Now in its sixth year, the Firefly Trail Race Series will expand with two new races, this time at Athens’ Dudley Park.
With a total of six races, there will be two series, one for the spring and one for the fall, each consisting of three races.
The first of the two new races will be the Pounding for Paws 5K on March 8, and the second will be the Fleet Feet Five-Miler on Aug. 24.
Carole Black, one of the organizers of the Firefly Trail series and the co-owner of Classic Race Services, noted this was a move the team had been eyeing to increase interest in the Firefly Trail in Oglethorpe County.
“We are very interested in getting some of our East Athens neighborhoods and people involved in the Firefly Trail,” Black said.
Anne Garner, another series organizer, is excited about the awareness Oglethorpe County will gain from the two new races.
“We wanted to expand this so that we could try and get Athens runners involved in Oglethorpe because it’s amazing how many people in Athens don’t know anything about Oglethorpe,” Garner said.
Black said a persistent challenge is finding sponsors to support the races, but she hopes the expansion will lead to additional opportunities.
While the geographical expansion is a benefit, another plus is the increase in races for runners.
“A lot of people who don’t normally think of doing multiple races are now looking at this as more of an opportunity to stay focused on being healthy, getting others involved and being with them on the trail,” Garner said.
The series will likely stay at six races for the time being.
“For the next couple of years, we’re probably just going to try and settle in and really market these two race series and the two new races,” Black said.