The Greasy-Gooney 10K is named after two streams past which the course runs. The first half of the course parallels Greasy Run, while the second half runs alongside Gooney Run (also sometimes referred to as "Gooney Creek"). It seemed only natural to use these two great stream names in the name of our 10K! Both streams come down from Hogback Mountain, with Greasy Run flowing into Gooney Run about a mile north of Browntown. Gooney Run, supposedly named after Lord Fairfax's favorite hound, eventually drains into the South Fork of the Shenandoah River at Karo, about 4½ miles southwest of Front Royal.

The Greasy-Gooney 10K was first held on Saturday 23 October 1999, so the 2024 race will be the twenty-sixth edition. The event was founded by Patrick Farris, then a history teacher at Warren County High School who went on to serve as the executive director of the Warren Heritage Society for many years. While driving the back roads of Warren County and coming up with running routes, he found that the Gooney Manor Loop was an especially beautiful road and decided he wanted to share it with the local running community. And thus was the Greasy-Gooney 10K born! Patrick continued as race director through the 2004 race, at which point he handed over the reins to Karsten Brown and Terry Leckie. Karsten is now the lone RD, albeit with invaluable ongoing help from many. (If you'd like to serve the race in any capacity, either this year or in future years, send Karsten an e-mail!)

Not much! The only significant change we're making this year is expanding the old 70 & over age groups to 70-74, 75-79, and 80 & over, so as to offer a few more trophies to our older participants. Beyond that, though, we don't anticipate any other real changes. We've kept our entry fees the same as in 2022 & 2023, and our premium is once again a knit cap, a.k.a. "beanie", this time in royal blue & white. Course will be the same, same trophies, same cheapo random prizes, same low-key small-race vibe.

Turnouts vary from year to year, and race day weather always plays a role. Recent live Greasy-Gooneys have seen around 90 to 130 people, and that's what we'll be planning for.

Yes! We plan to have three portable toilets from L&B Portables set up outside of the Browntown Community Center. Needless to say, please respect the local residents and refrain from whizzing or pooping on anybody's property. Use the porta-pots; that's why they're there!

Temperatures have usually been in the 40°s or 50°s at the start, although things were a bit warm for the 2000 and 2009 races (65° and 70° respectively) and a bit cold in 2012 & 2013 (most notably 33° in 2013, when the race director's car wouldn't start ten minutes before the race was to begin!). The average high temperature for 26 October in this area is 61°, while the average low is 41°. With sunrise coming an hour and a half before the 9 AM start, temperatures will probably only have risen a few degrees from the early morning low by the time the race gets going. Here's how the weather's been at the start of all of the past in-person editions of Greasy-Gooney:

You can check the current forecast for Browntown on the National Weather Service's Web site.

Yes! In 2022 we used race numbers for the first time since our inaugural race in 1999, and things went well enough that we decided to keep using them. So plan to pick up your number on race morning, be sure to make sure you're wearing it before you leave for the starting line, and please pin your number to the front of your outermost clothing layer and make sure the number is visible when approaching the finish line. When you cross the finish line, a volunteer will need to pull the tag off the bottom of your number, so please be sure to stay in the order in which you finished until your tag has been pulled.

Well, ten kilometers is a fairly standard race distance, for one thing. For another, starting in Browntown would require more running along the relatively busier Bentonville Road, whereas the 10K course is only on that road for a quarter of a mile. Besides, it's too late to change things now. This race started out as a 10K, and it's gonna continue as a 10K, by gummy!

Yes and no. The first 2½ miles are relatively mild, and the last 3.1 miles are virtually all downhill, so only the last half mile before the halfway point is particularly hard. That section will feel long and steep to just about everybody, although if you make the mistake of taking the first 2½ miles too fast, the steep section will feel especially difficult. But if you're just running the race recreationally, it won't feel as bad-- because you probably won't have any qualms about taking a walking break or two! Either way, expect to lose at least a minute or more off of your average 10K time because of the third mile.

