Pictures of the race are posted here and here.

On Saturday, December 3, runners enjoyed the winter like weather running in the inaugural Broad Run Trail 5 Mile Jingle Bell Run.  Over 75 runners, and walkers, registered for the new race which was created to highlight the Broad Run Linear Trail.  It was a crisp morning with the temperature hovering around the 35F mark.  For many of the runners this was the first time they had run a race on a trail, or raced in a 5 mile event.

As the runners started off on their journey they created a joyful holiday sound with jingle bells announcing their presence along the Broad Run trail, through the woods and on to the finish line at Victory Lakes Elementary School.   Feedback from the runners, and walkers, was extremely positive with many commenting on the wonderful sights experienced along the trail.  Several people had the opportunity to observe an eagle flying over the trail area.

Everyone was a winner in the Jingle Bell 5 Miler.  Haben Zemichael was the overall winner and first place in the women’s division overall went to Emily Ferguson.  We want to thank The Running Store and Dick’s Sporting Goods for supporting the race with wonderful prizes for the overall and age group winners.  Of course everyone walked away something from the race to include a great experience on the trail, a water bottle from the Park Authority and jingle bells that can be used for the holiday season.

The Broad Run Linear Trail is one of several trail projects being worked on by volunteers from Prince William Trails and Streams Coalition (PWTSC) with support from the Prince William County Park Authority.  Currently the trail runs from the vicinity of Victory Lakes Elementary along the Broad Run up to the Kingsbrooke sub-division.  The trail will eventually run from behind the Target on Route 28 to Glenkirk Road near Lake Manassas which is approximately 7.5 miles. In the next couple of months two new bridges will be built along the trail near Victory Lakes to create easier access to the trail for trail users.  Information concerning PWTSC can be found at http://www.pwtsc.org.

Good news. The Lake Jackson Dam Public Canoe/Kayak put-in point has been approved by Prince William County. With that in mind, on September 17, we finished roughing in a new trail to the river.  See the photo gallery for before during and after pictures.

The trail starts on far right side of construction site behind piles of dumped dirt. Entrance from Parking Sign area still needs to be done.

I will try to meet and talk with the contractor at the site on Monday about moving his equipment forward about 10 feet, and perhaps helping us with building the Trail in that area and in improving the Parking area.

There are a lot of invasive plants in new trail area and we will need help in identifying and removing them so they do not kill the good trees there.

We removed about 4 bags of trash, 1 bag of recyclables, and an old tire from area. There is still a lot of broken glass down near the river and that part of trail needs improving.

A few Saturdays ago, our lovable but notoriously uncooperative ducks landed in the Occoquan River once again.  If you were unable to attend the Duck Splash this year, check out this video that the LakeRidge-Occoquan Patch produced.

We would like to thank everyone for another successful Duck Splash this year.  The 2011 winners are:

1.  #631: Janet Gunn, Nokesville

2.  #1417: Diane Behm, Woodbridge

3.  #1418: Sara Reinhardt, Manassas

4.  #341: Lauryn (no last name)

5.  #468: Carol Stevens, Woodbridge

6.  #415: M. Bechtoldt, Woodbridge

7.  #1165: Whitney Bolton, Woodbridge

8.  #1461: Diane Cunha, Occoquan

9.  #1201: Jake Reifsnyder, Woodbridge

10. #1404: Paul Touchet, Lake Ridge

The Fifth Annual Occoquan River Duck Splash netted several thousand dollars that PWTSC will use to purchase tools and supplies for the many cleanups and trail workdays that we hold throughout the year.

We would like to thank all of the people who purchased tickets, came down to cheer the ducks on, or helped wrangle the ducks before, during and after the race.  Thanks also to the beautiful town of Occoquan for hosting the event and Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta for all his hospitality.  See you next year!