2026 Rail Trail 10K Race

TOWER TAG CHALLENGE!

Come run the Tower Tag Challenge in the iconic Sleeping Giant State Park. Known for its amazing views of the surrounding landscape, Sleeping Giant offers a variety of trails. Near the entrance to the park is the Tower Trail, a mostly smooth carriage road ascending 600'+ in 1.5 miles to the top of the park to the Observation Tower, where on a clear day you can see the Long Island Sound. The race will be solely up and down the tower trail with a short paved section at the start/end of each loop. 8 Hour/4 Hour options will give you a choice of how many times you think you can complete the out and back.

REGISTRATION

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Sleeping Giant Park Association. Refund Policy: There will no refunds and/or no transfers of your registration or bib to any other person. Entry fees collected are used to develop and produce the event, starting well in advance of the race date--including course preparation, race supplies, permits, and administration.

SWAG/AWARDS

We have some great swag/awards for the event. Finisher medals from Ragged Cuts plus plenty of goodies from our sponsors! Awards for Top 3 podium for Overall Male/Female in each distance. For further info, please see the event website.

THE COURSE

This is a pretty simple course...you go up, you come back down. Each "Tower Tag" attempt will start at the pavilion inside the park and in less than 0.2 miles, you'll be on the Tower Trail. Head up the winding crushed gravel path to the Observation Tower, counter clockwise around it and head back down the way you came. Each attempt will be 3.4 miles. How many can you challenge yourself to do?

POST RACE

You’ve just finished an epic run! Enjoy your accomplishment, sit back, relax, and don’t forget to cheer on all the runners coming in behind you! We will have plenty of food throughout the day for everyone plus some awesome beverages from Athletic Brewing Company as well as other non-alcoholic offerings.

ADDITONAL INFO

For more info and course maps, please go to https://steependurance.com/event/trail-running-race/tower-tag-challenge/

Event's current local time: 5:10 AM ET

SLEEPING GIANT TRAIL RUNS!

The Sleeping Giant Trail Runs will be one of the toughest, gnarliest races in the Northeast! Considered one of the more iconic parks and popular trail running/hiking spots in Connecticut for outdoor enthusiasts, it offers every kind of trail imaginable. There are 30+ miles in the park with everything from smooth carriage roads to the more technical, rocky, winding singletrack that Connecticut is famous for. This will be a beast of a course with 3K+ of vertical in the 25K loop. If you think you can handle two loops, then it's a 50K for you! In comparison to our difficult Macedonia Trail Race 25K/50K, this course will run even harder. With 250+ registered in both 2025/2026, this is one of our more popular events. Don't miss out on the adventure!

REGISTRATION

A portion of your registration will go to the Sleeping Giant Park Association.Refund Policy: There will no refunds and/or no transfers of your registration or bib to any other person. Entry fees collected are used to develop and produce the event, starting well in advance of the race date--including course preparation, race supplies, permits, and administration.

SWAG/AWARDS

Specially designed finisher medal from Ragged CutsAdditional swag from sponsors**Additional awards for Top 3 podium for Overall Male/Female in each event.

THE COURSE

Each loop will start at the Pavilion inside the park. The first 5 miles of loop are mostly runnable rolling singletrack except for a few technical small rock scrambles. Once you hit the 5 mile mark, that's when the fun starts!! You begin the head wall climb a lung busting rock scramble of 500'+ in just 0.3 miles towards the top of the park. A few more technical ups and downs await you before turning towards the southern end of the park. Moving to the east now on the Yellow Trail, runners experience less technical terrain with some rolling singletrack trails before arriving at the Chestnut Trailhead, the location of the 8 mile aid station. Now it's back through the center of the park with a 4 mile section of moderately to harder technical terrain of which you will run a portion of the infamous White Trail with some faster terrain before returning to the same trailhead to access the aid station a second time at mile 12. Now it's time to begin the trek up towards the highest part of the course with the ascent mostly on the Quinnipiac (Blue Trail). Runners reach the top at the Observation Tower and it's on to the Tower Path a 1.5 mile carriage road descent before the last 0.2 miles back up to the pavilion.

POST RACE

You’ve just finished an epic run! Enjoy your accomplishment, sit back, relax, and don’t forget to cheer on all the runners coming in behind you! We will have plenty of food throughout the day for everyone plus some awesome beverages from Athletic Brewing Company as well as other non-alcoholic offerings.

ADDITONAL INFO

For more info and course maps, please go to https://steependurance.com/event/trail-running-race/sleeping-giant-trail-runs/

Event's current local time: 5:26 AM ET

Proceeds from this event will benefit the House of Heroes Connecticut.

The mission of House of Heroes Connecticut (HOHCT) is to recognize, honor and serve Connecticut military and public safety veterans and/or their spouses who have served our country faithfully and sacrificially. They do this by providing one day, no-cost home repairs through partnerships with and the generosity of individuals, civic organizations and corporations. They are committed to growing the organization and advancing the mission to the ever-increasing numbers of veterans both in Connecticut and nationwide.

The Connecticut Chapter has provided no-cost home repairs to 276 Connecticut military and public safety veterans and/or their surviving spouses since 2012. Projects have been completed in 73 cities and towns throughout Connecticut. The organization will hit 286 projects by the end of the year.

This event is dedicated to honor Abner Oakes III, a Navy Veteran and the founder of the Hamden Veterans Commission. In 2010 Abner was inducted into the Veterans Hall of Fame. Abner passed away May 29, 2021.