awards to top overall finishers.

Entry Fees:	Until July 31	$35
	August 1 to September 30	$40
	October 1 to October 12	$45
	October 13 (Race Day)	$50

Packet Pickup and Late Registration
Saturday, October 12, 2019, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., Piney Point Lighthouse Museum, at the end of Lighthouse Road.

Pick up your T-shirt and bib number at pre-race packet pickup, or register for the race (if entries are available). This will save you time on race morning and give you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the course and venue. If you decide to drive the course, please be considerate of the residents on Lighthouse Road and St. George Island and observe the posted speed limits. Parking for packet pickup is available on the museum grounds.

If you can’t attend packet pickup on Saturday, you may pick up your packet at the venue on race morning from 6:45 to 7:30 a.m.

Race Day Parking
Parking is at Blanton Field, on Lighthouse Road about ¼ mile from the intersection of Rte 249. From Rte 249, turn right on Lighthouse Road, proceed just past Goddard Rd on your right and follow directions from the parking attendant. The lot is just over a mile from the start/finish, and you might enjoy running along the beachfront road as a warm-up. If you prefer to ride, volunteers will be available to shuttle you in their personal vehicles. Just wait by the roadside and a vehicle will be by shortly. The last shuttle will leave Blanton Field at 7:30, so if you arrive after that time, run west (with the water on your left) on Lighthouse Road to the end. Bag stowage is available at the start/finish.

Note: Limited parking is available at the start/finish. If you arrive early and Blanton Field is coned and unattended, continue to the end of Lighthouse Road.

Race Morning Packet Pickup
You may pick up your bib number and T-shirt between 6:45 and 7:30 a.m. at the start/finish.

Race Start
7:45 a.m., just past the museum building, about 100 feet from the end of Lighthouse Road. There are no road closures, but there is sufficient room to run on the 12-foot wide shoulders on the Rte 249 segment of the course, and traffic will be light on Lighthouse Road and St. George Island. A lead cyclist and course marshals will be on hand to ensure your safety. Although we cannot close the course to non-racing pedestrians and cyclists who are not involved with the race, we do not allow unregistered pacers, companion cyclists, pets, strollers, or rollerblades/skates.

The use of portable listening devices while in the race is strictly prohibited. The race staff reserves the right to disqualify any runner found to be in possession of a portable listening device while in the race (including via post-race photos). This is a safety issue – please comply.

Race Timing:
This is not a chip-timed race, so it is important that your race number be visible as you approach the finish line. Please pin it to the front of your clothing; do not pin it to your shirt if you expect to be taking it off during the race – better to pin it to the front of your shorts.

The tear-off strip at the bottom of your number is essential for timing, and the finish line crew will be removing it as you enter the finish chute. Please do not tear it off before the race.

If, after you’ve finished, you go back on the course to run with a friend, please do not cross the finish line a second time. The timer is punching a watch for everyone who crosses the finish, and if there’s no bib number associated with a recorded time, it causes a glitch and subsequent delay in results processing.

Runners must maintain pace to be back on Lighthouse Road by 10:00 a.m. (8.7 miles, ~15:30/mile pace) or risk being swept.

Course Details

Safety: There are no road closures. Traffic is generally very light on Rte 249, St. George Island, and Lighthouse Road. Rte 249 has 12’ wide, paved shoulders to safely accommodate runners. Runners will run on the left side of the roads, facing traffic, throughout the course. St. George Island and Lighthouse Road are residential. The roads are paved, but have no shoulders. Stay to your left at all times. Course marshals will be on hand to direct any traffic to ensure unimpeded passage by the runners. A police officer will be stationed at the north turnaround point to ensure that runners cross Rte 249 unimpeded by traffic.

Water/Aid: There will be water/aid stations approximately every two miles. Gatorade will be available at the Thomas Road aid station on St. George Island (Miles ~4 and ~6). In the event of unseasonably warm weather, additional water stations will be set up.

In case of emergency, contact the nearest aid station volunteer or course marshal. There will also be EMTs stationed on the course or patrolling on bicycle.

Portable Toilets: There are two portable toilets in a wooden enclosure in the parking lot on the mainland side of the St. George Island Bridge, on your left as you head south to the island (Mile ~2, and on your right as you return to the mainland (Mile ~7.8). Remember, there are no road closures, so please use caution if you must cross the road to use the toilet.

Time Limit: All runners must be back on the mainland by 9:30 a.m. Any runners who have not reached the water station at the bridge parking lot (just before Mile 8) by that time may be transported back to the finish at the discretion of the Race Director. In the event of a late start, cut-off times will be adjusted accordingly.

The Course – A Detailed Look
The USATF-certified course (MD08020JS) is pancake-flat except for the bridge crossing to and from St. George Island. The unique thing about this L-shaped race course is that you can see a lot of it laid out before you from certain sections. Stay to your left, facing traffic, throughout the course.

