Sledgehammer Beach Run Topsail Beach, NC   Apr 11, 2026

Take in the views and explore North Topsail Beach while running on the beach. Jacksonville-Onslow Sports Commission is proud to present the “Sledgehammer Race Series” in memory of Dr. E. B. Sledge.

The Half marathon, 10K & 5K courses are all on the beach. ** Half marathon cut off time is 4 hours. Anyone left on the course after the fourth hour will be picked up by a staff member and will be disqualified for awards.

The mission statement of the Sledgehammer Race Series is to Honor the memory of Sledgehammer and All Combat Veterans. Sledge was a lifelong Marine who spent the remainder of his post war years coming to terms with what he and his fellow combatants experienced during World War II. E. B. “Sledgehammer” Sledge chose to volunteer for the U. S. Marine Corps in 1942. He was assigned to K company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Division (K/3/5) where he reached the rank of Corporal in the Pacific Theater. Sledgehammer was a 60mm mortarman at Peleliu and Okinawa where he served with Corporal R. V. Burgin and PFC. Merriell “Snafu” Shelton. Sledgehammer also served as a rifleman and stretcher bearer when fighting was too close for effective mortar use.

Sledge would go on to earn a doctorate in biology and was a beloved professor at the University of Montevallo. In 1981, Sledge published his memoir, With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa, which centered on his combat experiences during the Pacific Campaign. His book was used as a reference for Ken Burns’ PBS documentary “The War” and Tom Hanks and Stephen Speilberg’s HBO miniseries “The Pacific” starring Joseph Mazzello as Sledge.

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