Merle State Hunger 5K Run/Walk

Come join the fun of the BMW Charity Pro Am Presented by TD SYNNEX Golf Tournament at our kick off event, The Dog & Jog Thornblade, a ForeK Run to benefit Greenville County Animal Care. This 4K run will tour the grounds of the Thornblade Club with a portion along the golf course where amateurs, celebrities and professionals will compete. All registrants will receive 2 complimentary daily tickets to the tournament along with a race t-shirt, finisher's medal, post race drink and snacks. Help us kick off a great weekend of festivities and see why the BMW Charity Pro Am is one of the Upstate's can't miss events!

This event is stroller and dog friendly.

⚡️ZOOM!⚡️

You’ve just entered the speed force, baby.

I’m The Flash — and if there’s one race I’d never miss, it’s The Downville Mile. 🏁💨

Welcome to the fastest mile race in South Carolina — a 1-mile lightning bolt down the streets of Greenville.

🐇🍻 Whether you’re faster than a speeding bullet or just want to see what it feels like to fly, this race is for YOU.👟 The Open Mile is perfect for speedsters of every stride — your first mile, your fastest mile, your funnest mile.

⚡️ Then, BOOM! 💥 At 6:45pm, it’s time for the Elite Mile — where the real scorch marks get laid down. Sub-5:30 runners only. This is where PRs get shattered and gravity goes home crying.

🎉 Expect high-voltage energy, cheering crowds, and a brewery finish line that’s literally the best place to catch your breath. You bring the legs and BYOB and we will bring the vibes. 🍺🎶

🏆 Stick around for awards and stories of the one time you almost outran your own shadow.

🗓 Race Day Details:

Why: To run the FASTEST MILE in the state — maybe your life

What: ⚡️ The Downville Mile

Where: Confluence Center

When: 📍575 Mauldin Rd #200, Greenville, SC 29607

• 🏃‍♂️ Open Race (7:00+ min) - 6:00pm

• 🏃‍♂️ Open Race (5:30+ min) – 6:15pm

• ⚡️ Elite Race (<5:30 min) – 6:30pm

🏅 Top 3 overall awards and age group awards

🏅Finishers Medals for all participants

📈 Course: 1 mile. 100+ feet of glorious downhill.

🔥 Results: Think PR city. Some runners have dropped over 30 seconds off their mile!

📦Packet Pickup: Confluence Center: 575 Mauldin Rd #200, Greenville, SC 29607

🗺 COURSE MAP – ZOOM!

🍺BEER is BYOB

So… you ready to blur the streets of Greenville?

Let’s break the sound barrier.

Let’s break records.

Let’s run the Downville Mile. 💨💥

I’ll see you at the finish line… if you can catch me. 😏

🐍🍺 Welcome to the Annual Cottonmouth Beerlay! 🍺🐍

Run fast. Drink hard. Don’t get bit.

What do you get when you combine trail running, random beers, and your most competitive (and possibly least coordinated) friends? The Cottonmouth Beerlay, baby! This wild race at the beautiful Lakewood Nature Preserve is back for another year of glorious chaos, beer-fueled miles, and unforgettable memories.

You can run it solo if you're a one-person party machine, or grab a few beer-loving buddies and tackle it as a relay team of 2–4. Either way, you're in for 8 miles of pure, ridiculous fun.

Are you fast enough to outrun the Cottonmouth? Or will the beer bite first?

🐾 How It Works:

Each lap is a 2-mile trail loop through the preserve. You’ll do it 4 times total.

Before every lap, runners must consume a randomly-selected beer from the BYOB community pool

Solo runners do it all themselves. Relay teams tag in one runner per lap.

🍻 21+ only for the drinking portion, of course. Minors and Sober folks may run with non-alcoholic alternatives but must be carbonated.

🧊 BYOB Russian Roulette (a Cottonmouth Classic)

Each runner brings 4 beers (5%+ ABV), which are tossed into our giant iced community kitty pool.

When it's your turn to run, a volunteer will hand you a mystery brew, already cracked and poured.

You drink it, you run it. Deal with the consequences.

No swapping. No peeking. No mercy.

Non Alcoholic Drinks are of course permitted. We love sobriety but we just haven't practiced it yet! 😂

🏆 Post-Race Beer Olympics

The party definitely doesn’t stop at the finish line.

