Tar Heel 10 Miler & 4 Mile Run
Chapel Hill, NC
- 10 Miler, 4 Miler
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Hark the Sound! The annual Tar Heel 10 Miler is designed to celebrate YOU and showcase downtown Chapel Hill, the UNC campus and the surrounding historic neighborhoods. The Tar Heel 10 Miler is a true Carolina tradition with thousands of UNC alumni crossing the finish line each year. CourseThe Tar … MORE
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That hill at the end was brutal!
A fun run around Chapel Hill! Lots of people, but the course is really wide for the most part. Felt great until I hit that hill at the end, but … MORE
A fun run around Chapel Hill! Lots of people, but the course is really wide for the most part. Felt great until I hit that hill at the end, but still came out of it with a PR! The medal was cute, and I like the shirt. I think I was expecting a little more out of the post-race area, but they still had snacks and vendors. Overall, a fun and well attended race!
Who will win the battle!
Beautiful run along the UNC campus and into the neighborhoods where the azaleas and rhododendrons were in bloom. Careful at mile 7 as it is a long downhill and then … MORE
Beautiful run along the UNC campus and into the neighborhoods where the azaleas and rhododendrons were in bloom. Careful at mile 7 as it is a long downhill and then left turn to back up a hill. I recommend running this once! The metal is beautiful and the chocolate milk at the end was perfect! And yes it is a little friendly competition between the surrounding universities!
Double Down
I ran the 4-mile and 10-mile races, termed the Double Down. The 4-miler started at 7:15 am and the 10-miler at 7:45 am. Runners in the Double Down had until … MORE
I ran the 4-mile and 10-mile races, termed the Double Down. The 4-miler started at 7:15 am and the 10-miler at 7:45 am. Runners in the Double Down had until 8 am to start the 10-miler after running the 4-miler first. With that kind of pressure, I PR’d my 4 mile race. I took it a little easier on the 10-miler and enjoyed the beautiful neighborhoods that we ran through. I even stopped and took pictures of an amazing tulip garden.
Double Down runners got a special medal in addition to the 4-mile and 10-mile medals, and also received two tech t-shirts.
The courses have plenty of hills to test your endurance.
My only disappointment was that the Double Down runners did not get listed in the 4-mile or 10-mile results.
Double Down
I ran the 4-mile and 10-mile races, termed the Double Down. The 4-miler started at 7:15 am and the 10-miler at 7:45 am. Runners in the Double Down had until … MORE
I ran the 4-mile and 10-mile races, termed the Double Down. The 4-miler started at 7:15 am and the 10-miler at 7:45 am. Runners in the Double Down had until 8 am to start the 10-miler after running the 4-miler first. With that kind of pressure, I PR’d my 4 mile race. I took it a little easier on the 10-miler and enjoyed the beautiful neighborhoods that we ran through. I even stopped and took pictures of an amazing tulip garden.
Double Down runners got a special medal in addition to the 4-mile and 10-mile medals, and also received two tech t-shirts.
The courses have plenty of hills to test your endurance.
My only disappointment was that the Double Down runners did not get listed in the 4-mile or 10-mile results.
Great hometown race
I loved this race. The course was tough and very hilly, but there was a lot of crowd support and the scenery was worth the hills. Laurel Hill was brutal … MORE
I loved this race. The course was tough and very hilly, but there was a lot of crowd support and the scenery was worth the hills. Laurel Hill was brutal but I liked that they time you going up it.
Hill so tough it has it's own award
This was a tough race. There's even a hill so tough that it has it's own award category. The hill is about .8 miles long and comes late in the … MORE
This was a tough race. There’s even a hill so tough that it has it’s own award category. The hill is about .8 miles long and comes late in the race. There is also a 4 mile race that starts before the 10 miler. Runners have the option to Double Down and complete both. The challenge is that the 4 mile race starts only 30 minutes before the 10 mile race. Those who are able to complete the challenge are awarded with 3 medals. I will probably run this race again, if only to better my time on Laurel Hill.
I hate the Tar Heels and love this race!
My alma mater taught me to hate the Tar Heels. Our fight song even includes the lines, "Go to hell, Carolina." However, when I found myself living on the wrong … MORE
My alma mater taught me to hate the Tar Heels. Our fight song even includes the lines, “Go to hell, Carolina.” However, when I found myself living on the wrong side of the Triangle, you have no choice but to join in. Luckily, Endurance racing (which puts on the Tar Heel 10 Miler) lets you vote for other ACC schools and the top three get their own race shirt, so two of the three years I ran this race, my race shirt declared that I’m a Wolfpack Fan! I mean seriously, this is a race that let’s you feed into all that collegial rivalry, and I love it.
Now, onto the race. I love the Tar Heel 10 miler! It’s well-organized, the swag is good, the course is both beautiful and challenging. There is a separate split for running up Laurel Hill (about miler marker 8 to 9 and all climb!!). There have been hiccups with race production in the past, but I think Endurance is getting it together. This race is the largest one they put on (unless the Durham Race Fest has surpassed it now).
Scenery wise, you start and end in Kenan Stadium. I think in 2013, Meb cheered us out (wut?), you run through tons of residential neighborhoods around UNC’s campus, they’re all beautiful. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, Endurance always has tons of volunteers and they are great!! I’m a little sad that I’ve moved away and won’t be running.
One caveat: I’m not sure that parking ever goes smoothly for this race. I lived about 2.5 miles away, and always rode my bike to the start, but traffic gets crazy, and there are always people that miss the starting line.