Liberty sets corporate record at Saturday’s Virginia 10 Miler

More than twice as many Liberty University faculty and staff members participated in Saturday’s Virginia 10 Miler and 4 Miler as last year, when Liberty swept all three categories of both the men’s and women’s corporate competitions.

Liberty set a corporate participation record with 563 employees (303 women and 260 men) registered. Those totals included 302 runners in the 10 Miler and 181 in the 4 Miler as well as 80 participants in the 4 Miler walk.

“Liberty University had a strong presence on the course,” said Jamie Swyers, associate director of fitness at the LaHaye Student Union, who noted that Liberty also had the largest number of volunteers (approximately 300) serving at the start/finish line near E.C. Glass High School and along the race course.

This year, Liberty won five of the six categories in the team competition — the 10 and 4 Miler women’s and mixed categories and the 4 Miler men’s division. In scores tabulated the same way as cross country races, by adding up each team’s top five individual finishing places, Liberty was runner-up to Areva (44 points) in the 10 Miler men’s race with 55 points, well ahead of third-place Genworth (178). It won the 10 Miler women’s competition 42-72 over a team from Riverside Runners, with Areva (86) placing third, and finished first in the 10 Miler mixed category (combining the top five men’s and women’s places) 97-142 over Areva, with Centra (319) a distant third.

In the 4 Miler event, Liberty won the men’s category with 45 points, distancing itself from Genworth (89). Liberty dominated the women’s competition with 49 points, well ahead of both Centra (91) and BWX Technologies (101) and the mixed category with 95 points to finish in front of Centra (143) and BWXT (147).

Complete individual results are available online.

The Virginia 10 Miler is one of the longest-running road races in the United States. The event has been held for the past 42 years on the same course in Lynchburg, which was rated as the nation’s friendliest running community in 2011 by the Road Runners Club of America.

It is held on the final day of the Live Healthy Lynchburg 100 Mile Challenge, an area-wide training program. Liberty finished with the most miles last year and is in a tight race with Centra to defend its title this year with over 36,000 miles logged, paced by its Informational Technology department.

Live Healthy Liberty, an initiative launched by Swyers and Liberty’s Campus Recreation department last year, has promoted Liberty’s involvement in that competition. Student Activities also provides opportunities to add mileage through several races in its Liberty Mountain Trail Series directed by Josh Yeoman, LaHaye Student Union’s director of outdoor recreation.

Swyers is gearing up to host Tuesday’s third annual Wellness & Fitness Fair: Live Healthy Liberty Expo, from 3-6 p.m. in the LaHaye Multi-Purpose Center.

“We have doubled the size of the Live Healthy Liberty Expo,” she said. “We have wellness organizations and local vendors coming out to join our campus partners to promote the health of our campus community. It’s going to be an exciting event.”

This free exposition is open to students as well as faculty and staff members. Attendees will be able to participate in health screenings, win prizes and giveaways, and learn more about both community and campus-wide wellness offerings such as the Morris Campus Farm, Student Counseling Services, and the LaHaye Student Union, which offers students and staff various opportunities to participate in group exercise programs, work with personal trainers, and join activities to help jump-start their wellness routines.