The Groundhog

Run. Rest. Eat. Repeat.

A Groundhog Day: “A situation in which events that have happened before happen again, in what seems to be exactly the same way.”

Save the Date!
Welcome to the 2nd edition of The Groundhog, a 50K "stage" race, consisting of 10 consecutive 5K's, starting at the top of every hour for 10 hours. The first 5K will begin at 8:00 a.m. Like a good Groundhog Day, do it again at 9am, 10am... you get the idea, until last loop at 5PM. We will also offer a 5x5K with a 5K at the top of every hour for 5 hours.

The original event was held in Feb, 2022 - a limited participant event due to permit limits and to test the format. We have a new location at Lemon Bay Environmental Park, with occasional views of the intercoastal. A beautiful gravel and grass trail with a small asphalt section. 60-Runner limit. We will also have a 5x5K for those wanting to do 25K of distance.

Details: The first 5K will begin at 8AM on Saturday, June 15th. Once you complete the first 5K loop, your time will be scored. You have the rest of the hour to recover, eat snacks, use the restroom, play some tennis. Whatever you feel like. At 8AM, you go again. For 10 hours. Or 5 hours.

There can be a lot of strategy in this. Go out fast and risk fading in later 5Ks? Slow and steady wins the race?

Scoring: At the end of the 10th (or 5th) 5k run, all of your 5K times will be added for a final 50K/25K time. Lowest time wins. Congrats.
Aid: We will have rented the large pavilion on premises. No tents at this event, there should be plenty of room. Pizza for lunch and other snacks will be provided. Bathrooms are nearby the pavilion.
Course: Course is a 5k lollipop loop roughly 2M miles of gravel/trail .75 Mile grass, and remainder on asphalt. No elevation but it’s June in Florida so expect high heat, and possibly a monsoon (those like to follow us it seems).

Included: Finishers medals, top awards, shirts, and all your favorite snacks. Timing will be provided by DurtiTiming!

Rules

No pacers at the start of the loops please. Once on the trail, it would probably be okay to have a friend join in the later loops but please have them meet you on the trail after the bridge after the opening .5M section so there is plenty of separation of runners. Please bring a handheld on each loop, there are no on course aid stations. You must return from each hours 5K before the next 5K begins. Example. If you start the 11AM hour you must get back before noon. If you start a lap late (say 11:15AM) your time still starts at 11 and you still must return by noon.

Event's current local time: 10:56 AM ET