Feeling lucky? Come try The Gamble!
We are happy to announce that The Gamble is back for 2024! So what exactly is it? It's a race consisting of a ~1.67 mile loop where at the start we will roll the dice. Whatever number appears is how many laps everyone will be running. You will not have extra time to prepare, what you have on you at the start is what you have for the race. We will provide an aid station with water, electrolytes, and some basic nutrition, but you should be prepared for both a long and short race. The Gamble is your training and preparation! Proceeds from the race support The Run828 Foundation and North Carolina Mountain Trail Runners (NCMTR).
The Course
The minimum possible distance for this race is 3.33 miles and the maximum possible distance is 20 miles (distances are not guaranteed to be correct). Our inaugural year, 2022, we rolled a 9, which meant that competitors completed about 15 miles. In 2023, we rolled a 7, about 11.7 miles. The course has a little bit of everything: dirt singletrack, short paved pathways, a couple of hills, a few stairs, some gravel, etc. And if it rains at all within a couple weeks of race day, go ahead and plan on dealing with a little bit of mud. The loop is a figure 8 and course marshals will be present where the course intersects in order to direct runners and prevent any territorial disputes with oncoming motor vehicles.
Aid & Facilities
The aid station will be at the start/end of the loop and will be cupless. This means you will need to bring something to contain your hydration. We don’t care if it’s a collapsible cup, a handheld water bottle, a hydration belt, a vest, or whatever else. Just bring something. Aid station fare will be pretty basic, so bring (and plan on carrying) anything special you might need. Restrooms are not directly on the course, but are very close (the next building over from the aid station).
NCMTR Members Get FREE Entry!
That’s right, we said free! Please log into https://ncmtr.org to retrieve the coupon code. If you’re not a member and would like to learn more, please check out the site as well.
Refunds, Cutoffs, Inclement Weather, Etc.
Unfortunately we are not able to offer refunds for this event. Absolute cutoff for the event is 3:00 PM, which is 6 hours after the start of the event. We think this is more than reasonable given the maximum possible distance and the fact that the maximum is somewhat unlikely. We reserve the right to declare a shorter cutoff in the event that the race distance is considerably shorter than the maximum. We are currently planning on having the event rain or shine. Mid April is usually quite nice, but in the event that weather forces a cancellation, we will not have a makeup date.
Event's current local time: 4:52 AM ET
