Cold weather shuts down George Washington Birthday 10K race in Alexandria

The cold weekend temperatures are shutting down a number of outdoor events in our area. One of those events is the George Washington Birthday Classic 10K and 2K Walk. It is now canceled over fear runners could face hypothermia.

The race is one of Alexandria's oldest runs since the 1970s.

"We were worried more than anything about the prospect of 60 mile per hour winds on Sunday morning when we were going to do the race," said race director Joe Shumard. "That was the thing that got us among other things -- the cold temperature, 20 degrees, that's bad, but when you add 60 mile per hour gusts to that, you start to get a wind chill factor of below zero."

More than a thousand runners are now forced to wait for a new date so they can hit the road.

But organizers say even though the race is stopped, some events, as of now, are still happening as scheduled.

Shumard said a revolutionary war reenactment at Fort Ward Park is still scheduled on Sunday starting at 10 a.m. On Monday, the George Washington Birthday Parade will be held at 1 p.m. in Old Town Alexandria.

For more information on what you can do with your race registration, go to www.runpacers.com/race/george-washington-birthday-classic-10k/ or washingtonbirthday.net.

As for other outdoor events, the best advice is to contact the coordinating group to see if the weather has shut you down.