What race organizers bill as the largest college campus in the world
– 28,000 acres – is the setting for the running of
the Berry Half Marathon & 5K, which takes runners on a tour of
this college’s green, hilly, wooded campus set in the
foothills of north Georgia’s Appalachian mountains.
Relatively fast and flat, the out-and-back course also includes several
rolling rills throughout the route, which starts and finishes at the
Ford Buildings on Berry’s campus.
Most of the course takes runners over paved roads, from the starting
line at the campus past the Frost Chapel and the nearby middle and
elementary schools, through the Winshape dairy barns and along the
Viking trail. There is a brief stretch of the course that is made up of
crushed gravel trails, the loop near the end of the race to an area
with a church known as Possum Trot and back.
One of the event’s unique attractions accompanying the race
is Kite Day, as race organizers provide free kites for spectators and
kids to fly during and at the conclusion of the race as an inspiration
for runners in the home stretch.
Race
Weather & Climate
Come prepared for rain, as March is generally Rome’s wettest
month of the year with an average of just over 6.6 inches of
precipitation for the month. Temperatures can also be quite chilly, and
average between 38°F and 64°F for the month.
Fees
Half marathon:
$55 if registered by February 7, 2009
$65 between Feb. 8 - 28
No race day registration for the half marathon
10K:
$20 if registered by February 7, 2009
$25 after Feb. 7 through the day of the race
5K:
$20 if registered by February 7, 2009
$25 after Feb. 7 through the day of the race
