The Swannanoa Splashdown, a race to raise funds for the World Olympiad of Water
15 K and 6 K races • Saturday, Jan. 17
Greet the New Year with the Swannanoa Splashdown, a race to raise funds for the World Olympiad of Water. The World Olympiad of Water, or WOW, will be a day of trail races, student-led philanthropy and water science games for western North Carolina middle school students at Blue Ridge Assembly, Saturday, May 16th. Jump in the Splashdown to help our kids water the world!
The Swannanoa Splashdown consists of a 15k for advanced runners, and a 6k for the more leisurely. Both courses are almost all on trail and begin and end at 2,200 foot at Lake Laurel on the beautiful grounds of Blue Ridge Assembly. The 6k keeps to the lower trails and, with gentle slopes and amazing rhododendron tunnels, is an excellent trail race for beginners. The 15k course, on the other hand, rises to the 4,240 foot summit of High Windy, the highest point of the mighty Swannanoa Mountains. This is a challenging though well-marked course that will test the fitness of even elite runners. There will be a minimum of two aid stations for this race.
The 15k begins at 10:00 AM Saturday morning and the 6k at 10:15, rain, snow or shine!
Fees: The minimum registration for the 15k is $35. The minimum for the 6k is $25. For those who can afford to do so, we encourage a self-designated sliding scale of up to any amount. 100% percent of the funds raised above the costs of the Splashdown will go towards making WOW a success for our students on May 16th.
Registration fees include T-shirt, pasta dinner and race packet. Dinner and packet pick-up begins at 6:30 PM on Friday, January 16 at the Blue Ridge Assembly Center in Black Mountain, North Carolina. During dinner, there will be a short presentation on the World Olympiad of Water, a middle school led effort to help solve the world's water crisis.
• Door prizes and prizes for the top finishers!
• Lodging: Out of town runners may rent rooms for special rates at the Blue Ridge Assembly Center for Friday, January 16.
• For more information about any aspect of this event, please e-mail: SplashdownRace@aol.com
• Getting here: Click her for directions to the Dinner and Race.