Great Smoky Mountains Half Marathon

The Black Bear Double Challenge tasks participants to compete in both the Friday evening 5k and the Saturday morning Half Marathon. Participants in this event will receive a medal for the 5k and Half Marathon, as well as a third medal for completing the Black Bear Double Challenge.

Simply running both the 5k & the Half Marathon does not qualify you for this challenge. You must enter the Black Bear Double at checkout to qualify for this event and earn the unique Black Bear Double Medal & Swag.

The Fun Run event runs at the same time. place and course as the 5k. However, participants in the Fun Run will not be able to have their race timed. They will still receive an Event T-Shirt & 5k Finisher's Medal.

The Half Marathon will have a time limit of 4 hours, meaning a cut off time of 11am. This amounts to a pace of 18 minutes per mile, which is plenty of time to walk the course.

Course record holders receive a free entry into a vacation races event for every year that their time remains a record. As of the start of 2022, the current holders and times for this events Half Marathon are:
Male Overall: Glen Burkhardt 1:09:11 (2019)
Female Overall: Cassidy Heaton 1:21:37 (2021)
Male Masters: Chris White 1:21:52 (2020)
Female Masters: Shanda Warren 1:31:21 (2019)

The record holders for the 5k are:
Male Overall: Orinthal Striggles 17:12 (2021)
Female Overall: Caitlyn Morgan 20:19 (2020)
Male Masters: Orinthal Striggles 17:12 (2021)
Female Masters: Julie Stackhouse 20:40 (2021)

The 5k will have one aid station at the halfway point.

There will be around 6 aid stations on the Half Marathon course. There will be a medic station at a station near the halfway mark.

Aid Stations include toilets, water, Gnarly Hydrate, Honey Stinger gels, basic first aid supplies and more.

Please be aware that this will be a cup free event, in order to reduce trash created. There will be no cups provided at the start/finish line or any aid station. You will need to bring your own container to carry water with you.

If you cannot bring your own water container, you can get a HydraPouch® supplied to you, either at the event or shipped to you. If it is less then a month to the event, having the pouch shipped is not guaranteed, so it is recommended that you collect your pouch at the Race Expo.

Please remember that this event may be impacted due to COVID-19. The event has an increased chance of being cancelled, or postponed due to unexpected COVID-19 developments. All runners who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 are expected to avoid attending the event.