This Year the Tacky Light Run Turns Down Coralview. Dawnridge Court Is Still Worth the Walk.

Before there was a Tacky Light Run, Sports Backers executive director Jon Lugbill spent a few holiday seasons driving around the Richmond area to find his favorite light displays. He was looking for one subdivision where enough households decorated to fill a whole race course. Richmond Magazine reported in 2013 that he found it in Walton Park, a neighborhood off Woolridge Road where neighbors already went all out every December.

Thirteen holiday seasons later, the CarMax Tacky Light Run comes back to Midlothian Mines Park on Saturday, December 12, 2026, with a 6K that loops through Walton Park. The organizers now switch the course between two headline streets from year to year, and this is Coralview's year.

The Cul-de-Sac That Brought the Race Here

When the first run went off on December 14, 2013, the course turned around at Dawnridge Court. Sports Backers' communications manager at the time told Richmond Magazine that the street was "spectacular," with lights strung across the road to form an archway, and that every neighbor in the cul-de-sac took part. A Richmond Times-Dispatch roundup of Chesterfield light displays later called Dawnridge "Christmas Court" and described the whole cul-de-sac lit up under icicle lights hung across the street.

From the start, the organizers set the race up so the decorating would set the pace. The 2013 run had no timing, it ended with hot chocolate, and its finisher medal doubled as a Christmas ornament, a different design each year. "We want people to stop and have fun and enjoy the houses," the communications manager said. Within 12 days of opening, more than 1,500 people had registered, and organizers hoped up to 5,000 runners might eventually pass through. For 2026, registration is capped at 5,000.

Why the Course Started Taking Turns

Dawnridge set an example for the streets around it. In 2024, Sports Backers sent the course down Coralview for the first time. Nan Callahan, the group's PR and communications manager, told WTVR CBS 6 that the change was meant "to give it some love and to see a whole other aspect of the neighborhood," and that "we plan to trade off every other year which way the course goes."

That makes 2026 a Coralview year. Richmond Family Magazine's October 12 preview says this year's course is "all about Coralview." It describes a light show synchronized to music and lights strung high in the trees and across the street, and it adds that Dawnridge "is still worth a visit just off the course." The official course map on the Sports Backers site still carries a 2025 label and notes that the route can change. Check it again in December before you plan a walk around it.

The rotation means participants don't see the same race two years running. Each street gets a year at the center of the event, followed by a year as the off-route stop for people who know about it.

Coralview's Year, and the Streets Around It

The decorating has spread well past the two headline streets. Last December, Sports Backers' house superlatives went to homes on several Walton Park streets, and the overall top prize went to a house on Glenpark Lane. Here are the streets worth knowing by name, based on the 2025 contest results and the Times-Dispatch roundup:

• Coralview. This is the 2026 featured street. The Times-Dispatch described a Coralview Terrace display called "Christmas on Coralview," with moving lights set to music, and a Coralview Road home took a 2025 superlative.
• Dawnridge Court. "Christmas Court" is off the course this year. Several Dawnridge homes placed in the 2025 superlatives.
• Queensgate Road. The Times-Dispatch pointed to a home there with more than 40,000 lights, inflatables and a homemade Santa-and-reindeer set.
• Glenpark Lane, Glenmeadow Court and Hollypark Drive. All three had 2025 superlative winners, and the Glenpark Lane house took first place overall.

The 2013 article described a plan to vote on the tackiest house, with extra awards for the classiest, best themed and "most-likely-to-blow-a-fuse" houses. The categories have changed over the years, but the contest still names a set of Walton Park houses every December.

December 12, Hour by Hour

Most of the evening happens at the "North Pole," the festival area inside Mid-Lothian Mines Park, where the 6K starts and finishes on Woolridge Road under a light tunnel. Here is the published 2026 schedule:

Late starts are not permitted, so anyone who arrives after 6 p.m. misses the run entirely. And some North Pole activities don't open until 6:30 p.m., after the runners have left.

Registration costs less the earlier you sign up. Through November 22, entry is $45 for adults, $35 for youth and $25 for the kids' mile. Adult and youth prices go up $5 on November 23 and another $5 on December 7. Richmond Family Magazine notes that youth pricing covers ages 14 and under, that strollers are welcome, and that groups of four or more get $2.50 back per registrant. Each participant gets a knit beanie or event shirt, an ornament finisher medal, a commemorative bib and candy.

Getting There, and Getting Around If You Aren't Running

Sports Backers runs free Polar Express shuttles from Brightpoint Community College Lots A, B and D at 800 Charter Colony Parkway. Enter from Greenway Crossing Drive. Shuttles run continuously from 4 to 9 p.m., and they can take strollers. Organizers recommend boarding by 5:30 p.m. to make the 6 p.m. start. If you park somewhere else, Sports Backers asks that you not park across Midlothian Turnpike, because there is no official crosswalk.

If you live nearby and just need to get home, last year's closures give you an idea of the timing. For the December 13, 2025 run, WRIC reported that Chesterfield County Police planned these closures:

1. Southbound North Woolridge Road closed at Walton Park Road from 9:30 a.m. until likely after midnight.
2. Northbound North Woolridge Road closed at Grove Hill Road from 1 p.m. until likely after midnight.
3. Much of Walton Park closed to all vehicle traffic from about 5 to 9 p.m.

Those were the 2025 times. The 2026 closures will come from police and organizer notices closer to race day. The pattern from 2013 still holds. Walton Park's streets close shortly before the 6 p.m. start, and people driving the neighborhood to see lights have to work around the event during those hours. For a drive past Coralview and Dawnridge without the runners, pick another night in December. These displays are on private homes, so enjoy them from the street and keep driveways and lawns clear.

A Second Tacky Race That Morning in Brandermill

December 12 starts earlier in Brandermill. The Brandermill Community Association's Tacky Sweater 5K starts at 8:30 a.m. that Saturday from Sunday Park Pavilion 1. It's a family run/walk with refreshments, and entry is $3. The two start times are nine and a half hours apart, so you can wear the same sweater to both.

Walton Park shows how much a neighborhood's December can become part of its identity. If a December move has you wondering what your own street's holiday season could look like on a listing, Pretty Properties can help. Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll walk you through what your home is worth heading into the new year.