11th Annual Vertical Mile Challenge Trail Race

Event:

If you like an outdoor challenge, don’t miss the 14th Annual Vertical Mile Challenge Trail Race on Saturday at Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area! There will be two race distances: a Vertical Mile (8 loops, approximately 16 miles) and a Half-Vertical Mile (4 loops, approximately 8 miles). The entry fee for either race is $40. Online Registration ends at 11:59 p.m. on June 19. There is no race-day registration. Runner travel about a half-mile on trails to the Stairway to Heaven Trail. This half-mile hill is on an open, very steep rock face. After Stairway, it’s about one mile downhill to the steps and the start/finish line. Packet pickup is on race morning from 6:30 to 7:45 a.m. at Rocky Face Park.

About:

Alexander County was established in 1847, the year of the first sale of land in the county seat (Taylorsville). With the proceeds from the sale, the first courthouse was built on the present site. When the Civil War began, Alexander County was 14 years old. The 1860 population was 5,837; yet Alexander County ranked high per capita in the number of Confederate soldiers serving in the war. The county is named in honor of the Alexander family who were leaders in Colonial North Carolina. Taylorsville is the namesake of either John Louis Taylor, Carolina agriculturist and political philosopher, or General Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States.