Nine of our very own staff represented Virginia State Parks last weekend at the annual Shamrock Marathon weekend races in Virginia Beach. 

Virginia Beach sunrise over the ocean on the race morning

Every year, the Shamrock Marathon event offers the Yuengling Marathon, Anthem Half Marathon, Townebank 8K, and Operation Smile Final Mile for kids. This year, the weekend saw about 30,000 participants and nine of us were proud to represent Virginia State Parks.

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. It’s probably something along the lines of “they must be out of their minds”, right? Well, we didn’t quite run the marathon, but here was the rundown of staff participation:

• 5 staff power walked the 8K
• 4 staff ran the 8K
• 2 staff ran the half marathon

The 8K event had approximately 8,200 participants and the half marathon had approximately 6,800 participants. Aside from running against brutal 20 mph headwinds on the beach, the race was an absolute blast. I had never run a race before, so I had no idea what to expect going into the weekend. Luckily, some of my fellow Virginia State Park staff members had run races before so they helped me get through the day. We also had two park employees volunteer to shuttle all nine of us to the race to save a little gas, which made the travels much easier amongst 8,000+ people. We were very thankful for their generosity!

Virginia State Parks' staff in front of the sand sculpture directly after the 8K race

It felt great to work as a team towards one of the overarching purposes for Virginia State Parks: to be a “tonic for the mind, body and spirit” (Joe Elton, Former Director of Virginia State Parks). It’s not our intent solely to preserve natural and cultural resources for future generations, or to provide the best recreational opportunities, or to positively engage the surrounding communities. We do all of those things and more. We ultimately care about the health of each and every visitor that steps foot in our beautiful parks – and that’s why we want to facilitate healthy living. The race last weekend was an excellent application for bringing this vital purpose to fruition.

The race was certainly a positive experience, but running isn’t the only thing that brought us to Virginia Beach.

The night prior to the races was a chance for staff to show their support for one another. A spaghetti dinner fundraiser was held in name of the Virginia State Park Benevolence Association, which helps out park employees who experience financial hardships and even offers assistance to staff wishing to further their education. All in all, the fundraiser was a tremendous success and the donations will greatly benefit some of our own staff members in need for the future. The food, the camaraderie, and the fundraiser certainly made the whole experience that much more special!

Staff present at the Virginia State Parks Benevolence Association fundraiser dinner

Now I could finally cross it off my bucket list and say “Momma, I ran a race!” And even better, we all participated for several great causes. Of course when I got home, my mom asked if I won the race and I said no, to which she responded “… well, you’re always a winner in my book”.