Event Description

Included Events:

Easter Egg Scramble 5K - Henry Fork Park, 5655 Sweet Bay Ln., Hickory, NC
Saturday April 12, 2025

Aviation 5K - L.P. Frans Stadium/Winkler Park 2500 Clement Blvd. NW, Hickory, NC
Saturday May 24, 2025

Lightning Bug Boogie 5K Night Trail Run - Hickory City Park, 1581 12 th St. Dr. NWW, Hickory, NC 
Friday August 15, 2025

Ruff, Ruff, Run 5K (Dog Festival) - L.P. Frans Stadium/Winkler Park, 2500 Clement Blvd. NW, Hickory, NC
Saturday September 27, 2025

Hickory Trick or Trot 5K - Highland Recreation Center, 1541 8th St. Dr. NE, Hickory, NC
Saturday October 25, 2025

Awards, Categories, Scoring & Rules

The Hickory 5K Grand Prix Running Series uses a point system based on results from each race. Runners who score in the top overall or top age group positions receive points at each of the five races. The top 3 male and female runners in their respective age categories and overall top 3 males & females receive awards, merchandise and gift certificates!  Hickory 5K Grand Prix Series awards are not duplicated. An individual can win in the Overall Category or age group, but not both.

CATEGORIES

Age groups are as follows for both Males & Females:
0-9
10-14
15-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+
Top 3 overall Male and Female
(Top 3 M/F will not medal in age groups) 

SCORING PER RACE:

1 = 50             11 = 2

2 = 45             12 = 2

3 = 40             13 = 2

4 = 35             14 = 2

5 = 30             15 = 2

6 = 25             16 = 1

7 = 20             17 = 1

8 = 15             18 = 1

9 = 10             19 = 1

10 = 5             20 = 1

In the event of a tie at the end of the season:

The winner will be determined by who has placed higher the most often
Greater number of events completed
The person who placed higher in the final race of the Series (Trick or Trot 5K)  
 

RULES:

Every participant must run with the official bib number assigned.  Be sure to look at the label affixed to your number to check that your information is correct and that you are wearing the number assigned to you. Switching or selling a bib is prohibited without prior/explicit authorization of a race official. Having another person run with your assigned bib is forbidden. Your race number is required to always be visible during the race and attached to the FRONT of your shirt/shorts. This position is where the bib is most visible to photographers, race officials, video, chip timing equipment, and manual backup timing methods.

If you are not registered for the race, you are not allowed to participate in that event. Bandits are strictly prohibited. A bandit is anyone who participates in an event without registering and without a race number. This is not only a safety issue (as race officials are unable to identify bandits in the case of an emergency), but also a drain on course resources for paying participants. If caught, bandits will be asked to leave the course immediately.  Banditing may also impact a participant’s eligibility to participate in future races.

Participants must complete the entire course under his/her own power. If it is deemed that a participant did not complete the entire course under his/her own power, the participant will not be eligible for awards and will be removed from the official results.

No participant in the race will be allowed to be paced or given unauthorized aid by a person not officially entered in the race, whether on foot or by any other means, including bicycles, mopeds, scooters, motorized vehicles, etc.  Unauthorized assistance is grounds for disqualification. However, someone may be paced by another official participant provided that both participants abide by all race rules.

Any participant responsible for jostling, running across, or obstructing another participant as to impede his or her progress shall be liable for disqualification from that event.

No participant shall use any equipment which is determined to be improper by a race official, including but not limited to equipment that might provide an unfair advantage or endanger other participants.

Any participant who refuses to obey the directions of any event official, city official, or course marshal; conducts himself/herself in an unsportsmanlike manner; or is offensive by action or language to officials, volunteers, participants, or spectators may be disqualified by the event and from future participation, at the discretion of race officials.

All runners have a collective responsibility to keep the event safe. Races generally discourage running with strollers or headphones.  If you run with a stroller, you must start at the back of the start group and yield to all other participants. If you must run with headphones, please keep the volume low enough to hear vehicular traffic and instructions from law enforcement officers, volunteers, and race officials. Running with an animal is prohibited unless specifically and explicitly allowed by race officials.

Anyone wishing to participate in a race utilizing a wheelchair, hand cycle, other mobility assistance device or a service animal must contact race officials no less than 4 weeks before race day.

Contact Information
If you have any questions about this race series or its scoring, please use the following email address:
lriddile@hickorync.gov