The fourth annual USATF North Carolina – Endurance Magazine Championship Series Begins April 6
By Jeff Merron
The USATF North Carolina Endurance Magazine Championship Series will soon begin its fourth year. It ties eight of the top races in North Carolina, spanning the state from the beaches to the mountains and distances from the mile to the marathon, to ultimately crown the USATF North Carolina – Endurance Magazine Long Distance Runners of the Year. This year’s series features more than $25,000 in prize money spread over the eight-race series.
The runners of the year, both male and female overall and male and female masters, are determined by totaling points earned in a system that gives the most points to race winners, and fewer points to second- and third-place finishers.
The series kicks off on April 6 in Greensboro with the BB&T Gate City 8k. The second race follows on April 20, with the Tar Heel 10 Miler Presented by CEP in Chapel Hill. The sixth annual Capital City Classic, a 10k race featuring a stunning course in Raleigh, is on May 11.
The Beech Mountain Trail 10k offers runners a break from the streets with plenty of vertical challenges on some rocky root-filled trails as well as some grassy ski slopes. The race, which also serves as the USATF national and North Carolina 10k trail championship, takes place at Beech Mountain on June 29.
Midsummer naturally brings the Beat the Heat 5k, held in the relative cool of the early evening in Winston-Salem on July 20. This race often features elite finishing times nearly as scorching as the July temperatures.
The next race in the series is the shortest, The Magnificent Mile, in downtown Raleigh, which will be held on Sept. 15. It is followed by the two longest races in the series. The Rex Healthcare Half Marathon, which is run in conjunction with the City of Oaks Marathon, is in Raleigh on Nov. 3. A week later the popular OBX Marathon, a point-to-point race that begins in Kitty Hawk and finishes in Manteo, closes out the year’s competition.
The races in the series are open to all comers, but to be eligible for the USATF North Carolina – Endurance Magazine Long Distance Runner of the Year title, NC-USATF individual championships, and NC-USATF division prize money you must be a registered 2013 member of the North Carolina division of the USATF, and be a 12-month resident of North Carolina. For more information on membership, visit www.ncusatf.org.
