Josh Farrar, Ashland assistant town manager, will be among the 1,200 runners at the starting line.

The organizers of the fledgling Patrick Henry Half Marathon believe they have a nice little event on their hands. And for the time being, at least, they'd prefer to keep it that way.

Today's second annual Patrick Henry race, set to begin at 7 a.m. at Poor Farm Park in Ashland, is expected to draw roughly the same turnout --about 1,200 runners -- as did last year's event. All of which is quite agreeable to race committee member and Ashland resident Bill Webb.

"We feel like we've got a winner here, definitely," Webb said. "I remember somebody making the comment that, 'You know, you ought to be able to take this thing to 5,000 (participants), easily.' To tell you the truth, I'm not sure we want to do that."

Webb said he has run the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, and "I think this is a better and more enjoyable run. Not only because of the scenery" -- a mix of rural countryside and Ashland's step-into-the-past railroad district -- "but also because you're not dealing with 20,000 people."

Ashland assistant town manager Josh Farrar ran in last year's 13.1-mile event and intends to be among the runners who greet the dawn's early light at Poor Farm Park this morning. He said the logistics of the race -- he pointed specifically to parking at the start/finish site and the interruption of vehicular traffic at two key intersections in Ashland proper -- suggest that "it's a good idea for us to take baby steps to move slowly" where growth is concerned.

Said Farrar: "Stopping traffic for a while so 1,200 runners can move through the intersection of Route 54 and the railroad tracks -- that's one thing. When you talk about doing it for 5,000 runners -- that's kind of scary."

Both men said the response of the Ashland community has been overwhelmingly positive.

"Sure, you're always going to have people who grumble about road closings and traffic," Webb said. "But some [grumbling] is going to happen whether you're talking about 150 runners or 1,200."

Farrar estimated that "98-99 percent of the people love the fact that we're doing this. Is there some inconvenience? Yes. Sure. But just about everyone understands that this is just like any other community event that brings visitors to Ashland. Most people, I think, like it this way. Most people want us to be known as a place where there's always something going on."

The race, hatched by the Richmond Road Runners Club and the Metro Richmond Sports Backers, is intended primarily as a late-summer rehearsal for the SunTrust Richmond Marathon in November.

Patterson Wilhelm won last year's inaugural Patrick Henry Half Marathon in 1:14.37, nearly eight minutes faster than his closest pursuer. Wilhelm, a member of William and Mary's cross country team, had not registered for this year's event as of yesterday afternoon. Anna Catanese, the 2007 women's champion (1:28.43), is expected to miss today's race because of a foot injury.