This hiking marathon was started by an idea that came from Hot Springs, AR, where the community,held a marathon on their trails. Fairfield Glade volunteers had been building trails for four years and it was thought that holding a marathon would be a great way to promote the use of the trails. The Friends of the Trails offered to organize the event and generous sponsors stepped forward which enabled it to be free to enter for all hikers.
The first marathon in 2015 was extremely successful. Over 300 completed the marathon. This happened with little publicity. The marathon caught the imagination of the local people in Cumberland County. The second marathon in 2016 was also very successful. Over 600 people entered the marathon. Once again this happened with little publicity but we did form a committee to spread the workload and ensure that this community event continues for many years to come.
It continues to grow in popularity:
2017: 900 registrations.
2018: over 1,500 registrations
2019: over 1,800 registrations
2020: 0ver 2,000 registrations