PURCELLVILLE, Va. – May 31, 2014 – The 4th Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon, presented by Visit Loudoun and Newton Running, will be remembered by its participants as a special day whose most honored runner never even made it to the start line.
Amanda Scott, from Boulder, Colo. was the fastest woman on a picture perfect day in Loudon County. Amanda, who runs for Newton, set the course record with a 1 hour, 19 minute, 22 second time on a scenic 13.1 mile loop course that starts and finishes at Doukénie Winery in Purcellville, Via. Scott bested Arlington, VA resident and 2nd place finisher Erin Taylor (1:23:52), and Brenda Schrank of Winchester, Va., who finished third for the third consecutive year (1:25:22). Scott finished fourth overall and took home $800 in prize money, a Riedel decanter and $100 worth of Virginia wine.
Christopher Pruitt from Sandy Spring, MD won his first Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon with a time of 1:12:43. Pruitt cruised to an easy start-to-finish victory over Alex Anthony of Herndon, VA (1:18:21) and seventeen year-old Alex Paddison of Adamston, Md. (1:19:03). The most recognized name in the field, Jaime Rowley, was honored at the start line and again at the awards ceremony for inspiring the sold-out field of runners from 40 states and 5 foreign countries. Jaime, a single mother of two, was killed in March while training for the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon.
Jaime’s time and bib number can be found in the official results, see Jaime Rowley, bib #1945 (2:03:20). Her friend Kerri Julian ran in her place while other friends and her sister were at the event to raise money to place a bench in her memory in the neighborhood where Jaime lived and took her training runs. $3,000 was raised through contributions from runners and Destination Races, the event producer.
“This was a truly special day for all of us, in so many ways,” said Destination Races President and Race Director, Matt Dockstader. “It was an absolutely gorgeous day, everyone was smiling, many were crying, but I know everyone felt like Jaime blessed us with this beautiful day and memorable experience.”
This wine-themed race is the only East Coast location for the popular Wine Country Half Marathon series. The race starts and finishes at Doukénie Winery in DC’s Wine Country, Loudoun County. Dounkenie is also the host site for the post-race Wine & Music Festival in a beautiful outdoor setting where a dozen wineries from the region pour in the Vineyard Lounge. The festival also included the awards ceremony, exhibitors, local food vendors and the popular Letitia VanSant and her Indie rock band, The Bonafides.
Dojo won the team competition and Team Zephania defended its title as the winery champion.
The Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon also raised money for a number of charitable organizations. This year’s beneficiaries include Special Olympics Loudoun County, Girls on the Run of Northern Virginia, Loudoun Roadrunners, One Team One Fight, Visit Loudoun, and City of Hope.
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