The Buck at Ghost Town 5k – June 21, 2013 – Ghost Town in the Sky – Maggie Valley, NC

CANCELLED – AS OF JUNE 10 2013 THIS RACE HAS BEEN CANCELLED. FULL REFUNDS WILL BE MAILED TO ALL WHO HAVE REGISTERED AND PAID.

Warning: don’t try this at home. Races that include the word ‘challenge’ in the name are not for the faint of heart or the weak of leg. I’d expect no less from race director Randy Ashley who has brought us the legendary Sunset Stampede for years. Here’s some background on the race:

Date/Time: Friday June 21, 2013 at 7:00 PM. The Buck at Ghost Town is a 5K challenge. The event starts in Maggie Valley and finishes at the Ghost Town in the Sky Amusement Park. This is the 1st annual event. A portion of proceeds will benefit local Haywood County charities.

The race starts at the Ghost Town parking lot and Highway 19 in Maggie Valley, NC, runs down highway 19 and does a turnaround, then goes back up the road and takes a right on Rich Cove Rd. You hit the 1 mile mark on the flat part of Rich Cove Rd and then over the next 2 miles you climb 1,428′ to the finish at the Ghost Town in the Sky Amusement Park. The road to Ghost Town is the steepest maintained road in the state of North Carolina. Runners will finish at the top and then ride the ski lift back down to the Ghost Town parking lot in Maggie Valley.

The race will be billed as a “challenge”. Each finisher will get a Buck Elk medal. The fee for the race is $40, as $16 of that will go to Ghost Town for the ride back down the chair lift. Spectators will be able to purchase round trip tickets to see the finish of the race and the tickets will be good for visiting the park through that weekend.

Note the 1,428 foot elevation gain over two miles and the ‘steepest maintained road in the state of North Carolina.’ I’m going to have to call this one another ‘Badge of Honor Race.’

The race is limited to the first 200 entrants.  Online registration is available at IMAthlete.