WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — Ahead of putting on the elastic pants for the big feast, make sure your running shoes and turkey costumes are laid out for the annual 5-kilometer and 1-mile run held annually on Harbor Island come Thanksgiving Day.
Across the Wrightsville Beach drawbridge, around 3,500 racers will meet at Wrightsville Beach Park to run and walk the Loop and side roads near island residences, all to raise funds for Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity. Past trots have helped procure upward of $100,000 for the nonprofit.
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“We are now serving four times the number of families each year than we did just five years ago,” Cape Fear Habitat development director Christina Ferris told Port City Daily in February. The nonprofit constructs homes and assists families with an affordable mortgage.
The 17th annual event was almost thwarted from its normal hosting site earlier in the winter after WB Parks and Recreation staff issued complaints about overcrowding, as the race has grown substantially in recent years. They also had concerns over trash left behind and holiday decorations enduring damage post-race. Ultimately, the decision was made to keep the race island-side.
Registration for the 2022 5-kilometer race is at 8 a.m. — 8:10 a.m. for the 1-miler. It’s $45 to sign up, with all monies benefiting the Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity.
Parking is available first-come, first-serve and can be accessed at Wrightsville Beach Museum, Wrightsville Beach Municipal Complex & Park, Redix Parking Lots, Wrightsville Beach Baptist, Wrightsville United Methodist, and the U.S. Post Office.
A few roads will be closed due to the event, according to the Town of Wrightsville Beach:
- The outside westbound lane of Causeway Drive
- Salisbury Street will be closed at 7:50 a.m. and should reopen by 8:30 a.m.
Wrightsville Beach Police officers will patrol intersections to direct traffic. Normal traffic flow is expected to resume by 9 a.m.
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