The Longest Night (50mi - 50k - 26.2 - 13.1 - 10k)

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Race Day Details

Saturday evening into Sunday, December 19–20, 2026 at Lakewood Nature Preserve, 220 Lakewood Drive, Greenville, SC 29607. Get directions.

Course or Race Highlight

Running through the night changes the whole shape of an effort. The loop is short and the trails are wide and grassy, so navigation is never the problem — the problem is the hours between midnight and dawn, when the field has thinned out, the temperature has dropped, and the only thing keeping you on schedule is the fact that you said you would be.

The barn is the whole world for the night: packet pickup, the aid station, hot soup and broth, and the place everyone regroups between laps. When you finish, don't disappear into the dark — stick around for music and a post-race hangout where the celebration continues under the stars, with good tunes and good people.

The Course

The course extends 1.5 miles from the central barn on wide grassy trails, run as a loop. All runners must adhere to the posted lap schedule, completing laps in under 25 minutes.

View the course map

Lap Schedule

Every lap sets off on the clock below, 25 minutes apart, from six on Saturday evening to a quarter to eight on Sunday morning. There are no early starts — if you finish a lap ahead of schedule, you wait for the next one with everyone else. Your distance ends on its final lap, marked here.

Saturday evening

Sunday morning

Parking

Barn parking holds 150 spots, first come first served. Once that fills, use the field lot adjacent to the barn, and after that participants may park along the road. Your registration covers the facility reservation cost to host the event.

Aid Stations

One central aid station at the barn, which is also the start/finish hub — you reach it every 1.5-mile lap.

Available snacks

Hydration

Wildly Charged is our official hydration sponsor — look for the orange 5-gallon jugs at the aid station.

What's Included

Hot Soup and Broth All Night
Veggie, and exactly what you want at 3:00 AM in December. Custom Race Bib
Your badge of the journey. Chip Timing & Live Results
Track your effort, splits included. Race Branded Finisher Medal
To commemorate the triumph. Custom Race Tattoo
Wear the moment proudly. Race Stickers
Keep the memory riding shotgun on your bottle, cooler, or laptop. Post Race Vibes and Media Coverage
Complimentary professional race photos capture the grit and the glory — hang around at the finish line and celebrate.

From past races. See all race photos

Race Awards

Finish and You Have Beaten the Night

This is a backyard elimination race run against a lap schedule rather than against the field. Every finisher earns a medal. Shirts are ordered and shipped separately.

Age Group Awards (Male & Female)

The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers in each of 15 age categories will earn an age group medal — a custom piece to add to your finisher's lanyard at the end of the event.

Series Recognition

This race counts toward season-long age group recognition in these two series:

Series Awards

Run the series and earn more than a finish:

Series Finisher — finish 5 races in a series to earn that series’ Finisher coin and Finisher tee. Free and earned on the course, never sold.

Upstate 250 Club — log 250 or more race miles across Upstate Race Series events in a season to earn the 250 Club buckle.

The Anchor Award — the runner with the most race miles across the Upstate Race Series keeps the Anchor Award for the year, and their name goes on it for good.

Giving Back

  Visit Pickens County Meals on Wheels5K Glow RunDonate

Every Upstate Race Series event is part of the Upstate Giving Series, which connects our 30 races with 30 nonprofit organizations serving communities across the Upstate. Your registration and any donation you add at checkout go to work close to home — you are not just running a race, you are funding the work of a neighbor. Upstate Giving Series.

Groups & Teams

The Upstate Running Club welcomes all local and regional running clubs to our events — the more the merrier. Calling all running clubs and social run groups: Upstate Race Series welcomes crews of all kinds to join the fun. Whether your squad is full of weekend warriors, sunrise chasers, or runners motivated by the promise of a cold drink at the finish, we've got an event for you.

Sign up, share with friends and local running clubs, and cash in on race discounts and refunds when your team, run club, or band of misfits hits 5 runners or more.

Good to Know

Managing Your Registration

Everything about your entry lives in your RunSignUp profile. Sign in, find this race under your upcoming events, and make the change yourself — there is no need to email us first. From there you can:

Manage my registration