The weather leading up to this year’s Old Dominion 100 was unpredictable—constantly changing and making it difficult to know what race day would bring. By Saturday morning, light rain had begun at 3 a.m. and continued into the 4 a.m. start. Runners were eager to get moving—especially Andrew Simpson, returning for his second attempt and ready to give the course his all. Whitney Richman was also returning from last year and was off to a strong top 10 start.

By the time runners made it up and over Woodstock Tower around 5:30 a.m., the rain had let up. As they settled into their stride, they quickly discovered the day’s biggest obstacle: mud and water. Around mile 10, turning onto the trail from the Boyer In aid station, it became clear that the saturated ground would be a constant challenge. Despite the slick conditions and rugged terrain, the morning miles ticked by steadily—even as more rain moved through. Richman continued to move up throughout the morning and found herself in the top 5, where she would remain for much of the day.

True to form, Duncan Hollow brought its own difficulties. By the time the mid- to back-of-the-pack runners reached this section, the rain had cleared, the sun was out in full force, and the bugs had arrived. Staying upright and moving forward required grit, focus, and determination. While those further back in the pack were battling Duncan Hollow, front runners were tackling the technical challenges of Peter’s Mill and Mudhole Gap—dealing with slick terrain and multiple stream crossings. None of this seemed to faze Simpson, who continued to widen the gap between himself and second place.

Simpson continued to stretch his lead and finished in 15:33:55—an impressive three hours ahead of the second-place finisher.

Richman, meanwhile, delivered a performance marked by patience and consistency. She let the day come to her, steadily working the course. By the time she reached Little Fort (mile 64), she was in 4th place—just 9 minutes behind Michael O'Rourke in 3rd. By mile 75, she had closed the gap to 3 minutes. At aid stations 770/758, she remained 2 minutes behind, but left with purpose and reached Woodstock Tower in 3rd place—now only 14 minutes behind 2nd. By Water Street, she had narrowed the gap to just 7 minutes.

Richman crossed the finish line in 18:39:22, only 5 minutes behind second-place finisher Scott Gleason. Her outstanding performance earned her the second-fastest women’s finish in Old Dominion history, just behind Janice Anderson’s 1997 time of 18:25:48.

Several returning runners were chasing their first silver buckle, but only Jason Maruccio was able to walk away with one. Improving on his 2023 time by nearly 2 hours with a finish of 23:40:58.

One of the most cherished aspects of Old Dominion is its deep-rooted sense of tradition and family. This year, we had the pleasure of meeting Timothy Smith, another second-generation runner. His father, Tom Smith, buckled in our 1985 and 1992 event. And we had our first female second-generation runner, Rini Hall, Daughter to Harvey Hall (7 buckles with the Old Dominion). Harvey and Rini were both out on the course running it this year. The list of multi-generational Old Dominion runners continues to grow, and we look forward to seeing it expand in the years to come.