Last Saturday morning, nearly 1,800 people got to see some national parks from a new perspective as they ran or walked the first-ever Freedom's Run: An Event for Health and Heritage near Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

The roughly 300 runners who followed the longest course, the marathon at 26.2 miles, got a quick, one-day foot tour of four national parks -- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Antietam National Battlefield, and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.

Those who chose slightly less-ambitious distances -- a half marathon, 10K or 5K -- saw a smaller sampling of parks, but perhaps fewer blisters. There was also a 1-mile fun run for kids in the town itself.

The race director is Mark Cucuzzella, a physician who works in nearby Harpers Ferry and frequently runs in the parks himself.

“I go out and play and experience these parks every day,” he told me. “I wanted to share the experience.”

A race was the perfect way to do so. With the four parks so close together, “it seemed natural to allow people to run through them and learn about their history," said Dr. Cucuzzella. "It’s also a way to attach local families back to the parks.”

While the race burst onto the scene as the largest marathon in West Virginia, it was designed more for travelers than for high-performance runners, the doctor said. Indeed, while the race was very well managed, it kept a laid-back, friendly atmosphere. That’s one reason I love smaller local races, and this one was just my speed.

I took part in the half-marathon and was glad to see another park for the first time, Antietam Battlefield. On the way there, the course took us on a high bridge across the drifting, tree-lined Potomac River and through the town of Antietam.

I spent some time getting to know the area by reading signs. A drugstore’s sign said, “Fancy new sign, same great service,” while a church advertised an upcoming pancake social. In front of a historic row house that fronted the street was a hand-lettered sign that read, “Bobby Miller, get your Gatorade here,” and included an arrow pointing into the house. That Bobby is one smart man, to lay a cache of his favorite drink along the way.

From there we entered Antietam Battlefield and tested out the many rolling hills. It was hard enough to run up them carrying nothing, just for fun; the weight of weaponry and heavy clothes and the terror of the battle must have been staggering. At the top of one hill stood a man playing bagpipes, a mournful sound that floated across the landscape even in the golden sun of a clear fall morning. The road passed several statues commemorating the Civil War soldiers, somber reminders of what led us to be in those particular fields.

Along the way, another runner told me that on one evening each December, the park sets out a candle in the battlefield for each of the 23,000 people who died there. He said it’s a moving sight. This year, the Annual Memorial Illumination will take place on Saturday, December 5, at 6 p.m.

After passing some farms and houses outside the battlefield, the course descended steeply, entered a copse of trees, then popped racers onto the C&O Canal towpath. Formerly a route for transporting goods by mule and barge nearly 185 miles between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland, the dirt towpath is now used by hikers and bikers, boaters and anglers, and others simply looking for a walk through the past. The towpath is superb for running, with glimpses of the Potomac River that flows parallel and is visible through the thick tree cover. At times the stillness takes flight as geese and blue herons lift off into the sky.

All routes met in Shepherdstown for the finish and for an Oktoberfest at the nearby Bavarian Inn above the river.

While I admit that running through the parks is not the best method for reading the markers, especially if you’re hoping to post a good time, there is something special about going through the parks on foot. In a distance race, you gain an appreciation for the size of these parks and the amount of ground that soldiers and traders of old covered. You can be part of each park’s landscape, feel its air, and take in its sights at your own pace, whatever your pace may be.

This race will help make even more park-seeing possible, as Freedom’s Run benefits two organizations. The Washington’s Way West Heritage Alliance has been working for two years to build partnerships throughout the region to create a National Heritage Area, and Dr. Cucuzzella said some of these areas will encompass national parklands. “Wild and Wonderful Trails for Every Child” will build a nature trail and community garden at every school and park in the area. It also will support after-school programs on the local trails to build family fitness, teach nutrition through “edible” gardens, and, hopefully, bring children back to nature.

So what’s next for this fine, fun race? An encore, of course! It was so popular that there will be another running festival next year. “We couldn’t not come back at this point,” said Dr. Cucuzzella.

One of the things he most enjoyed was the participation by first-timers. “It’s enriching to have people who’ve never run a race come out and do it,” he said.

So there’s your inspiration! Maybe next year you can see these parks on the run, too.