Imagine this. . . A cool spring morning in Hollister, NC. The race has been going for over an hour. All runners disappeared into the trails long ago. Spectators are anxiously waiting to see the finish. Someone shouts out, "They are coming! I can see them!"

 

A 10 year old boy exits the trail in first place with a quarter mile to go. His heart is about to beat out of his chest. Seconds later a 64 year old grandmother appears over his shoulder. Her knee is scraped from a tumble she took at mile five. Her grandkids scream with excitement as she races across the field. The race is on as they head towards the finish line arch, when out of nowhere a 22 year elite burst in the scene just 100 yards behind.

 

The three runners charge towards the finish line. The gap is quickly closing. 50 yards. . . 40 yards. . . 20 yards. . . they are now all side by side. They lean forward all hoping to break the finish line tape first. And the winner is . . .

 

WELCOME TO THE MEDOC SPRING RACE!

 

So how does a finish like this happen? The Medoc Spring Race uses a handicapping system to stagger the start time of runners.  Start times are established based on your age and gender.

Please keep in mind the head starts are designed to create a competitive race and not to give any one group a competitive advantage. We attempted to use science to create the start times and minimize any human bias.

 

By "equalizing" all runners with head starts it creates a race environment like nothing else in the area.  The most talented runners in their age group are now racing to win it all!