Welcome to the annual Snowbird Challenge! We are excited to bring a twist to distance running with this unique style of race format! If you have done it in the heat, why not test your grit in the cold! We have simply duplicated the Carolina Reaper Challenge for all you snowbirds out there! Same race format as our Carolina Reaper Challenge that is held in the summer but simply doing it in the depths of Winter! We will toe the line as individuals or as teams to complete the 2.62 mile loop in our 45 minute time format! The course will include 2 miles of wide, clean, and fast trails and .62 mile loop of bike path.
Snowbird Challenge Course Description
The new course at the Civic Center of Anderson Sports Complex consists of 90% walking paths, 5% road intersection crossings (runners need to yield to any traffic), and 5% gravel. Runners have the option to run in the grass during 80% of the walking paths if you want some softer running. The course only gains 75 feet of elevation gain per the 2.62 mile loop. The course starts and finishes on the back side of the baseball headquarters. The course will showcase walking paths along the tennis court, the community park, two ponds, an old haunted house, and finish in the middle of the 4 baseball fields.
This location will have indoor bathrooms, an area for runners to place a 10 x 10 canopy tent for shade in the grass, and a convenient location adjacent to the parking lot for a quick pit stop at your car if needed. The concessions will be open for runners to grab a soft drink, sports drink, snacks, and/or hot dog and hamburger.
Snow Bird Challenge Race Format
– The race course consists of a 2.62 mile loop that is half on wide trails and half on a bike path. The personal tent area is located directly behind the start and finish lines. The paths are wide and this is a closed loop with two police officers manning a small section of road
– Each race has a designated number of loops to complete 50k (12 Loops), Marathon & Marathon Relay (10 Loops), or Half Marathon & Ruck (5 Loops)
– The Timer will ring a kettle bell to start each lap as designated in the schedule above.
– At the beginning of each loop runners will be given 45 minutes to complete the loop. If a runner fails to complete the loop under 45 minutes they will be disqualified.
– All runners must wait until the top of the 45-minute mark to start their next loop. If you complete your loop in 25 minutes you will have to wait 20 minutes before the next loop. If you complete your loop in 40 minutes you will have a 5 minute break. Ya dig?
Race Swag
All Participants Receive Optional Items:
– Finisher Medal
– Custom Race Logo Sticker
– Upstate Ultra Sticker
– Hot Cocoa at the Finish
– Upstate Ultra Apparel (Optional during Registration)
– Race Specific Jogger Pan (Optional during Registration)
Race Awards
– Top 3 Male and Female will receive a custom hand made award!
– Each finisher will receive a finisher medal that will be branded with the race logo and custom lanyard.
– We will also publish our age group results that will coincide with our Race Series.
Aid Stations
Basic aid station supplies. Water, Coke, Cookies, Tailwind, Pickles, Gummies, Etc. We gladly accept aid station donations of food items that you like to see at races. Our staff is very busy with course marking, timing, packet pickup, and communication with runners, that it does make it hard to prepare some amazing tasty treats in-between laps so feel free to contribute a little slice of heaven if you can! Thank you.
Personal Tent Set Up – Drop Bags
Athletes are permitted to have a drop bag or personal tent near the aid station in the open field, in the parking lot, and along the walking path adjacent to the start/finish line. Please be mindful to place your personal belongings off the course as to not impede the runners, the flow of traffic, or other race participants. When you are finished with your race please “pack in and pack out” making the host facility look better than you found it.
Eco-Standard
In an effort to be good stewards to mother nature we will not have any of the following items at ANY of our events. This is in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint being placed by endurance events throughout the world. Please have a cup or hydration bottle if you will need to consume water/nutrition during the event. Please bring your own fork/spoon for any post race meals. Please bring your own bags for items collected at the race.
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