The finisher’s bottle opener for the Hardywood Twilight 4-Miler. Credit: Shake and Bake Sports

I ran into Patton Gleason, CEO of Richmond Multisports, the other day at a coffee shop we both frequent. We got to chatting about RMS’s upcoming events, and he mentioned tomorrow’s Hardywood Twilight 4-Miler. I watched a couple of friends run last year’s race, then hung out afterward to participate in their post-race re-hydration. The event had a relaxed vibe, live music, lots of non-race activities.

Gleason said that last year, in just its second-year on the RVA racing calendar, the Twilight 4-Miler drew about 1,800 runners. That’s a pretty darn big number. This year, he said, RMS is teaming up with race organizers Shake and Bake Sports and the guys at Hardywood to amp up the race/party atmosphere even more, adding vendor stalls and more food and music. He said they expect somewhere around 3,000 race participants and as many as 4,000 people total on hand for the festivities.

To get that size in just three years is incredible. I can’t be sure, but I’d guess the “Block Party With a 4-Mile Cover Charge” is the fastest growing running event in the region. Ownby Street will closed for the party, and Gleason said the course will remain the same as last year, winding around the Northside between starting and ending at Hardywood.

Online registration is closed, but race-day registration will be available at Hardywood during packet pickup tomorrow between 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., assuming the they haven’t reached the 4,000 participant limit by then. Oh, and runners get a free beer!