Welcome to the inaugural Strawberry Jam Half Marathon & 5K, presented by the Swain County Tourism Development Authority. We are grateful to them, Darnell Farms for hosting the event and to you for participating. We are looking forward to a memorable morning in Swain County. The following has been created for you to have a great experience so please read it thoroughly.
Event Schedule
Friday, May 20
4:00—6:00 PM – Packet Pick Up/Late Registration - Darnell Farms (2300 Governors Island Road, Bryson City)
You may pick up for other people on Friday, but you may be asked for their Date of Birth and asked to sign for the packet.
Saturday, May 21
6:30-7:30 AM – Packet Pick Up/Late Registration - Darnell Farms
7:30 AM – Half Marathon Start
7:45 AM – 5K Start
9:15 AM (ish) – 5K Awards
10:30 AM (ish) – Half Marathon Awards
11:00 AM – Start of Strawberry Jam Festival
Parking
There will be a designated area at Darnell Farms for race parking on race morning. Follow the signs and directions of farm staff to the designated area.
Be careful as you leave the farm as there will be a lot of festival traffic – both cars and pedestrian – at that time.
Courses - General
The START/FINISH line will be designated by an inflatable arch and Glory Hound Event start flags.
The Half Marathon will start toward the east (away from the main road) for a 1.1 mile section on farm roads.
The 5K will start toward the west (the way you came in).
Both races will finish to the east.
Roads are open to traffic and these are out and back courses so stay to the right at all times unless otherwise directed.
There will be fire department volunteers located at each critical intersection. All turns will be marked with green on white direction signs and pavement markings.
Course – Half Marathon
The first .8 miles of the course are on farm roads inside Darnell Farms. These roads will only be run at the start of the race. You will run 1.6 miles twice along the river on the dirt/gravel Old River Road. Both of these sections can be muddy so be prepared for all conditions. The rest of the course is on pavement.
You will have three aid stations on the course that you will hit six times (mile marks 2.3, 4.1, 6.1, 7.3, 9.3 & 10.7. Each will serve water and Gatorade.
Course – 5K
There will be one aid station on your course serving water and Gatorade.
Watch for the signs for the turnaround on Old River Road. Go around the orange traffic cone in a counter-clockwise direction then proceed back the other way to the finish.
Restrooms
There will be plenty of portable toilets at Darnell Farms near the main building and Start/Finish area.
There will be a portable toilet at the half marathon aid station at mile points 6.1 & 7.3.
Post Race
After you finish your race, we will have bottled water, protein bars, fresh strawberries and Darnell Farms famous Dream Whips. Please be sure to dispose of all trash and recycling in the appropriate containers around the farm.
The annual Strawberry Jam Festival will start at 11:00 AM.
Results
You can find live results after you finish HERE or from one of the QR codes posted around the race area. Official results will be posted on the race page at GloryHoundEvents.com by Saturday evening.
Awards
The approximate start times for both awards ceremonies are in the schedule above. Categories for each race are under Awards on each Race Page. If you cannot stay for the awards ceremony, please make arrangements for someone to pick up yours. They are jars of strawberry jam and cannot be mailed.
Thank you again for joining us on this inaugural journey. We are looking to make this an annual tradition. Have a great race!
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