You’re welcome to bring your four-legged friends to join you in the race at Onancock’s Run for the Animals Half Marathon & 10K, which is set to make it's 11th annual running along the streets of this small town set along the Chesapeake Bay on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, in a race that supports the local chapter of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The race proceeds benefit a pair of nonprofits that work to improve the lives of mistreated and uncared-for pets and animals here in what is known as the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the peninsula of land that looks out onto the Chesapeake Bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, about an hour and a half’s drive north from the Virginia Beach and Norfolk area.

The two charities are the no-kill shelter Eastern Shore SPCA and A Better Life, Inc., which helps provide better care for animals who are neglected and mistreated by supplying safe areas to run and play, better shelter and bedding, and health care for underprivileged pets.

Runners start the race — baby strollers and/or pets are welcome too — at the Wachapreague Carnival Grounds, which sit in the heart of the small town of Wachapreague. From the carnival grounds, runners follow the course as it heads south out of town and then down Bradford's Neck Road.

Once they make it to the Machipongo River at nearby Quinby, runners cross the bridge and then complete the counterclockwise loop around Quinby Bridge Road, Seaside Road, and State Route 622 before returning to Bradford's Neck Road.

Once on Bradford's Neck Road, the course then heads back along the route runners followed earlier in the race, in the opposite direction back toward the carnival grounds for the race finish, where the post-race party with a live band will be getting going.

The half marathon is open to runners only, while the 10K race is open to runners and walkers.

05-07-2023, 08:30 am - 02:30 pm