Southern Sundown 4 Miler

Join us for a Saturday evening run on the streets of Lenoir followed by Awards and an epic post-race party hosted by Liquid Roots Brewing Project!  The course will take you by amazing public art, through charming neighborhoods and past iconic factories. This four mile route tours by five properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places and will challenge runners of all levels.  The Eighth Annual Southern Sundown 4 Miler promises to continue to deliver cool swag, unique awards, solid beer and great live music.  You don’t want to miss it!

Every registered runner (21+) for the Southern Sundown 4 Miler receives a full pour of a Liquid Roots brew after the race!

*Register by August 3 to guarantee your size in the 2026 Southern Sundown 4 Miler event tshirt!

Early Packet Pick Up: Friday (8/14) 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm (Liquid Roots Brewing)

Race Day Registration & Packet Pick Up: Saturday (8/15) 5:00 pm - 6:45 pm (Liquid Roots Brewing)

2026 SS4M Individual Awards

* Top 3 Overall Male / Female (Winner - Custom Trophy + $45 Mountain Running Company Gift Certificate,  2nd - Custom Trophy + $35 Mountain Running Company Gift Certificate, 3rd - Custom Trophy + $25 Mountain Running Company Gift Certificate

* Top 2 Male / Female Master (40 & Up) (Winner - Custom Trophy + $25 Mountain Running Company Gift Certificate, 2nd - Custom Trophy + $20 Mountain Running Company Gift Certificate

*Top 3 Male / Female Age Groups (Winner - Custom Gold Finished Medal, 2nd - Custom Silver Finished Medal, 3rd - Custom Bronze Finished Medal)  14 and under; 15 - 19; 20 -24; 25 - 29; 30 - 34; 35 - 39; 40 - 44; 45 - 49; 50 - 54; 55 - 59; 60 - 64; 65 - 69; 70 -74; 75+

The Silver Streak (Male) and The Four Mile Flash (Female) - Custom trophy + $100 Cash for overall male/female winner that also sets a new overall course record!

Better Than Most Award - Unique award filled with $20.26 in change for the runner that finishes one spot better than the last half of the finishers.

The Kids Fun Run Presented by UNC Ortho is for kids age 12 and younger.  The race is a 1/2 mile course and begins and ends at the SS4M start / finish arch.  Cost for the race is $5 in advance and $10 on raceday.  Every participant receives a medal as they cross the finish line and a custom bib.   This non-timed event will begin at 6:30 pm.

The First Annual Whippersnapper Sprint is a timed event for runners age 12 and younger.  The distance of the race is 1 mile which is 2x around the same course used for the kid's fun run.  Every participant receives a medal as they cross the finish line and a custom bib.  The fastest male & fastest female will each be presented a trophy at the finish line.  This race starts at 6:30 with participants lining up in front of the kid's fun run participants.

Southern Sundown 4 Miler Team Challenge

*Both 4 Miler Individual and Team Challenge participants qualify for individual awards.

The primary purpose of SS4M is to promote a positive active lifestyle, to use running to foster a sense of community and healthy competition and to introduce the joy of running to people who have never considered it.

Because of this purpose, the Southern Sundown 4 Miler Team Challenge utilizes unique roster requirements that encourage runners from every age, gender and skill level to join up.  We welcome coworkers, work out buddies, families, club members, running groups, whomever .............. to form a team and have fun competing in the SS4M Team Challenge.  The winning team will receive a special team award and a $200 Check to their non profit or organization designated at sign in!

2026 Team Requirements / Scoring:

Each team is made up of no less than 5 and no more than 10 runners

Each team must have at least one Male and at least one female (No all Male or all female teams)

The top (5) finisher's times on each team will be used to determine the team's average pace

A team's average time will be reduced by 30 seconds for each of the following criteria they meet:

At least one team member has never completed in an AJ Vibe running event

At least one team member is 14 or under

At least one team member is 50 or older

(For example if Team A's top 5 finishers equate to an average pace of 32:30 and they have a team member running their first AJ Vibe event,  a 12 year old team member, and a 63 year old team member their recorded team average pace would be 31:00) [32:30 - :30 - :30 - :30 =31:00]

*An individual team member can only satisfy one of the criteria