Trillium Trek Half-Marathon

Run Wild for Earth Day

Race along the trails in the Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve as part of Earth Day 2018 activities taking place at Elachee Nature Science Center.

With multiple courses, the Trillium Trek Trail Run & Walk is a great adventure for advanced racers and beginners alike, and the perfect opportunity to experience the great outdoors within Georgia's only Dedicated Old-Growth Forest.

DATE/TIME: Saturday morning, April 21, 2018. See schedule below.

LOCATION: Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Dr., Gainesville, GA 30504

Races and Entry Fees

$60 = Half-Marathon - hikingproject.com/trail/700…
$30 = 5K Run/Walk - trailrunproject.com/trail/7…
$20 = Kids Fun Run - trailrunproject.com/trail/7…

Participants registered by April 2, 2018 are guaranteed a tech t-shirt. Refreshments will be available before and after the race.

Rocks and roots are fairly common on these trails. Be especially careful when running down the steep hills. I severely sprained my ankle in this race on mile three on a steep downhill.

Races start in the Elachee Visitor Center parking lot with a brief portion of the race route along Elachee Drive (required for spacing), before entering the forest. Once in the forest, runners/walkers actually travel along the trails of Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve. Race routes are well-marked with lots of cheerful volunteers guiding the way. The terrain features moderate-to-easy singletrack trails along rolling hills, with beautiful woodland scenery interspersed by several streams.

The race begins at the Nature Center parking lot, allowing runner spacing along the drive and gravel parking lot. The route enter the forest on West Lake Trail, and quickly turns right onto Dunlap Trail. Dunlap Trail then merges into West Lake Trail, and runners continue along West Lake Trail as they run through the forest and across multiple bridges over streams. The trail crosses over a large earthen dam at Chicopee Lake, across the parking lot of the Chicopee Woods Aquatic Center, then reenters the woods on East Lake Trail.

East Lake Trail terminates at the Mathis Trail, onto which runners make a right. Runners loop around Mathis, hang a right onto Ed Dodd Trail, and loop along Walnut Creek and up the hill to Geiger Trail onto which they make a left. Runners follow several well-marked cut-throughs until they catch up with Elachee Creek Trail. They follow Elachee Creek Trail until they catch up with Mathis Trail again and repeat the Mathis-Dodd-Geiger-Elachee Creek loop once more to add required distance, then turn right off Mathis Trail and onto Mathis Connector the second time where they are then directed to make right onto West Lake Trail followed by an immediate left onto Dunlap Trail and repeat the Dunlap-West Lake-East Lake loop from the first paragraph.

After completing the second loop out to Chicopee Lake, runners make a left from East Lake Trail onto Mathis Trail this time, they then take the Mathis Connector, followed by a right onto West Lake Trail, and then head back to the Nature Center parking lot for the finish line.

The 10K and half marathon races cross an earthen dam that features a spectacular view of the 8-acre Chicopee Lake.


Kids? Register your children for the Trillium Trek Kids Fun Run:

trailrunproject.com/trail/7…

If you are interested in shorter route options, check out:

Trillium Trek 5K: trailrunproject.com/trail/7…

Trillium Trek 10K: trailrunproject.com/trail/7…

A variety of wildflowers and other native plants can be seen along the trails and streams.