Events
Grant Ultra Challenge - How many miles can you run in 24 hours?
Place
90 Bald Cypress Cir
Lake Waccamaw, NC US 28450
Description
"Let's go so we can get back" was a favorite saying of the late Grant H. Egley. Grant was an ultrarunner, thinker and innovator who crossed the finish line of life in January 2023.
Join us in celebrating Grant's life and legacy at the Let's Go* - Grant H. Egley Memorial Run
We have distances for runners and walkers of all levels and from all locations across the globe!
👟 Run or Walk with us in person at Lake Waccamaw, NC on Saturday June 24. (10K or 5K)
👟 Run or Walk anywhere in the world with our virtual option (10K or 5K)
👟Take the Grant Ultra Challenge...run or walk as many miles as you can in 24 hours. This is a DIY event...you pick your own course, fuel and support team
👟 Can't decide - FREE entry into the Grant Ultra Challenge for all registered 5K or 10K participants.
Race Proceeds will support the Grant H. Egley Nursing Program Fund, Southeastern Community College Foundation
Race Day Schedule
Saturday, June 24
6:45am - 7:45am - Packet Pick Up (Bib and Shirt Pick Up)
7:45am - Race Line Up
8:00am - 5K and 10K Start
Awards and Post Race Celebration at the Race Finish Line
Race Shirt
Registration includes shirts while supplies last!
COURSE MAP
Parking and Location Map
Please enter Elizabeth Brinkley Park from Highway 214, which is known locally as “Sam Potts Highway.” From Hwy 214 (Sam Potts Highway) turn onto Bald Cypress Circle to enter the parking area. Bald Cypress Circle becomes Columbia Ave at the “big curve” and Columbia Ave will be closed from the “big curve” to Schley Ave. There will not be access to parking from Columbia Ave.
Who was Grant Egley?
In the 1968 Egley family Christmas newsletter, Grant’s wife, Donna, wrote “This year, Grant took up ‘jogging’...” Little did she — or he — know, “jogging” would turn into a lifelong passion for long-distance running.
In 2020, Grant estimated that he had run more than 68,000 miles — more than two and a half times around the Earth — including 132 marathons and ultramarathons (any race longer than 26.2 miles). He ran in 48-hour runs, 24-hour runs, and 100-mile trail runs, and at age 88 ran 635 miles in 104 days. In 1980 he wanted to test his mettle by running an ultra but there were none within a day’s drive, so he created the Mississippi 50-Mile Run, an annual event which continues today.
When asked what inspired him to get up and out every day to train, he often said, “Self-discipline is remembering what you want.”
A perpetual advocate for healthy living, Grant believed that age is a mindset. He helped to establish the Take the Lake event at Lake Waccamaw in 2009. Three years later he took up kayaking at age 80.
It is in this can-do spirit that we invite you to join us in running for Grant: remembering what you want to do and to be — and living your life to the fullest!
Grant at the Strolling Jim 40 in the early 1980s, an ultra he ran in more than 20+ times.
Run or Walk with Friends
Running is always more fun with friends! We encourage you to join a group or team during registration and then invite folks to join your team!
Grant at the Strolling Jim 40 in 2021 with longtime ultra-running friends Gary Cantrell (aka Lazarus Lake, founder of The Barkley) and Dan Thompson
Grant with his daughter, Laura, at the Laurathon in 1998
Race Contact Info
If you have any questions about this race, click the button below.
Directions
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