Climbing

Riverrock starts today

By Andy Thompson | May 17, 2013

There’s some great Riverrock coverage in today’s Times-Dispatch. If you plan on heading down sometime this weekend, here’s your schedule of events. This is Riverrock’s fifth year and every year they add something new. Last year, they moved from two to three days and from just Brown’s Island to Brown’s Island and Historic Tredegar. Here’s a look at my Riverrock preview on today’s Sports front and click “Continue Reading” below for a list of what’s new.  50b78d78f15e2_image

Also, if you ran last year’s Filthy 5K mud run, you may have noticed a lot of emergency services personnel running around on Tredegar Street and the Belle Isle footbridge toward the end of the race. Two runners, one 12 years old, went into cardiac arrest within 2 minutes of each other. Click here for my story from A1.

 

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Posted In: Canoeing/Kayaking, Climbing, Hiking, James River, Mountain Biking, Trail Running, Upcoming Events

Dominion Riverrock on the horizon

By Andy Thompson | May 14, 2013

Dominion Riverrock, Richmond’s riverlife celebration starts this Friday and runs through Sunday. Last year over 65,000 people attended the event over the three days. And the weather looks to be just as good this year, with highs in the 80s and chances for scattered thunderstorms. Registrations for the sporting events on May 17-19 will be accepted online until tonight (Tuesday, May 14) at 11:59 p.m. Admission is free, but anyone wishing to compete in a Dominion Riverrock event must pay to enter. Walk-up registration for all events will be accepted on site unless the event has reached its capacity.Dominion-Riverrock-1

Dominion Riverrock also features live concerts throughout the weekend, an interactive village, and sporting events including the Miller Lite Filthy 5k, James River Scramble 10k Trail Run, Urban Assault mountain bike race, Boulder Bash, Slacklining, and more.  For event registration and further information about Dominion Riverrock 2013, go to www.dominionriverrock.com.

Schedule of Events:

Thursday, May 16

Registration   and Athlete Check-In 4:00   – 7:00 p.m.

 Friday, May 17

Registration   and Athlete Check-In 11:00   a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Vendor   Booths and Interactive Village open 5:00   – 8:00 p.m.
Slackline   Highline Exhibition 5:00   p.m.
Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs presented   by Zuke’s (Qualifying #1) 5:00   p.m.
Miller Lite Filthy 5k Mud   Run presented by Ruffwear 6:00   p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: DJ Mordecai 6:00   – 7:00 p.m.
Freestyle Bikes presented by   Agee’s (Slopestyle Qualifying) 6:30   – 7:30 p.m.
Bouldering (Men’s&   Women’s Qualifying) 6:30   – 8:00 p.m.
Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs presented   by Zuke’s (Qualifying #2) 7:00   p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: Soulive 7:30   – 9:00 p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: Lettuce 9:30   – 11:00 p.m.

 Saturday, May 18

Adventure Race 8:00   a.m.
Registration   and Athlete Check-In 10:00   a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
YogaROCK 11:00   a.m.
Vendor   Booths and Interactive Village open 12:00   – 9:00 p.m.
Group Hike presented by Central VA   Trailblazers 12:00   p.m.
Bouldering (Men’s&   Women’s Qualifying) 12:00   – 2:00 p.m.
Black Dog Paddle SUP Yoga Demo 12:15   – 12:35 p.m.
Group Hike presented by Central VA   Trailblazers 1:00   p.m.
Mountain Bike Skills Course   tour with Richmond MORE 1:00   p.m.
Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs presented   by Zuke’s(Qualifying #3) 1:00   p.m.
Kayak Boatercross presented by Cudas 1:00   p.m.
Thule Urban Assault Mountain Bike   Race 1:00   p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: The Trongone Band 1:00   – 2:00 p.m.
Group Hike presented by Central VA   Trailblazers 2:00   p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: The New Belgians 2:30   – 3:30 p.m.
Slackline (Round 1) 2:30   – 4:00 p.m.
Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs presented   by Zuke’s (Qualifying #4) 3:00   p.m.
Group Hike presented by Central VA   Trailblazers 3:00   p.m.
Mountain Bike Skills Course   tour with Richmond MORE 3:00   p.m.
Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Cross 4:00   p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: The Shack Band 4:00   – 5:00 p.m.
Bouldering (Men’s&   Women’s Semifinals) 4:00   – 5:30 p.m.
Slackline   Highline Exhibition 5:00   p.m.
Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs presented   by Zuke’s (Qualifying #5) 5:00   p.m.
Black Dog Paddle SUP Yoga Demo 5:30   – 5:50 p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: The Southern Belles 5:30   – 6:30 p.m.
James River Scramble 10k Trail Run   presented by Goal Zero 6:00   p.m.
Freestyle Bikes presented by   Agee’s (Slopestyle Finals) 6:00   – 7:00 p.m.
Slackline (Round 2) 6:00   – 7:00 p.m.
Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs presented   by Zuke’s (Qualifying #6) 7:00   p.m.
Bouldering (Men’s&   Women’s Finals) 7:00   – 8:30 p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: Anders Osborne 7:00   – 8:30 p.m.
   FREE     CONCERT: Toots& The Maytals
9:00   – 10:30 p.m.

 Sunday, May 19

Registration   and Athlete Check-In 10:00   a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Enduro 11:00   a.m.
Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs presented   by Zuke’s (Qualifying #7) 12:00   p.m.
Slackline   Highline Exhibition 12:00   p.m.
Vendor   Booths and Interactive Village open 12:00   – 5:00 p.m.
Bouldering Speed Comp (Men’s   and Women’s Qualifying) 12:00   – 1:00 p.m.
Group Hike presented by Central VA   Trailblazers 12:00   p.m.
Slackline (Quarterfinals) 1:00   – 2:00 p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: William Walter with Tucker Rogers 1:00   – 2:00 p.m.
Group Hike presented by Central VA   Trailblazers 1:00   p.m.
Black Dog Paddle SUP Yoga Demo 2:00   – 2:20 p.m.
Group Hike presented by Central VA   Trailblazers 2:00   p.m.
Mountain Bike Skills Course   tour with Richmond MORE 2:00   p.m.
Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs presented   by Zuke’s (Qualifying #8) 2:00   p.m.
Dirt Crit Short Track Mountain Bike   Race 2:00   p.m.
Bouldering Speed Comp (Qualifying   #2) 2:00   – 3:00 p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: Barrelhouse 2:30   – 3:30 p.m.
Group Hike presented by Central VA   Trailblazers 3:00   p.m.
Kayak Freestyle presented by Cudas 3:00   p.m.
Freestyle Bikes presented by   Agee’s (Best Trick Qualifying) 3:00   p.m.
Slackline (Semifinals   and Finals) 3:00   p.m.
Black Dog Paddle SUP Yoga Demo
3:30   – 3:50 p.m.
Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs presented   by Zuke’s (Finals) 4:00   p.m.
Bouldering Speed Comp (Men’s   and Women’s Finals) 4:00   p.m.
Freestyle Bikes presented by Agee’s (Best   Trick Finals) 4:00   p.m.
FREE   CONCERT: The Photosynthesizers 4:00   – 5:00 p.m.

 

 

 

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Posted In: Canoeing/Kayaking, Climbing, Hiking, James River, Mountain Biking, Road Biking, Road running, Running, Trail Running, Upcoming Events

Tree climbing competition arrives for Arbor Day

By Andy Thompson | April 1, 2013

Bill Lohmann has a nice piece on the front of the Metro section of today’s Times-Dispatch on the tree-climbing competition coming to Richmond next weekend. The 2013 Mid-Atlantic Chapter International Society of Arboriculture Tree-Climbing Championship will descend on the Round House in Byrd Park on Saturday and Sunday. Climbing runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and the final round — the Master’s Challenge — starts Sunday at 8 a.m. Our friends at Riverside Outfitters will hold recreational tree-climbing events for kids and adults from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, and food trucks will be on site as well. Admission is free.

