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Staff photo.
Runners brave the Peavine Falls course at Oak Mountain State Park for the annual 2018 Rick Melanson Peavine Falls Run.
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Photo courtesy of David Tosch.
Participants in the annual Hotter ’N’ Hell Trail Race at Oak Mountain State Park climb up the trails.
Two annual runs will take place at Oak Mountain State Park in July.
The 39th annual Rick Melanson Peavine Falls Run will be July 4, hosted by the Birmingham Track Club.
The race starts and ends in front of the Dogwood Picnic Pavilion on Terrace Drive in Oak Mountain State Park located in Pelham.
Hunter Bridwell of Birmingham Track Club said the club has formed a safety committee to come up with protocols for putting on a safe race in the age of COVID-19.
“We are looking forward to kicking off Independence Day once again with this Birmingham race tradition,” Bridwell said.
Registration and packet pickup opens at 6 a.m. on race day. Walkers begin at 6:30 a.m. and runners begin at 7 a.m. An awards ceremony will take place at 9 a.m.
The course is 8.2 miles, consisting of 6.9 miles of asphalt road and 1.3 miles of single-track dirt trail. It climbs approximately 3.5 miles to the Peavine Falls parking lot and then back down the same road until turning onto the single-track trail. The course starts and finishes in front of the Dogwood Pavilion.
Post-race activities will include light food and beverages at the Dogwood Pavilion.
BTC members receive a discounted entry to this race. For those who are not already a member of the BTC, there will be an option to join during registration.
For more information and to register, visit birminghamtrackclub.com/peavine-falls-run.php.
The Hotter ’N’ Hell Trail Race, hosted by Southeastern Trail Runs, is set for July 18.
David Tosch submitted an extremely detailed plan for managing his race series during the pandemic, so the event was approved.
The race will feature a 9-mile or 18-mile option and begin at 7 a.m. The run will start at the Lakeside Pavilion and follow a 9-mile loop to the top of Double Oak Mountain up the Red Trail. Runners will start on Mr. Toad, then head to Foreplay, BUMP (the Blood Rock Trail) and Green Trail back to Peavine Pavilion.
Runners will then run a section of the Blood Rock 50 and 100 course down to Peavine Falls Gorge and back over the ridge before returning to the start/finish line. Eighteen-mile runners do a second loop of the course. There will be two aid stations per lap.
“We are using the guidelines established for run and bike races by Oak Mountain State Park and approved by the state of Alabama,” race Director David Tosch said.
There will be beer and food waiting at the end of the race. Entry is limited to 300 runners, and the race sold out last year. For information and to register, visit southeasterntrailruns.com/hotter-n-hell-trail-race.html.
