EVENT INFORMATION
- Questions:
- Please review the information below
- Can't find what you need? Contact our Race Director at l_mcafee_2000@yahoo.com. Please allow 48hrs for responses.
- Location & Description:
- Address
- About the course
- The McAlpine Park 5k cross country course in Charlotte, North Carolina, is widely regarded as one of the fastest and most popular cross country courses in the southeastern United States. The path is primarily a wide, crushed limestone path, which provides a firm and consistent surface allowing for a fast pace. While mostly flat, the course does feature one significant hill. Located around the halfway point, this incline provides a challenge before a fast downhill section and the final stretch around a lake.
- Address
- Race Date:
- Saturday November 28, 2026
- Race Schedule (*subject to change):
- 8:30AM - Open Race 5K (Non-HS Runners, includes Masters)
- 9AM - Freshman and Sophomore Boys 5K
- 9:30AM - Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior Girls 5K
- 10AM - Fleet Feet Girls Championship 5K
- Restricted to Grades 9-12
- 10:40AM - Junior and Senior Boys 5K
- 11:10AM - Fleet Feet Boys Championship 5K
- Restricted to Grades 9-12
- 11:40AM - Youth Race 5K
- Ages 13-14
- 12:10PM - Youth Race 3K
- Ages 11-12
- 12:35PM - Youth Race 3K
- Ages 10 and Under
- Race Eligibility:
- Must reside in: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and U.S. citizens in Overseas Military Installations
- Participant Bib Pick-up:
- Friday:
- Packet Pick-up will be at the McAlpine Creek Park’s Chris Hertel Stage from 12PM-5PM
- Saturday:
- Packet Pick-up begins at 7AM at the registration tent across the path from the Chris Hertel Stage and continues until 12:30PM
- Friday:
- Course Preview/Athlete Warm-up:
- McAlpine Creek Park is open daily from sun-up to sun-down. The cross country course is open during those hours. A course map is located on an information / way-finding sign near the Chris Hertel Stage.
- Event staff will be on-site Friday, Nov. 27 until packet pickup closes to answer questions and direct you to the course if necessary.
- McAlpine Greenway (paved path southwest of the finish area) is available for warm-ups once clerking has begun for the races.
- Awards:
- Brooks XC National Championships Qualification
- The top 10 boys and girls in the Fleet Feet Championship 5K races will earn a spot in the Brooks XC National Championships in San Diego on December 12, 2026. Participants must attend a high school in the U.S. or a U.S. territory.
- Championship races are restricted to those in grades 9-12
- Race Awards
- The top 30 runners in each of the high school races will receive a Regional Championship medal
- For races with multiple grade levels, the top 30 in each grade level will be awarded
- The top 15 in the open/masters race will receive an event medal (Men's Open, Women's Open, Men's Masters, Women's Masters)
- Masters category will also be awarded
- In the three Youth Races, 30 medals will be awarded to the boys and 30 medals to the girls. Additionally, the top 3 boys and girls teams will receive a plaque and the top 5 finishers on those teams will receive medals.
- The top 30 runners in each of the high school races will receive a Regional Championship medal
- Brooks XC National Championships Qualification
- Recommended Lodging:
- Concessions:
- Information coming soon
- Race Media Contact:
- Please reach out to press@brooksrunning.com
- Parking/Transportation:
- Note: Parking is not permitted at the Perfect Balance facility on Monroe Road. This is a business, and they have posted that their parking lot is not available for McAlpine Events as they have classes on the day of the race. Please do not park in their lot or in the lots belonging to the businesses along Monroe Road as they need these spaces for their patrons. We are providing free shuttle buses from the overflow parking that we have available at Greenway Park Elementary School and East Mecklenburg High School. See maps and directions below:
