Marcy Cirlot KerneaHow to register
Registrations for the race will be taken up until the day before the event. Registration is $125 per person and includes a T-shirt, sweatband and other freebies. To register, visit general100.com.
The General 100 will take runners through Georgia’s picturesque countryside.
The General 100 takes runners along wooded roadways like this one.Among the area’s many Civil War stories is that of the Great Locomotive Chase. In 1862, a group of Union soldiers since nicknamed Andrew’s Raiders hijacked a train and rode it toward Chattanooga, doing as much damage as they could for nearly 100 miles before they were caught by the Confederates.
A new race memorializes that historic event, taking runners on nearly the same path – and through some of the state’s most beautiful countryside.
The 100-mile relay race welcomes teams of seven people. Fittingly, the General 100 starts at the Southern Museum of Locomotive History in Kennesaw where the train from that tale, the General, is housed. It ends in Ringgold’s Clark Park.
“People in the community seem to be so enthusiastic about running,” said Ringgold Telephone Company’s Marcy Cirlot Kernea, who is organizing the race. “We felt this would be a great team event. There’s nothing like this in North Georgia. This is the first General 100. It’s been an undertaking.”
Kernea said she has worked with every city, county and sheriff’s department along the route, as well as with the Georgia Department of Transportation.
“We started planning for this about a year and a half ago,” she said of the race. “We sat down with Scenic City Motorsports, of the Seven Bridges Marathon in Chattanooga. They are very well-known in the area. Once we got them on board, we sat down with friends in Kennesaw. They loved the idea of the event as well.”
Those who participate will run three to seven miles and then be relieved by another member of their team as the teams traverse the total 21 legs.
At the end of the route, instead of angry soldiers and spy charges, runners will be welcomed by cheering spectators and the sound of live music. Local food trucks will be set up on-site, turning the finish line into a festival.
“We are working with California’s Lagunitas, a major craft beer. Every runner gets two beers for free and the new Moe’s Southwest Grill of Fort Oglethorpe will donate food to runners,” Kernea said. “It’s the first time to let beer be served at an outdoor event in downtown Ringgold.”
Proceeds from the race will benefit the Evitt Foundation, RTC’s 501(c)(3) which promotes child welfare and education, Kernea said. The nonprofit offers college scholarships for graduating seniors and grants to organizations in the community that share the foundation’s mission; for example, Catoosa Online Academy.
Email Katie Ward at kward@timesfreepress.com.