Credit: Riverside Outfitters

Credit: Riverside Outfitters

 

 

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Posted In: Climbing

Richmond leads early “Best Town Ever” voting

By Andy Thompson | June 15, 2012

Credit: Jesse Peters/Backlight

In today’s T-D I offer my take on what it could mean for Richmond to win Outside Magazine’s “Best Town Ever” contest. This year the focus of the contest is on cities with a strong relationship with the river (or rivers) running through them. Outside teamed up with the non-profit advocacy group American Rivers to whittle a list of 80 or so cities/towns down to the 10 finalists. In addition to Richmond, the other finalists are Nevada City, Calif., Hood River, Ore., Nashville, Tenn., Asheville, N.C., Ithaca, N.Y., Milwaukee, Boise, Idaho, Missoula, Mont., and Durango, Colo.

Voting is being conducted on Facebook through July 10. You can vote once a day, every day. You can also post comments and upload your favorite pictures, which is just as important as voting since “enthusiasm” is a component of the final decision. The winning city will be featured on the front of the October issue of Outside — the magazine’s 35th anniversary issue.

As of this writing, Richmond was way out in the lead in both votes (close to 2,000) and enthusiasm (363 comments, dozens upon dozens of pics). Nevada City, Calif. is currently in second with 450 votes. It would be pretty cool to see the River City get some credit for being the incredible outdoor recreation destination it already is.

 

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Posted In: Birding, Canoeing/Kayaking, Climbing, Fishing, Greenways, Hiking, James River, Mountain Biking, Road Biking, Road running, Running, Trail Running, Travel

2012 Riverrock draws record crowds

By Andy Thompson | May 21, 2012

The crowds were huge; the competitions were epic; the weather was perfect. If you didn’t make it down to Dominion Riverrock this past weekend. You missed one heck of a celebration of music and outdoor sports. I was down there for the Times-Dispatch covering Saturday’s and Sunday’s events. I also participated in the Urban Assault mountain bike race on Saturday. Good times were had all around. I think it’s fair to say Riverrock is, like the Folk Festival and the Monument Avenue 10,K becoming a circled date on many Richmonders’ calendars.

Here’s the recap from Sports Backers, who organize Riverrock:

The 4th annual Dominion Riverrock presented by Subaru, the East Coast’s premier outdoor sports and river life festival, concluded this afternoon after drawing more than 65,000 spectators and 4,000 participants to Brown’s Island and Historic Tredegar in Richmond, VA, for the weekend’s festivities. This year Dominion Riverrock expanded its footprint and added a third day of competition. Dominion Riverrock is now the largest outdoor sports and music festival in the United States.

“The growth of this event has been tremendous,” said Megan Schultz, Dominion Riverrock event director. “To have more than 65,000 people come together to celebrate the riverfront is just amazing.”

Athletes and spectators alike crowded Brown’s Island and Historic Tredegar for an incredible combination of sporting events and music. New to Dominion Riverrock in 2012 were Slacklining, Bouldering Dyno Comp, a short course Dirt Crit mountain bike event, as well as demo areas for mountain biking, bouldering, and slacklining.

Other crowd favorites at Dominion Riverrock included the Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs, Boulder Bash and Native Freestyle Bikes. The Miller Lite Filthy 5k took place on Friday evening with more than 2,200 participants, a new registration record for Dominion Riverrock. The James River Scramble 10k presented by Goal Zero, drew about 1,000 participants and the Thule Urban Assault Mountain Bike race had nearly 300 riders.

Kayaks, stand up paddleboards, mountain bikes, slacklining and bouldering were available throughout the duration of the event for festival attendees to demo. More than 3,500 people took advantage of this opportunity.

On the music front, Keller Williams with the Travelin’ McCourys got the crowd on its feet on Friday. On Saturday, the much anticipated JJ Grey & Mofro took the stage at 7:30 p.m. followed by the New Orleans-based GALACTIC at 9 p.m.

 

 

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Posted In: Canoeing/Kayaking, Climbing, James River, Mountain Biking, Trail Running