Black Bear Half Marathon – October 10, 2020 – Oklawaha Greenway – Hendersonville NC

iDaph Events is proud to introduce a brand new running event to Western North Carolina: The Inaugural Black Bear Half Marathon will take place on Saturday, October 10, 2020 in Hendersonville, NC. The Black Bear Half Marathon is an in-person half marathon running event and offers a beautiful, flat course along the Oklawaha Greenway. With approximately 400 of elevation gain and a socially distanced event from start-to-finish, you don’t want to miss this fun and challenging running experience. A virtual running experience is also available.

“We are so excited to finally announce that we are designing and producing a brand new half marathon this year in Hendersonville,” says Daphne Kirwood, race director and owner of iDaph Events. “The endurance running community has been looking for small and socially distanced events to try out all their fitness that they have accumulated throughout the pandemic. We look forward to being able to provide a safe and responsible running event for our participants, and our track record has proven that with enough planning and guidelines in place, it can be done safely.”

The Black Bear Half will take place on the beautiful Oklawaha Greenway, and is a flat, 13.1 mile course on a mostly paved route. The route will consist of multiple loops and is limited to 300 participants. The race will have wave starts, beginning at 7:00 am until 10:00 am, with a course time limit of 3.5 hours.

There are twelve wave starts with a maximum of 50 participants in each wave, and runners must sign up for a wave start time when registering online. This will allow for social distancing between runners and avoid crowding at the start and finish line and water stops along the course.

“This socially-distanced style event format has worked really well for us over the last few months at other cycling, running and multi-sport events,” says Kirkwood. “I know it’s difficult to visualize, but because there is not a mass start of people starting together, people stay distanced and spaced out throughout the event. Most participants run alone or they find a close friend or family member to run and participate with.”

Virtual Option

The Black Bear Half also has a Virtual & Self-Serve experience, for participants who are not comfortable attending the in-person event, or who simply cannot make it that day, can participate in the virtual option and still be eligible for prizes, a race t-shirt, and a medal.