After a historic cross-country season in the Bay Rivers District, including the first girls state championship on the Peninsula, it can be easy to dwell on the past. After all, four BRD teams finished in the top five at the state cross-country championships including the Jamestown girls who captured the Class 4 crown.

But this year is not the end of the story. The Greater Williamsburg Distance Running Club is setting the standard for distance running in the state of Virginia. Fresh off its best season in history, GWDRC maintains a positive and fun environment for kids to get involved with distance running.

At the middle school state championships in October, GWDRC finished as the top girl’s middle school club team and the runner-up boys middle school club team in the state of Virginia. Leading the way for GWDRC was Amelia Valenti and Josie Mayo who secured top-10 finishes in a race with 341 runners.

On the boy’s side, it was Jonathan Grimm who finished as the Virginia Middle School State Champion in a meet-record time of 12:45 for the 4k course. Grimm finished the year as the state leader at the 4k and 5k distances. This past Saturday, Grimm finished his stellar XC season with another win at the Foot Locker South Region Championships in Charlotte, NC. The 8th grader ran a 16:15 5k to win the 13-14 race. Jonathan has a very bright future ahead of him in the Bay Rivers District.

There have been many strong runners from the Peninsula, but this group of young runners is looking to take the area by storm in the coming years. We cannot wait to see what they do as they start their high school careers!

We may not have to wait too long though, as middle school XC is coming to Williamsburg. This spring, runners from all four middle schools will take to the course in the inaugural cross country season in Williamsburg.

In order to fundraise for the upcoming season, the Spikesburg Story is having a 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10-mile fun run in December. On December 30th, area runners will flock to the Greensprings trail to run 2-10 miles together in support of middle school XC. We hope to see you out on the trail!

https://runsignup.com/Race/VA/Williamsburg/TheSpikesburgStory246810milerunandwalk