As you round the first curve on Lighthouse Road and glimpse the Potomac, look to your right around 1 o’clock and see the arched bridge to St. George Island, then follow the strip of land to the end. Through those trees, on the opposite side of that point, is where you’ll be turning around. Relax, it’s not as far as it looks. The bridge is just past the 2-mile mark, and the turnaround is just over 5 miles. Continue up Lighthouse Road and enjoy the picturesque beachfront, with its gazebos and whimsical nautical touches.

At about 1.25 miles you’ll reach Rte 249. A course marshal will point you left. You’ll be crossing to the other side of Rte 249 after about 1/10 mile. Remain on the shoulder and spot the willow trees up ahead, where a course marshal will wave you across and direct you south. Remain on the shoulder and continue past the entrance of the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship, hosts of the Lower Potomac River Marathon. Just before Mile 2 you’ll pass the side gate of the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship campus. Many of you know that driveway as the final 200 meters of the Lower Potomac River Marathon.

Continuing south, you’ll pass a complex of townhouses on your left before you reach the first water station, staffed by a few Friends of the Piney Pt. Lighthouse Museum. Geographical note: As you run south, that’s St. George Creek on your left, and the Potomac River on your right.

The road narrows on St. George Island; stay to the left of the centerline. Locals and veteran marathoners will recognize the Ruddy Duck Restaurant and St George Island Inn around Mile 3. Around Mile 4 you’ll reach the intersection of Thomas Rd, with an aid station staffed by volunteers from the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum. You’ll pass this point on the return, too.

Just past Mile 5, on Island Creek to your right, you’ll see the former home of the historic skipjack Dee of St Mary's, a beneficiary of the race. Go just past it and round the cone at the car turnaround area, where a big sign says, “U Can Turn Around Here.” Go back the way you came.

When you have the Potomac on your left, look over the water at 10 o’clock and spot the point of land jutting into the Potomac. That’s Piney Point, and the finish line. Geographical note: The Potomac River is about 4 miles wide at this point, and that’s Westmoreland County, VA, across the river.

You’ll be heading directly back to Lighthouse Road from here. As you come back over the bridge you’ll spot the huge davits at the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship to the right. Take another look left. Piney Point is just over two miles away by road. The water station you passed earlier will have moved across the road, and you’ll hit the 8-mile mark in a bit, then Lighthouse Road in about another ¼ mile. Left on Lighthouse Road and along the beachfront to the end!

Post-Race Cookout and Awards Presentation
The post-race picnic is hosted by the Friends of the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum, a beneficiary of the race. Enjoy grilled chicken wings, burgers, bratwurst, potatoes and toppings, and assorted beverages while waiting for the awards presentation.

Travel and Lodging
Information on local hotels and lodges from last year can be found here. We're in the process of checking it for updates now.

DON’T GO HOME YET – THERE’S MORE OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND TO ENJOY!

Out-of-town runners – you’re coming this far, so make a day of it! Bring a bicycle or kayak and enjoy the area! After you’ve looked around the museum and climbed to the top of the oldest lighthouse on the Potomac, launch your kayak and enjoy the views across the widest part of the Potomac River, or hop on your bike for a more leisurely look at the scenery you missed while running.

If you're not into biking or kayaking, head over to Solomons Island (if you're heading back to the Beltway via Rte 4/Penn. Ave, it's just off the Thomas Johnson Bridge after you cross the Patuxent River from St. Mary's Co. to Calvert Co.) for a leisurely stroll along the boardwalk, and cocktails or snacks at one of several waterside restaurants. For family fun, stop at Bowles Farm and get lost in Southern Maryland's largest cornfield maze http://www.bowlesfarms.com.

THANK YOU TO OUR HOST, SPONSORS AND DONORS!

The 12th annual Lower Potomac River Ten-Mile Run is made possible by the same generous sponsors of the 2019 Lower Potomac River Marathon: Michelob® Ultra™/Guy Distributing, Smartronix, Rozran & Spatz Orthopedics, and Deloitte.

Thank you to the Friends of the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum for hosting the post-race cookout, staffing the water stations, and providing the venue for pre- and post-race activities.

We also thank Pax Velo and So. MD Triathlon Club for providing volunteer cycle marshals, the Second District Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department, and all our volunteers.

$5 discount to members of Chesapeake Bay Running Club, Pax Velo, and So. Md Tri Club.

Parking will be at Blanton Field, about 1/4-mile down Lighthouse Rd. from Rte 249 on the right, about a mile from the start/finish. Volunteers will be shuttling runners to the start, or you can run/walk/bike to the start for a warm-up.

Register Online

Downloadable Entry Form

Past Results
All results from past years, along with course records, are available here.

If additional information is needed, contact the race director.