On Saturday, May 21, the Vulcan Materials Quarry, located in Norcross, will be the unique site of a new road race to the Atlanta market that will benefit The Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation and Meadowcreek High School, Louise Radloff Middle School and Meadowcreek Elementary School. The Quarry Crusher Run, which is being presented by Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District, is roughly a 3.7 mile (or 7.4 mile) foot race that takes participants deep into the earth, in an active quarry, on a path that is rarely allowed to be accessed by the public. The race challenges runners to climb back out, reaching grades of over 10% for over a mile at some points. This unique race will kick-off at 8:00am with two race categories in the quarry located at 1707 Beaver Ruin Road, Norcross Georgia.
The Quarry Crusher Run Series started in Columbia, S.C. in 2012 by a small group of community-minded citizens who wanted to work together with the Vulcan Quarry and the neighborhood. After a few years of running a small festival near the quarry entrance, the organizers came up with the idea to host a road race to kick off the day of festivities by running down into the quarry pit and back out. After 4 years, two original organizers decided to take the race to the national scene, working with Vulcan quarries on the east coast. Four races are slated for 2016 – Columbia, S.C. on April 16, Atlanta on May 21, Birmingham on June 11 and Baltimore on September 24.
“We are so excited to take this truly unique race on the road and expand the opportunities for more runners to experience it in Atlanta” says Jaime Lomas, race director. “The dedication of Vulcan Materials Company to support their community is evident in this really unique run. In a world of either typical road races every weekend or new fad races that are not very challenging to runners, we think the Quarry Crusher Run offers a different option for people looking for more.”
The VulcanÂ’s Norcross Quarry, has partnered with The Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation to donate the proceeds of the race to furthering their mission of supporting the Meadowcreek Cluster. The mission of the three schools, in partnership with the community, is to ensure high student achievement, facilitate character development and provide opportunities for leadership development through parental involvement and effective teaching.
Runners who register before May 21, 2016 will be able to pick their race packet up at Big Peach Running Co.Â’s Suwanee store, located at 320 Town Center Ave, Ste C3, Suwanee, on Friday May 20 from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Runners will receive a custom tee, sponsor promotions and other freebies in their packets. Every race participant will also receive a finisherÂ’s medal upon completion of the race. Prizes will be awarded for overall winners and age group placers.
The Quarry Crusher Run Atlanta, presented by Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District, will host a special media preview day where all media present will be escorted into the quarry to take photos and video. Select small groups of runners will be allowed to run a partial course that day for an exclusive sneak peek of the race course. The media preview will take place on Wednesday April 27 at 5:00pm.
Registration for all races is now available online. Package rates are available for participants who want to run more than one in the four race national series. Children under 12 are not permitted to participate in the race. Walkers and people with strollers are also not allowed. www.quarrycrusherrun.com
The Quarry Crusher Run Atlanta is being presented by Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District and supported by BrandMortgage, Big Peach Running Company, Best Self Atlanta Magazine, Yancey, GESCO Inc., NorX Inc., Shepco Paving, Applied Industrial Technologies, Mansfield Oil and Bartow Security.
Fun fact: “Crusher run” is a well-known aggregate construction material used in a variety of ways and is produced from the Vulcan quarries.
