In Woodbury, Running A Country Mile

Thirty years ago, when the Woodbury Country Mile 5K and 10K races were launched, runners were truly running along a “country” mile.

Gail Boland, one of the founders of the Woodbury race, which now incorporates a half-marathon and a 5K, said the goal was to draw attention to the fledgling suburban community.

“We wanted to let people know about Woodbury and do something community oriented, so we started the race to see if we could get a few people to come out,” said Boland, who worked for Norwest Bank, the first sponsor of the event. “Races like this were pretty primitive in those days. I think we had about 150 people that first year."

Not only was the event successful in drawing more attention to Woodbury, but the race itself also grew in popularity. In the past few years, the field has typically featured around more than 800 runners. Half-marathon and 5K winners are determined by age category, broken into five-year increments.

This year’s Woodbury Country Mile will be held on Sunday, Aug. 28, and include the half marathon and 5K, in addition to a kids' 1-mile fun run and a “Main Street Tot Trot” for toddlers ages 2-4.

One of the challenges of launching a road race in a growing community was keeping up with the yearly neighborhood, road and traffic changes. During the early years of the race, the event would begin at and large sections of the course included gravel roads, according to longtime race volunteer Jim Gay.

“Every year, we wanted to do what we could to make a better course, but we had to be flexible and be willing to change as the city grew," said Gay, adding that managing traffic became an increased challenge.

For that reason, the Woodbury Country Mile, which is sponsored by the , changed sites over the years, including a three-year stint at the State Farm Insurance site until moving to in 2006. The course now incorporates both road and trails, intended to feature Woodbury’s outstanding trail system, said Kim Snyder of the Woodbury Chamber, who is serving as the event chair.

Although the landscape of the race course changed, the work involved in making sure it was safe and well marked for runners often fell to Terry Stockton, another longtime Woodbury Country Mile volunteer.

“The trail doesn’t just pop up,” said Stockton. “We had to go out there and mark it and make sure it came out right on the button with distance.”

Although many runners have used the Woodbury Country Mile half-marathon to train for other events, like the Twin Cities Marathon, Gay said their course was never certified because it has changed frequently over the years and is also “too hilly” to be considered a qualifier for other marathons.

The course isn’t all that has changed. Gay and Stockton recalled the days when a stopwatch was used to clock finishing times. Stockton’s wife Audrey, another longtime volunteer, recalls feverishly writing down times as runners crossed the finish line, which she said “was really confusing.”

Race organizers introduced chip timing—in which runners tie electronic timing chips to their shoes—the year after the devices became common at races. This year, the chips will be located on the race numbers for the first time.

A look back at the history of the Woodbury Country Mile wouldn’t be complete without a discussion of the race shirts, an integral part of the event from the beginning.

The Stocktons have almost every race-day shirt (Audrey thinks one or two might be missing), which reveal a variety of colors, styles, printing, sponsor logos and more.

Gay said he’s never been a good judge of the best design for a Woodbury Country Mile shirt—his least favorite design from the 1990s won an award for competitive race shirts. However, he is a fan of the long-sleeve mock turtleneck shirts that runners received in the early 2000s.

“Those were very popular and really gave our race an identity since that style of shirt wasn’t being used much at the time,” said Gay, who added that runners appreciated the extra warmth for their fall and winter training.

This year, Snyder said the race day shirt for the half-marathon and 5K will be a short-sleeved technical shirt, made of today’s popular wicking material.

Another unique feature of the Woodbury Country Mile which has also fallen by the wayside was an idea created by Terry Stockton. The last runner in the race would be given a lantern, inscribed in Latin with words meaning “we are who we are.”

“The first year, the man who got the lantern turned out to be a Latin teacher and he was thrilled,” said Stockton. “When people started competing to be the last one so they could get the lantern, we decided to give that up.”

Neither the Stocktons nor Gay will be running in the Woodbury Country Mile race this year—all are on the mend from injuries due to many years of running.

Boland, who has never been a runner, has stepped back from her involvement with the race. “We’d usually start planning races at least 10 months in advance. It was a lot of work.”

“I think we did our job of bringing attention to Woodbury," she said with a laugh.

Information about event registration and race details—including free pizza for race finishers, refreshments and kids activities—are available at www.woodburycountrymile.com. The Woodbury Country Mile is sponsored by the Woodbury Chamber of Commerce and Woodbury Lakes Lifestyle Center.