Once everyone’s stumbled their final lap, we crank up the music, toss some pizza your way, and break out the Beer Olympics yard games:

🍻 Beer Pong

🪢 Tug of War

🔫 Dodgeball

🌽 Cornhole

🏌️‍♂️ Hillbilly Golf

🔄 Spike Ball

🐍 Race Details:

📍 Location: 220 Lakewood Preserve, Greenville, SC 29607

🕔 Start Time: 4:00 PM

8 Mile Solo – 4 laps, 4 beers

8 Mile Relay (2-4 people) – 4 laps total, 1 lap per runner per round

📝 Packet Pickup: On-site starting at 3:00 PM

📍 Strava Course Map – COURSE MAP HERE

🌲 The Course:

Held at the scenic and shady Lakewood Nature Preserve just outside Greenville, SC, the course features:

• A 2-mile grassy trail loop

• Rolling hills (they feel bigger after a beer)

• Wildlife sightings (deer, foxes, and maybe your dignity)

• A rustic barn that serves as our race HQ and beer-staging zone

• This isn’t just any trail—it’s a celebration of running, nature, and fermented grain-based hydration.

💥 Bonus Vibes:

🌭 Hot Dog Bar & party after you finish

📸 Free race photos

🧢 Custom race bibs + giveaway swag

🎶 Good tunes, loud laughs, and a wild crew

🐾 Support for a local nature preserve & sustainable fun

DESCRIPTION

The GTC is proud to partner with RunIn and Simpsonville First Baptist Church to sponsor the 47th annual Sunrise Run. Be part of the excitement at the Greenville Track Club's legendary early morning summer kickoff event, the Sunrise Run in Simpsonville. This is a Corporate Shield event. Many thanks to our sponsors, RunIn and Simpsonville First Baptist Church.

The 8K race will start at 6:16am on Church Street in front of the First Baptist Simpsonville Activities Building.

Fast, USATF certified course!

New Course Record of 23:54 set by Ryan Drew of GTC-Elite!

5 current South Carolina Age Group records were set on the Sunrise Run course!

GIVEAWAYS: Lightweight daypack and socks to all entrants!

PACKET PICK UP

On Friday, June 12 packet pick up will be at Run In, 102 E. Curtis St., Simpsonville, 29681, from noon until 6 pm. RACE DAY packet pick up will be from 5:00am -6:00am at First Baptist Church, 3 Hedge Street, Simpsonville, SC 29681

PARKING

There is ample parking around the church including church-owned parking lots and on-street parking.

The section of Church Street in front of the Activities Building will be closed so please avoid that area.

PLEASE DO NOT PARK ON PARK DRIVE, THE ROAD THAT GOES THROUGH THE NEW GRACELY PARK AND PAST THE SIMPSONVILLE CEMETERY. This is reserved for the Simpsonville Farmers Market.

AWARDS

RunIn Gift cards to top 3 OVERALL M & F and top 3 MASTERS M & F

Awards in all divisions:

OVERALL Top 3, M & F

MASTERS Top 3, M & F

GRANDMASTERS Top 3, M & F

AGE GROUPS, Top 3, M & F for 9-Under, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-Over Since this is a "piggy back" with Corporate Shield, there will also be awards for the CS teams.

The awards ceremony will take place adjacent to the finish line around 7:30 .am

The ever popular and patriotic Red White and Blue Shoes 5K on the campus of Furman University on July 4th.

This fast race course is USATF certified. The start line is in the parking lot adjacent to the north stands at Paladin stadium. The route circles the mall and loops around the Duke Library at the center of campus. The course then goes across the dam at Swan Lake and takes the paved path around the lake, using the new footbridge at the north end of the lake. The route passes the Amphitheater, goes left on Bell Tower Road to Roe Ford Road, then goes right on Roe Ford Road back to the mall. After coming down the mall road, the course rounds the circle in front of the PAC and goes down the driveway to the North Stands. Runners enter at the back gate of the stadium and finish in a blaze of glory at the 50-yard line at Paladin Stadium.

5K will participants receive a high quality Runners Cap. Limited to 1300 participants .

IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE GREENVILLE TRACK CLUB, sign in to RunSignUp with your username and password to get an automatic $5 DISCOUNT on your race entry.

Proceeds from the GTC RWBS 5K go to the Blue Shoes Track Scholarship program, providing scholarships to deserving student athletes and promoting excellence on the track and in the classroom.