The Weekend Experience: Snapshot

Limited to 20 participants
- Beautiful and historic location
Guided runs each day on paved roads and trails (Optional 5k or half marathon on Saturday with - Colonial Half Marathon at additional cost)
- Featured Friday speaker Sika Henry
- Featured Saturday speaker Heather Hamilton
- Yoga for Runners workshop Maria Peters
- Women's self-defense workshop
- Q&A and direct access with featured speakers
COST: $300 includes:
Daily guided runs
Refreshments post runs on Saturday and Sunday, and after self-defense workshop
Friday and Saturday dinners (meals and beverages, alcohol excluded)
Featured guest speakers
Self-defense workshop
Yoga for Empowered Women
?Hotel is not included in registration fee, but we have a host hotel with a reduced rate and all participants are asked to use this hotel

Friday

1:30 pm: Optional early meet up and run starting at Precarious Beer Project to meet your new running friends and then head out at 2:00 pm for a run around The College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg for a 3-6 mile run.
3:00 pm (or after): Hotel check in (https://www.choicehotels.com/.../comfort-suites-hotels/va560) (special rate of $99 a night, hotel includes hot buffet breakfast and indoor heated pool; hotel reservation is a separate cost and made on your own - reservation discount link provided at time of weekend registration)
6:00 pm: Dinner at Craft 31 with featured speaker (Meal and beverage included in registration except alcohol)
Featured speaker Sika Henry https://www.sikahenry.com/about?
After dinner & our guest speaker head back to the hotel (heated pool is open until 11 pm)

Saturday

3 morning running options
Morning run (time TBD) with Weekend Participants in Williamsburg (Location tbd)
Register (additional fee) for the Colonial 5k to run through Colonial Williamsburg and surrounding area
Register (additional fee) for the Colonial half marathon to run through Colonial Williamsburg and surrounding area
Free time (on your own) - options include:
shopping at the outlets
visiting museums
visiting Colonial Williamsburg
enjoying lunch at one of many amazing restaurants in the area
visiting a local spa
2:15 pm - Women's Self-Defense Class at The Williamsburg Dojo
Snacks (provided)
4:15 - 5:15 pm Yoga for Empowered Women led by Maria Peters
After connecting with your breath class begins with dynamic stretching to warm the body followed by gentle poses to further awaken muscles and joints. Simple transitions from one pose to another energize and promote the mind/body connection. Back and abdominal core strengthening is sprinkled through your journey. Once the body is heated, static stretches elongate and realign the muscles and fascia. A brief relaxation period ends the class.
Back to hotel to change
6:30 pm - Dinner at Tuscany Ristorante Italiano with featured speaker (Meal and beverage included in registration except alcohol)
Featured speaker Heather Hamilton
Presenting on:
Master Female Runner: In addition to typical age-related changes that runners face, the master female runner also experiences a unique aging process due to the hormonal changes associated with menopause. These age-related and hormonal changes can ultimately affect running performance and overall health. However, there are several strategies that female runners can use to optimize their training to mitigate these changes.

Pelvic Health: Female runners commonly experience symptoms of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, such as urinary leakage, urinary urgency and/or frequency, and pelvic pain. These symptoms may interfere with training activities and can also be related to other musculoskeletal conditions that runners experience. While these symptoms are unfortunately common, they are also treatable and can be addressed by a specialized pelvic health physical therapist.
After dinner & our guest speaker head back to the hotel (heated pool is open until 11 pm)

Sunday

Morning trail run at the Warhill Multi-Use Trail - Trail loop is 3.7 miles.
Two start times - 9 am and 10 am (and run/walk additional loops). Loops can be modified to reduce length by taking a road access back to cars at the mid-way point for each loops
Enjoy the rest of your day in Williamsburg before heading home (on your own options include outdoor recreational activities, shopping at the outlets and other stores in Williamsburg, and visiting museums and Colonial Williamsburg)

Friday's Featured Speaker: Sika Henry

Sika Henry is a Corporate Analyst for Ferguson Enterprises and a Professional Triathlete based in Newport News, VA. As a collegiate high jumper and sprinter, Sika became an NCAA All-American in Track and Field while earning her degree in Economics from Tufts University. She is a 2019 IRONMAN World Championship finisher and a 2-time Marathon Champ. After recovering from a traumatic bike accident that left Sika with significant injuries, she made history when she became the first African American Woman to qualify for her pro card in triathlon. Sika was named Athlete of the Year as part of the 2020 Outspoken Women in Triathlon Awards for her work to advocate for and make positive change in the sport of triathlon.

Saturday's Featured Speaker: Heather Hamilton

Heather Hamilton, PT, DPT is a physical therapist specializing in women’s health and pelvic floor physical therapy. She has extensive experience treating female athletes during and after pregnancy and throughout the lifespan. Dr. Hamilton currently works as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Old Dominion University, where she is also a doctoral candidate studying the relationships of age, running biomechanics, and muscle strength specifically in female runners. She is passionate about maximizing performance and minimizing injury in female athletes of all ages. In her spare time, you will find her running through First Landing State Park, hiking with her husband, Jeremiah, or snuggling with their dog, Chief.

Yoga Instructor: Maria Peters

Yoga is a lot like running. Your best run is when your breath, body, and mind are as one. Yoga has provided me a deeper physical and mental expression of that vital connection. I enjoy leading classes range from gentle flows with restorative poses to powerful high intensity vinyasa practices.

Maria received her 200-hour yoga instructor certificate from the Garden of Zen in Yorktown. For the past four years she has been an Athletic and Fitness Association of America instructor for group strength, high intensity interval training (HIIT), and senior strength and balance. In addition, she is a certified Body Flow instructor, which is hybrid yoga practice. She also leads yoga classes at Gloucester Yoga. Her running journey has taken her from 5Ks to ultramarathons.

FAQs

All runs can be modified by the participant for distance and pace. The group run leader will run at an easy pace based on the majority of the group's pace preference. We will stop every mile or so as needed to regroup.
We will run at least one day on a trail. The decision to wear road shoes or trail shoes is individual and runners should elect to wear the type of shoe best for them. The trails we will run are not technical in nature.
Williamsburg is not flat and as such there will be some hills on our runs.
The running surface varies in Williamsburg and you should be aware that some runs may include pavement, gravel, trail, and cobblestone.
Dinner menus are pre-set. Menus will be posted early January and emailed out to participants. Accommodations for dietary allergies should be noted at the time of reservation.
Hotel amenities may change based on any state or local COVID restrictions.
The Weekend activities will follow all CDC, state, and local COVID guidelines and mandates.
Weekend participants are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated, including booster shots as needed per federal guidelines, in advance of the Weekend.
The registration link for the Colonial 5k and Colonial Half Marathon (additional fee through race website) will be emailed to registrants when it opens for registration.

Event's current local time: 4:10 PM ET