Moonlight Run

It was a fun night to be out on some of the northern Massanutten trails around Signal Knob for the 2011 Moonlight Run. 22 runners (2 dogs and 20 others) showed Friday Feb 18 for what was likely the warmest winter running of this event. A number of the vets seemed to miss having snow to reflect the moon, and to soften the trail. Looked like everyone had a good time nonetheless.

Most of the participants took advantage of the nice conditions to finish in under 4 hours, and even those of us bringing up the rear didn’t take too much longer than that to get back to the Signal Knob parking lot. The clear skies and those mild temps helped speed things along. It did get chilly later, as an early brisk wind just grew stronger as the night went on, and seemed to come from virtually every direction at one time or another. The trail was generally dry, other than some lower parts of the Signal Knob access road near the Strasburg Reservoir, and the Mudhole Gap trail section.

Big thanks to Kathy and Dan Pesta for providing the delicious chowder that served as the centerpiece for the post-run gathering. And thanks to everyone else who was able to stick around and take part in the potluck party in the parking lot.

The 2012 Moonlight Run will be under new direction, as Bill Wandel will take ownership of the event next year.