The North Face announced the Southeast Regional of The North Face Endurance Challenge 2010 will be hosted in Atlanta, GA, October 16 – 17, 2010.
Atlanta, named one of the 25 best running cities in America by Runner’s World magazine, joins New York, Washington, DC, and Madison, WI, as regional sites for this year’s event. The Southeast Regional course will run through historic F.D. Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, GA, which offers 42 miles of established trails.
“Atlanta has a great running community and the FDR State Park’s Pine Mountain Trail offers rich and beautiful terrain,” said Aaron Carpenter, VP Marketing for The North Face. “These elements, along with our strong relationships with Pine Mountain Trail Association and the Georgia Ultrarunning and Trailrunning Society, made Atlanta a natural choice for this event.”
Launched in 2007 and hosted by internationally-recognized ultrarunner Dean Karnazes, The North Face Endurance Challenge includes the Gore-Tex 50-Mile, 50K, Half-Marathon and 10K race distances. Also, each of the five Endurance Challenge events will offer a Marathon, Marathon Relay, 5K race and runs for kids under 13. Each men’s and women’s regional Gore-Tex 50-Mile winners will take home $1,000. At the Championship, $10,000 each will go to the top male and female Gore-Tex 50-Mile finisher.
For 2010, the event series introduces a two-day format, with the Gore-Tex 50-Mile, 50K, Marathon, Marathon Relay and kids races held on Saturday, and the Half-Marathon, 10K and 5K races on Sunday. Participants also have the opportunity to raise money and awareness for a particular cause of their choice, create a corporate relay team or enroll children in a running event catered to their age group.
The North Face Endurance Challenge 2010 kicks off in Bear Mountain, NY, in May and culminates with the championship in San Francisco. The North Face Endurance Challenge was awarded “Best Green Race Series” by Trail Runner magazine in 2009. In addition to The North Face Endurance Challenge, The North Face hosts global endurance events in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and Canada.
