Move at Your Own Pace - Reunion Style!
You know the situation. You're traveling for work. You've promised yourself you'll keep up with your exercise routine.
But here you are, in Richmond for the Markel Group Reunion, in a city you don't know, and your options are not great.
Option one: run the streets alone. You pull up a route on your phone, spend several minutes deciding whether the neighborhood is fine or just looks fine on a map, and head out into the anonymity of an unfamiliar city. Your jog is interrupted by phone checking and stop signs.
Option two: the hotel gym. Those small, drab rooms on the third floor. Maybe two treadmills, one of which sounds like your dryer after your daughter or son throws their baseball cleats in there. A dumbbell rack is missing the ONE weight you need. A television running cable news loops sends your cortisol through the roof before the day has even begun.
At the Markel Group Reunion, we'd like to offer you a third option.
On Tuesday, May 19th, the Markel Group Reunion opens with its third annual Crawl, Walk, & Run — a 2- or 4-mile course along the scenic James River in downtown Richmond.
Not too far from the Markel Group's headquarters, the running trails along the James River offer stunning views of downtown Richmond.
Reunion Rangers, our tireless event volunteers (and Markel associates, wearing their iconic light blue shirts), will greet you at the Virginia War Memorial starting at 6:00 a.m. and up until 7 a.m. when the Walk & Run begins. They will be there to hand you a T-shirt and send you to where the courses begin. Markel Group leaders and associates will be out there too, offering a great opportunity to rub shoulders with associates.
Left: Reunion Rangers at the Virginia War Memorial. Right: Participants on the course along the James River.
You're maybe a half mile in, and the river is glistening in the morning light.
You look down. Your T-shirt reads: Crawl, Walk, & Run.
If you've spent time with Tom's shareholder letters, you know the phrase. It's how he describes the way Markel builds anything worth keeping, whether that be our culture, a competitive advantage, or a thirty-year track record of relentless compounding. We crawl, walk, then run.
That's why we felt the best way to open the Reunion wasn't a keynote, or with you searching for the Hilton workout room. It was to take that philosophy off the page and put it on a course along the James River, with a few hundred people who've read those letters and share in their philosophy.
You finish. There are no times or medals. But rather, coffee and donuts over light conversation with your fellow walkers and runners.
This is nothing like running alone through a city you don't know. It's nothing like the third-floor gym.
Two days of panels, meetings, learning, and celebration follow. The Reunion has started. And it started right.
Join us — and leave the hotel gym for someone else.
Event Details
Date
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Location
Virginia War Memorial
621 Belvedere St., Richmond, VA
Check-in Opens
6:00 a.m.
Start / End
7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Registration
$10 via RunSignup
(includes event tee shirt)
Course Options
2-mile walk · 4-mile jog/run
Planning your trip? Full logistics for the Crawl, Walk & Run are on page 10 of the 2026 Guest Guide.
View Guest Guide →Supported by Sports Backers, a Richmond nonprofit dedicated to active living in the city.
*Virginia War Memorial Foundation is not a sponsor of this event.