This is a vacation gem!! If you find yourself at Topsail Beach during July 4th, check out this race! This is my second year running it and I love it. It's always fun to run a race at the beach.

There is no expo, just a packet pickup the night before and the morning of the race. Runners receive a unisex short sleeve soft tech tee (one of my favs!) and a drawstring bag. Parking is located nearby the race start on the street. It gets packed quickly so you may want to arrive a bit early to secure a spot. I had to walk about .5 to the race start and used it as my warm-up which was perfect!

The race has grown in size and almost doubled from the year before. The start is right at the Emma Anderson Memorial Chapel. The course is a big loop that takes us north through town of Topsail Beach before we head south towards the end of the island. We turn again and run through the neighborhood streets coming back to the start/finish. The water stops are spaced well and were stocked with water. Being a beach course, it is super flat!!

They have water at the finish line and bananas. There are age group awards. This year they added a fastest team category.