Release - March 31, 2011

Letter from the Race Director to Participants and Volunteers of the George Washington Parkway Classic, regarding Contingencies for Federal Government Shut Down:  

DEAR PARTICIPANTS AND VOLUNTEERS:

Welcome to the 27th running of the George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Mile & 5K. We thank you for your continued support of this event and are looking forward to a great race next week.  

IMPACT OF POSSIBLE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN ON PARKWAY CLASSIC

We are following closely the current federal budget situation and the possible federal government shut down should Congress not come to a resolution by midnight, April 8, 2011.  

If the federal government does shut down, it is very possible that the Parkway Classic will not be able to run on April 10, 2011 as originally scheduled. The Parkway Classic is run primarily on roads maintained by and under the direction of the federal National Park Service (NPS), an agency that would be closed should the government shut down. But please do not worry; we do have a contingency plan. 

THE CONTINGENCY PLAN

We have been working extremely close with our legislative and municipal partners on contingency plans for the event should a government shut down occur and we are unable to secure an exemption to run on April 10.   

Our team has been working nonstop on this issue and we have secured an alternate date (“rain” date) of May 1, 2011 at 8:00am for the running of the race in its entirety in the unlikely event the government does shut down and we do not secure an exemption to run on April 10.   

At this point in time, we are still running the race on April 10.  

It is our belief, and that of our advisors, that there will be Congressional resolution and a shut down will be avoided. However, considering the timing of the budget deadline, political climate, and our desire for transparency, we are communicating our contingency plan to our runners and volunteers so you are able to plan and prepare should we need to trigger the rain date and move the race to May 1, 2011. 

OUR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

We will continue to update you on the situation via the website and via e-mail communication. You can expect to have website updates every few days and an e-mail confirming our plans once we receive final confirmation from our municipal partners.  

Please continue to check our website and your e-mails for official word from the race, as it is possible that we may not be able to make a final decision until the last possible moment, which could be as late as 12:01am, April 9, 2011. We do expect, however, that we will receive confirmation by mid-next week and we will communicate to you as soon as we have information.  

At this point, we are moving forward with “business as usual” and preparing for an event on April 10. We encourage you to pick up your packets and prepare as you would, should you be racing on April 10. If there is a race date change, you would simply use the items given to you at packet pick up.  

Throughout this process, my top priorities were, and are, our participants and our beneficiaries. It is extremely important to me that the time and resources you invested into your training for this event are put to the streets and we are able to continue to raise funds for the kids of the Alexandria Boys & Girls Club.   

In closing, I would like to thank the following individuals and agencies for their efforts and support: the Office of Representative Jim Moran, City of Alexandria City Council including Rob Krupicka and Paul Smedberg, City of Alexandria Police Department and Parks Department, particularly Sgt. Joe Seskey and Jack Broward, National Park Service, United States Park Police, Virginia Department of Transportation, BAE Systems, especially Heather Hescheles, Ben Klein, Justin Wilson, Bill Reifsnyder, my staff, our volunteers, sponsors, vendors, and supporters.    

I appreciate your understanding and support.
Good luck and we will see you at the race!  

Sincerely,
Kathy Dalby
Managing Partner
Pacers Events