The race starts in a beautiful valley with picturesque mountains and fields in the background. Once runners get to the 1.9 mile mark they will enter the crown jewel of caves in the Southeast. The portion of the 5k course that runs through the cave is an out and back 0.6mi that is wide enough for 2 way traffic. Runners will pick up a glow stick at the turn around point and the decorative lighting will be on at all times. The average temperatures for race day are a low of 54F, high of 79F. Meanwhile inside the cave the year round temperature is a cool 58F. This will truly be a race like no other.
The race shirt will be a short sleeve tri-blend shirt. ALL participants will receive an awesome finisher medal.
Age groups will be ten years: 19 and under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60+
In the event of severe weather we will delay the start as necessary to avoid lightening. If severe weather threatens the entire day and does not appear to let up, we may be forced to cancel.
There will be very loose cutoffs. Our goal is for everyone to have a blast and a one of a kind experience running/ walking through a natural wonder, no matter what your experience level is. There will be a 1hr and 5min cutoff. We ask that you please respect the state park and volunteers and adhere to this cutoff time. Walkers are more than welcome! The average walking pace is around 18-20min/ mile. The reason we advertise a 1hr and 5min cutoff is we can’t have people standing inside the cave. Everyone has to continue moving and make forward progress.
There are no refunds, credits or friend/ family transfers on entries.
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Great Race!
Parking was a breeze (we did get there very early). You have to sign up for a wave & each wave has a 30 minute wait between each. The course … MORE
Parking was a breeze (we did get there very early). You have to sign up for a wave & each wave has a 30 minute wait between each. The course started down a road and then we turned back to head back to the start line. We then turned left & went up a long steep hill before heading into the cave. At the turn there was the only aid station that had water & powerade. They were in the same cups & people were grabbing the wrong drink. Running inside the cave is other worldly. You run along a path until you reach the end & grab a glow stick & then run out of the cave where the finish line is. After the race they had all sorts of drinks and snacks at a pavilion. You then had to walk down the steep hill back to your vehicle. If you ran the earlier waves then a later wave will be running up as you are walking down. Race swag was a cotton t shirt and a nice wooden medal. The company that puts this on (Running Lane Events) has two other races throughout the year there.
1000% Recommend!
This was a beautiful, hilly course and half of the race is in the Cathedral Caverns. The medal was wooden, which was neat. I loved this race! MORE
This was a beautiful, hilly course and half of the race is in the Cathedral Caverns. The medal was wooden, which was neat. I loved this race!