We will have a minimum of one water stop, but we may offer two depending on conditions and volunteer availability. (If you or someone you know would like to serve as a water stop volunteer, send us an e-mail!)

The women's course record was lowered by over a minute and a half by Candace DeLong in 2015; Candace ran an impressive 40:04. Seumas O'Reilly holds the men's record with his blazing 34:19 finish in 2013. The event's Masters records were both set at the 2007 event, where Rebecca Nathan ran a 42:03 and the ageless Mark Whalley ran a 36:57. Lots more event record info can be found via our past results page!

As this is an old-school race with an extremely low budget... Nope. We will, however, give you a hearty pat on the back at the finish line if you'd like!

Nope! Again, low budget race here.

The top three overall will receive large-ish trophies, while the top three in each age group will get 6" trophies (basically just a figurine on a marble base).

Nope, sorry. Apart from the obvious liability and insurance issues, it's a matter of safety. The course is completely open to vehicular traffic, and the road is narrow at times with blind curves and blind hills. You're going to need to devote as much attention as possible to not getting run over by automobiles. So leave the earbuds, headphones, iPods, and MP3 players at home or in the car, please. We're serious about this-- indeed, we will be disqualifying any participant seen in possession of headphones/earbuds, whether they are in or out of the runner's ears, while the race is in progress. I know this sounds harsh, but we just really don't want anyone getting hurt during our race. (We haven't had any headphone DQs at Greasy-Gooney yet, so please don't be the first!)

Nope. Aside from the fact that the music will still reduce your ability to hear approaching vehicles, it seems presumptuous to assume that other participants want to hear your tunes while they try to enjoy our race. The RD knows a number of runners who are incredibly irritated by other race participants who play music out loud through their phones or through wireless speakers. Thus, listening to music in any way is not welcome at the Greasy-Gooney 10K. Honestly, if you can't get through 6.2 miles of running without music, this is not the race for you.

Again, nope. Same reasons as the headphones thing: safety and liability. The road over those first four miles is just too narrow for a dog to be underfoot or a baby jogger to be in the way. (Our only exception to this rule is if the participant requires a wheeled device to help with a disability.)

If he or she is a registered Greasy-Gooney 10K participant, yes. If not, no. It is the height of cheapness to "bandit" a race, especially one as reasonably priced as the Greasy-Gooney 10K, and bandits are not welcome here. Any registered runner seen running with an unregistered runner during the race will be disqualified. Please run somewhere else if you and/or your friends are too cheap to support this small, not-for-profit event.

Yeah, that's fine, although it may result in a little extra scrutiny from our volunteers. But as long as you have no headphones or earbuds and aren't playing any audio, no worries! We know a lot of people use their phones for GPS tracking nowadays. (Be aware that although your phone will undoubtedly pick up GPS signals on the course, you may not get a consistent cell signal either on the course or in Browntown. So you probably shouldn't worry about doing any mid-race Instagramming or TikTok-ery!)

Spectators are welcome to walk to the start (and walk back once the race is underway), and they're welcome to cheer at the finish line as well. But we ask that spectators refrain from driving to the start or driving out along the course. There is no parking at the start; the start line is along a state road in front of a private residence. And the course itself is narrow (particularly the first four miles), so we'd prefer to keep spectator vehicles off of it while the race is in progress.

Don't worry, we're not trying to swindle you! This is a low-budget race funded entirely by the entry fees, and the race is not intended to make any sort of significant profit. While we've managed to come out in the black most years, losing money on the race is a very real possibility-- particularly if the race day weather is poor and we get fewer race day entries than expected. So regardless of whether or not you can make it on race day, the race still has the same expenses to cover, and we've already spent the preregistrants' entry fee money by the time race day rolls around. Hence, no refunds and no transfers. (This is a fairly common policy at races and is generally understood by most runners; we just thought it'd be best to specify it in writing.)

Okay, the one exception to our "no refund" policy that we will consider is if you wind up feeling ill on the day before or the morning of the race. If you don't feel well, we definitely want you to stay home, and we don't want you showing up anyway just because you already paid your entry fee. So if you get sick around race day, you can e-mail us and we will consider granting you a refund, although we make no guarantees. That said, we ask that you please consider not requesting a refund, as all proceeds from the race do go to two fine local charitable organizations (see below) and we'd love it if you just considered your entry fee to be a donation to them.

