A "Little Local Race" No More

Posters offering babysitting and yoga classes don't seem to grab most people's attention. But a strip of paper with only a phone number and a location, plus the promise of being in the center of all the action? That doesn’t go unnoticed.

When Hugh Weisman started the Chilmark Road Race, back in 1978, he was taking his own runs throughout the week and coordinating fun runs for kids at the . “It occurred to me it would be great to have a little local race,” Weisman said. “So I ordered 100 paper numbers, put up some fliers and was shocked when around 200 showed up for the first race.”

The race down Middle Road has grown considerably in the more than 30 years since. The Chilmark Community Center, which sponsors the race, now caps participation at 1,500 people—a number it's already met. The race will take place Saturday, August 13, starting at 11 a.m.

This Island staple event will hardly go unnoticed. Since transportation to the starting point of the race can be difficult, Weisman has offered a new incentive.

“We will have a little gift this year for the first 200 runners boarding a bus,” Weisman said. “So come early enough to park, get your number, go to the bathroom and take the bus to the start.”

That's not the only change in store. The innovative race has shifted to a paperless, all-online registering process, and added a timing mat.

“This year we decided to go all online, which has been very successful,” Weisman said. “We’ll having a timing mat at the start so runners will have an accurate, but unofficial, elapsed time from start to finish,” Weisman said. “However, the official time that is used for determining results is the time from when the starting horn goes off until the runner finishes.”

Weisman himself has often found himself unable to run in the race—his back and knees, plus his commitment to organizing the event, have taken precedence. “I’ve run twice,” Weisman said. “My best time was 19:16.”

“For some, the race is deadly serious, and for others a chance to get out onto Middle Road with a lot of other great people,” Weisman said. “But all look forward to the race as one of the high points of the Vineyard summer.” 

Registration is now closed for the event. All proceeds from the race will benefit the Town Affairs Council, which assists in the operations of the Chilmark Community Center.