Occoneechee Mountain Challenge 10 Mile Race

On 7:00pm Friday, April 10th, 2026, The Duke University Naval ROTC Battalion in conjunction will Bull City Running Company will host the 23rd Carrier Shoemaker 5k, honoring the life of former Midshipman Carrie Shoemaker, who was tragically killed on October 26th, 2001, by a drunk driver. This race will be chip-timed on a 5-kilometer course around Duke University's East Campus, located at 1304 Campus Drive, Durham, NC 27708.

THE RACE

Join us in supporting Malawi Children's Initiative for the ninth year by participating in a 5K run or walk. Create a fundraising page or team to help maximize the impact of your participation by funding the training of Malawian healthcare professionals, and providing lifegiving care to children in Malawi.

THE CHARITY

Malawi Children’s Initiative (MCI) is an all-volunteer 501c3 non-profit organization established in 2017 by physicians David and Elizabeth Fitzgerald to help build bridges between their friends and colleagues at home in the U.S. and those in Malawi, where they have worked and sometimes lived since 2011. MCI focuses on improving the lives of Malawian children through investment in healthcare, education, and nutritional initiatives and has provided more than $1 million in funding, training, staffing and equipment to benefit Malawian Children since it was founded.

Significant projects include funding an elementary school building; providing dozens of scholarships for healthcare education from elementary school through post-graduate training and medical school; building, staffing and running a pediatric clinical lab and residency program at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH); and contributing thousands of hours of nursing care support to the KCH Pediatric Department. MCI also runs the Nutritional Rehab Unit at KCH, a key weapon in the fight against children experiencing severe acute malnutrition. Most recently, MCI has begun laying the groundwork to construct a new pediatric hospital unit at KCH and train enough new local pediatricians to staff it.

THE GOAL

Raise $50,000 to train new pediatricians, provide healthcare education and equipment aimed at saving and improving the lives of Malawian children, especially those facing severe hunger and malnutrition.

Come out and join us on Saturday, April 11th for the 5th Annual Kevin Dendy Memorial 5K! This year the race will be starting at Eno River Brewing and running through Hillsborough's beautiful River Walk.

Captain Kevin Dendy was local to the Hillsborough/North Durham community. He was commissioned into the North Carolina National Guard and served one tour in Kuwait during the initial wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and provided essential medical care to soldiers serving overseas. Kevin had a love for everything outdoors - running, hiking, swimming, and riding his motorcycle. On December 29 of 2021, Kevin tragically lost his life in a motorcycle accident.

Proceeds from this race will benefit Vets to Vets United. Vets To Vets United unites disabled veterans with rescue service dogs to save and enrich lives.

The race will start at Eno River Brewing at 9:30am.

PACKET PICKUP will be available on race day beginning at 8:30am.

DOG FRIENDLY

Your dog is welcome to join in! Please note that some areas along the route are quite narrow, especially the covered bridge.

AWARDS

Awards will be given to top 3 overall male and female finishers.

All registered participants will receive a custom race t-shirt and finisher's medal. Guaranteed t-shirt size deadline is March 11, 2026.

Run for your L...anguage! A 5k walk/run journey around the world of languages at Duke in support of the Durham Literacy Center. Participants will receive their "passport" at the start of the event and complete challenges at foreign language tables set up along the route to collect stamps.

• Recruit sponsors who will support your registration with a one-time donation to the DLC

• Win prizes for successfully completing a certain number of challenges

• Help promote world languages on campus

Sponsored by the Trinity Language Council at Duke University, the Department of Romance Studies, and Duke Service-Learning.

Join us for some beautiful spring single track trail miles along the MST!

The 17th annual trail race will follow the beautiful Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) as it winds through the woods along the Eno River towards Falls Lake.

Not planning to run?

PLEASE SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER! We need you! Thank you 🙂

NEW FOR 2026 We are updating the 12M and 50K courses due to construction at Blue Jay Point County Park.

MST 12+ Miles (Closer to 13)

MST 50 KM

All participants will receive a custom race shirt, finisher's award, and plenty of refreshments at the finish line! You can expect that we will setup a well-marked course, well-stocked aid stations, accurate results, and a good time! We will do our best to make sure you enjoy your experience!

MST 12M & 50K will be cupless! In an effort to make this a greener event, we ask that participants carry their own hydration device on the course. Water and electrolyte drinks will be available at all aid stations and the finish area.

All participants will receive a custom finishers award, plus additional awards for the top 3 overall finishers (M&F) and the top overall masters finishers (M&F) in each race.

This is a trail race: very different than a road race. You will be exposed to many obstacles you would not normally see in a road race. The course is a single-track hiking trail, so there are roots, rocks, quick turns, logs, woodland critters, and possibly water to avoid. There are plenty of aid stations and volunteers on the course, but if it’s a hot day or if you think you need more fluids, we highly recommend carrying your own.

We ask that you do not run with your dog, run with an unregistered pacer, run with headphones (open ear such as Shokz are OK), run with a jog stroller, and, of course, do not litter on the trail.

This event is proudly presented by Bull City Running Co.