Last-minute information for the Challenge

Please keep in mind:

1. You may pick up timing chips for your friends and family! Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. is packet pick-up at Harmar Shelter in North Park.  
2. The Full and Homestead Challenges will have two queues at the start. One line for runners and one for hikers. This system prevents bottlenecks and allows for a safer more enjoyable experience for all participants. 
3. Please use refillable containers for your water/hydration. This will help to ensure we have no litter (e.g. empty Gatorade bottles) laying on the trails or roadways.
4. The picnic at the end of the Challenge is free to participants and volunteers. Friends and family who are spectators or attending the picnic: a suggested donation of $5 per adult and $3 per child is recommended for partaking in the food. 
5. In case of thunderstorms on Saturday... please note: there simply is no safe place outside in a thunderstorm. Seek shelter in an enclosed building if possible. If caught outside:  

   • Do not seek shelter in sheds, pavilions, tents, or covered porches as they do not provide adequate protection from lightning.
   • Lightning is likely to strike the tallest objects in a given area—you should not be the tallest object.
   • Avoid isolated tall trees, hilltops, utility poles, cell phone towers, cranes, large equipment, ladders, scaffolding, or rooftops.
   • Avoid open areas, such as fields. Never lie flat on the ground.
   • Retreat to dense areas of smaller trees that are surrounded by larger trees, or retreat to low-lying areas (e.g., valleys, ditches) but watch for flooding.
   • Avoid water, and immediately get out of and away from bodies of water (e.g., pools, lakes). Water does not attract lightning, but it is an excellent conductor of electricity.