We decided to simplify things a bit in 2022 and reduce our headaches in tallying the race finances, so we dumped the old $1 discount for most regional running clubs. Sorry about that. Members of the Shenandoah Valley Runners will still get an entry fee discount, however, since the SVR sponsors our event.

Nope! Our fees are what they are. This is not one of these newfangled races that try to gin up interest with extra discounts, "ambassador" programs, coupon codes, and so on.

Assuming we end up with any money after the race, it will be split 50/50 and donated to the Browntown Community Center Association and the Humane Society of Warren County. (In previous years, our proceeds went to the BCCA only, and in 2018 & 2019 we solicited additional donations separately for the HSWC. Having used our virtual 2020 & 2021 races to raise money for both organizations during the pandemic, we decided to carry that over to our live race in 2022 and contribute equally to both again.) The race has never really been intended as a fundraiser, though-- it's just an excuse to share the scenery of Warren County with other runners! We've tried to keep the entry fees as low as possible while still allowing us to cover our costs (trophies, premiums, bananas, etc.). Generally we've tended to come out in the black by a couple hundred dollars. Although last year we wound up with $1,441.60, which was amazing! Definitely an event record.

Aside from volunteers getting a free knit hat, and the race director maybe eating a few bags of leftover chips after the race is over, no, nobody involved is financially or otherwise compensated. Your entry fees do go to various businesses to cover our race expenses (portable toilets, refreshments, premiums, trophies, etc.), but every penny beyond that goes to our race beneficiaries! The race director has no connection to, and no financial interests in, any of the businesses paid for goods & services for our race.

Right here on the Greasy-Gooney 10K Web pages! We may also try to upload the final results to RunSignup if we can figure out how to do so.

Absolutely! The four words any race director loves to hear are "How can I help?" So if you want to serve as a volunteer in some capacity, send an e-mail to Karsten Brown and we'll find something for you to do. All volunteers are entitled to a free Greasy-Gooney 10K beanie, while supplies last! (We may also have an extra-special super-secret beanie color or two available for our volunteers only...)

Nope, not for a decade and a half! The end of DST was pushed to the first Sunday in November way back in 2007. And even before then, the switch to Standard Time was always after our race took place (usually the following morning).

As the Greasy-Gooney 10K is always held on the fourth Saturday in October, the presumed date of the 2025 race would be Saturday 25 October. This, of course, is not set in stone until we get all the proper permissions and such... but the odds are quite good that that's when the twenty-seventh running will take place! We'll be aiming to have the race info available by August or September 2025.

Projected race dates beyond 2025 (if we still feel up to putting on this race after twenty-seven years!): Saturday 24 October 2026, Saturday 23 October 2027, and Saturday 28 October 2028.

The COVID-19 pandemic, of course. In light of the obvious public health issues, the many adjustments we would've needed to make, and the strain these things would've put on our limited financial & volunteer resources, we felt it just didn't seem necessary to try and stage an in-person event either year. Thankfully we were in a much better position in 2022 to stage a live event without big adjustments, though we certainly had no problems with participants taking any precautions they wish on race day. You're welcome to e-mail us with any concerns you might have related to COVID-19 and your participation.

You may have noticed that when you move from page to page, a different "Greasy-Gooney 10K" title graphic, chosen at random, loads at the top of the page (assuming I have not made any JavaScript errors). I figured this would be a good way to show off the race's scenery. You can click on the title graphic to switch to another image. There are a total of sixteen different title images. If you want to see 'em all on one page, click here!

Sorry, the design of this site dates back to 2006, before everyone was carting around mobile devices everywhere. We keep hoping to do a complete mobile-friendly web site redesign, but the world keeps getting in the way. Hopefully we'll get it done eventually!

Just contact race director Karsten Brown by e-mail or by telephone at (540) 635-1773.