New race has a heart for local trails

Black Mountain Valentine Greenway Challenge to make February debut

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
January 30, 2023

The Valentine’s 5K, held last year at Lake Tomahawk, is returning with a new look for its 25th year. The annual fundraiser, now combined with the Black Mountain Greenway Challenge, will take place on the Oaks Trail. Photo by Fred McCormick

Two local races with a mutual love for Black Mountain trails are pairing up, beginning at 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11, with the debut of the Valentine Greenway Challenge.

The event, which raises funds to support the Town’s greenway system, is hosted by the Black Mountain Recreation & Parks Department and will benefit the Black Mountain Greenways and Trails Committee.

Incorporating aspect of the Valentine 5K, which was hosted by the town every February for 24 years, and the Greenway Challenge 5K & 10K, a volunteer-led April fundraiser that ran for 15 years, will help maximize the event’s impact on the local trail system, according to Black Mountain Recreation Coordinator Clint Bowman.

“Last year the Challenge was held right outside of our office,” he said. “The course mainly consisted of greenway trails, and we had always wanted to include more of those trails in the Valentine 5K.”

The recreation department reached out to the Greenways Committee last fall, proposing a single event, which will continue to offer a 5K and 10K course.

“These races were held only a few weeks apart, so it was kind of splitting the market,” Bowman said. “We thought it would be a good idea to pool our resources and create something that really highlights the trails it supports.”

The Valentine 5K has traditionally raised money for various nonprofit organizations in the past, collecting $3,600 for the Black Mountain Home for Children in 2022, and the new race will allow BMH residents to register for free. The event, which hosted around 250 runners last year, was held at Lake Tomahawk and featured a course that included several street crossings and on-road segments.

“We were already thinking about ways to move that course, because we had to reroute it in previous years due to damage on the Flat Creek Greenway,” Bowman said. “That caused it to be on public roads more than we would have liked it to have been. We had traffic control, but we wanted to feature more of the greenways.”

The Challenge was established to showcase and support the town’s greenways and hosted at the former Pisgah Brewing Co. location through 2019. The event was cancelled in 2020, due to COVID-19, and the 2021 race offered a virtual do-it-yourself course. It re-emerged last year on a course that started on Terry Estate Drive, taking runners along Vance Avenue into The Oaks Trail. The course, which will be used in the Valentine Greenway Challenge, included the trails on both sides of Veterans Park.

The Black Mountain Greenway Challenge 5K & 10K introduced a new course along The Oaks Trail into Veterans Park in 2022. The trail system will be featured in the Valentine Greenway Challenge, which will hold its inaugural race on Feb. 11. Photo by Fred McCormick

“This course really utilizes the trails well, so it seemed like a natural fit,” Bowman said.

The new race blends the dynamic physical features of the Challenge with the spirit of the Valentine 5K, encouraging adults, couples and children to run in Valentine’s Day-themed apparel.

Prizes for top finishers, age groups and a Spirit Award will be given to winners in a post-race gathering at the WNC Outdoor Collective, which will also host packet pick-ups and late registration from 4:30-6:30 p.m., Friday Feb. 10, and beginning at 12 p.m. on race day. In the event of inclement weather, the Challenge will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 12.

Medals and other prizes are provided by local businesses.

“The top three overall winners, male and female for the 5K and 10K, get a gift card from Mountain Running Co., and a vase from Sarah Sunshine Pottery,” Bowman said. “First-place male and female runners in each age category will receive medals, also made by Sarah Sunshine.”

For more information, including registration details and a course map, visit the Valentine Greenway Challenge 5K & 10K race page. Registration fees range from $12 for children, ages 1-12, $18 for ages 13-17 to $30 for adults, through Feb. 6. The rates will increase at 11:59 p.m., Friday, Feb. 6.

“We’re really looking forward to this race,” Bowman said. “Black Mountain is an active community where people want more greenways, and to maintain and grow the trails we currently have. Doing that requires financial backing, and this event will allow the community that appreciates the greenways to support them.”