Petersburg Half Marathon, 5K post-race celebration: Free burgers, hot dogs, donuts, fruit

PETERSBURG — The Petersburg Half Marathon & 5K kicks off in Old Towne on Saturday, April 15. The annual "Running City Tour" which includes a Kids Fun Run highlights the city's history, draws tourists to the area, and promotes health and wellness, tourism and family fun

As of April 5, 891 people have registered to run, walk or jog while they experience historic Petersburg.

"Runners from 25 states have registered," Jason Miller, Petersburg Half Marathon & 5K race director, said. "Virginia is in the lead for the most registrants followed by North Carolina, Maryland, California and Pennsylvania in fifth place."

Petersburg has over 40 properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places including one National Historic Landmark. Sixteen of the properties are along the Petersburg Half Marathon course which is USA Track & Field certified.

The 13.1 and 3.1 miles of scenery designed to capture the historical aspects of Petersburg features Old Towne, Blandford Cemetery, underground railroad homes on Pocahontas Island, Trapezium House, Petersburg National Battlefield and more.

"When we built the racecourse, Sam Parham took us around to all the historical places and we designed it to incorporate them," Miller said. "There is no other race in the world with live Civil War reenactments."

Spectators are invited to view Civil War reenactments from 7 - 8:30 a.m. at Pocahontas and Sapony Streets on Pocahontas Island, only 600 yards from the start/finish line. In a field directly across the street from Historic Battersea, there will also be reenactments from 8 - 10:30 a.m.

"Reenactment locations are at miles 0.5 for both the half marathon and 5k, and we also have another reenactment at mile 10 for half marathon runners," Miller said. "The reenactors go through over 1000 musket caps during the duration of the race."

Each registered runner receives a T-shirt and a finisher medal.

Harbor Blast: 'Riverside' entertainment Prince George: Harbor Blast celebrates 25 years with 22 festivals

Appomattox River Wine Festival Virginia wine festival along Appomattox River: Sample wine, mead, cider, beer

"We have another amazing medal this year. We mimicked a Civil War medal," Miller said. "It has a very cool, unique design that nobody has ever done before."

Half Marathon finishers receive a 7-inch medal, and 5K finishers receive a 5-inch one. Post-race food and drinks will be provided to participants to celebrate their accomplishments. IDs will be required to drink beer.

"We're one of the only races that provides freshly-cooked food after the event," Miller said. "This year, we're going with burgers and hot dogs as well as fruit and other snacks."

Race participants better hustle across the finish line to enjoy Beaunuts donuts before they get gobbled up. The beef, turkey and veggie burgers are sponsored by BUBBA Burgers. I've eaten BUBBA burgers; they're pretty tasty, and don't even get me started on Beaunuts yummy donuts! LOL!

Your support helps keep the lights on at The Progress-Index! We are passionate about telling Petersburg's stories. Stay connected with our articles, enterprise reporting and more by clicking "Subscribe" at the top of the page.

Petersburg: 'Get Fit Market'

During the race, the River Street Market at 30 River St. will host its "Get Fit Market" from 9 a.m. to noon while they celebrate their 7th anniversary. Shop for healthy, local foods, homemade treats and beverages, handcrafted items and more.

"We will have Mickenzie Johnson of Heart of Hearts LLC with mindfulness tools, yoga and crystals. Sign up for a free holistic health coaching consultation," Cheryl Bursch, River Street Market manager, said. "Visit us on Facebook for more details."

Petersburg Half Marathon & 5K

It all begins and ends at the historic Petersburg Union Station in the heart of Old Towne, home to a variety of unique restaurants, galleries, shops, bakeries, Trapezium Brewing and more.

The charity race partner is United Athletics, founded in Richmond in 2012. Its mission is to pair local athletes and individuals who require physical assistance to participate in a variety of events such as swimming, biking, running and triathlon races.

The Half Marathon is off at 7 a.m., the 5K at 7:30 a.m. and the Kids Fun Run for ages 3-15 at 10:30 a.m. Petersburg Union Station is located at 103 River St. If you have questions or would like to volunteer, call Miller at 305-582-9680.

Visit RunPetersburg.com to register, for race information including registration fees, packet pickup, detailed course maps, timing and scoring, pace teams, awards and more. Follow on Facebook @PetersburgHalfMarathon & 5K.

Kiwanis: Wine Tasting Festival Chester: Hundreds of wine lovers sip, savor, mingle, admire art at the Perk

Chester: New ice cream shop Chester Cold Stone Creamery: Ice cream creations personalized works of art

— Kristi K. Higgins aka The Social Butterfly columnist is the trending topics and food Q&A reporter at The Progress-Index. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Contact Kristi (she, her) at khiggins@progress-index.com, follow @KHiggins_PI on Twitter @socialbutterflykristi on Instagram.

Your support is vital to local journalism. Please subscribe.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg Half Marathon & 5K: Post-race party, free burgers, hot dogs