Cap Trail Summer Challenge
About this race
Conquer the long, sunny days and join us outside for the Cap Trail Summer Challenge!
Choose a distance goal and run, walk, bike, skate, handcycle, or dance your way on the Virginia Capital Trail to an awesome and active summer! You can...
- Aim to complete all 51.7 miles of the Virginia Capital Trail. Whether all at once or a mile at a time, this Challenge is about passing each and every mileage post on the Virginia Capital Trail.
- Double down for 103.4 miles. You still need to pass every mile post on the VCT, but the other miles can be completed wherever you like! Of course you can keep it all on our wonderful Trail (not that we're biased or anything).
- Go for 568.7 miles. Random number? Not at all! In honor of the Cap Trail's upcoming 11th birthday, this is 11 times the length of the Trail. Again, aside from passing every mile post at least once, where you log the rest of these miles is up to you.
While you do need to complete all of the Virginia Capital Trail in its entirety (passing each mile post at least once) for each Challenge, this will be on the honor system. But why wouldn't you want to see the whole Trail?
Complete your miles between May 22nd and September 7th, submitting your results on your RunSignUp profile (result submission will stay open for 48 hours after the challenge ends). There will be a $5 price bump on July 1st, and September 7th is the last day to register. September 9th is the final day to log your mile results. Those who complete their Summer Challenge will receive a finisher's t-shirt indicating the number of miles they conquered!
Share your Summer experience on social media with #CapTrailChallenge
All proceeds benefit the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation.
If you donate at least $100 DURING REGISTRATION, $27 will be deducted from your registration fee.
If you start a FUNDRAISER that reaches $100, you will be refunded your registration fee.
Pick your distance
Running
Conquer the Capital Trail: 51.7 miles
Participants will stroll, powerwalk, jog, run, skate, ride, skip, hop, or moonwalk to complete each of the 51.7 miles of the Virginia Capital Trail! Once you've submitted your completion of every one of the miles on the Trail, you'll earn a T-Shirt commemorating your achievement!
There and Back Again: 103.4 miles
Triple digit summer! Move for 103.4 miles, the length of a round-trip on the Capital Trail (including all 51.7 miles of the Trail), and when you've finished, you'll you'll earn a T-Shirt commemorating your achievement!
Birthday Challenge: 568.7 miles
Happy 11th birthday to the Virginia Capital Trail! Spend your summer celebrating by completing the trail 11 times for a total of 568.7 miles (including all 51.7 miles of the Capital Trail). When you're done, you'll you'll earn a T-Shirt commemorating your achievement!
Typical race-day weather
Based on 18 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Richmond, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 5:54 AM and sets at 8:17 PM local time (EDT) in Richmond on May 22, 2026 — 14h 23m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
Reviews
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2026 results — Cap Trail Summer Challenge
145 finishers across 3 distances · leading places in the Conquer the Capital Trail: 51.7 miles
| Place | Name | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barb Zevallos | 25:46:40 | 10:24 /mi |
| 2 | Steph Coolbaugh | 23:30:00 | 10:41 /mi |
| 3 | Missy Bendinskis | 15:33:00 | 8:21 /mi |
| 4 | Gianna Miller | 14:44:20 | 8:03 /mi |
| 5 | N. Stroud | 13:33:00 | 7:59 /mi |
Every finisher is on the results page, filterable by distance, gender and age group.
All results by year
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🏃 Plan Your Next Race in Richmond
Find upcoming events by distance:
- Richmond 5K Races 34 races
- 10K Run Events in Richmond 4 races
- Richmond Half Marathons 5 races
- Richmond Running Calendar 2026 69 races
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 80 Richmond events
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