One of Annapolis' most treasured athletic traditions began 36 years ago as a friendly bet among a group of friends. In 1976, seven friends—John Astle, Phyllis Beardmore, Debby Fox, Randy Fox, Donna Jay, Bart Rohrbach, and Bonnie (Phillips) Seidelmann—answered a challenge that the men made to the women: women could not run 10 miles, especially with a group of men who had been involved in athletics since childhood.
Shortly following the night that the challenge was presented, at 6:30 a.m. in August 1976, the group of seven gathered at the intersection of Ritchie Highway and Cypress Creek Road and ran the 10 miles to Annapolis City Dock. And thus, the historic Annapolis 10-Miler was founded.
There was no official winner of that first race, but the original group of seven, self-declared as the “Severna Park Fun Runners,” decided that the race should be turned into a competitive event. 76 runners participated the second year in 1977, and from there the race has continued to grow. Five years after the historic first race, the event moved to Annapolis, and in 1980, the Annapolis Striders took over management of what has come to be known as the “A-10.”
In 2010, there were 4,585 total finishers and the race was named one of the top six 10-milers by Runner's World magazine. The 2011 Annapolis 10-Miler will be held August 28th and start at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.
