In its 20th year, Le Tour de Carrboro readies for October race

Le Tour de Carrboro, a series of three races in collaboration with Carrboro charities, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Its second race of the year, the Carrboro 10k, is set to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday. 

In the 1990s, Dick Forbis and Fleet Feet Carrboro owner Bobby Biles founded the Cardinal Track Club, the organization that started Le Tour de Carrboro, to promote physical well-being in Carrboro and Chapel Hill, Forbis said.

“I'm very proud to have been involved with the group of great people who were interested in not only just running, but inspiring running and fitness in the community,” he said. “We tried to do a lot of things in that earlier time when the Cardinal Track Club first came together — and that was mid-90s — that would attract and encourage people of all abilities.”

Forbis said the first race the club organized was the Franklin Street Mile, which is no longer held because of operational difficulties. Later, he said they added three more races: an annual Thanksgiving turkey trot called the Gallop and Gorge 8K, a race on July 4 called Four on the Fourth and the Carrboro 10k.

The races became community outreach efforts — in addition to uniting the community in exercise, many of the proceeds earned were given to nonprofits, Forbis said.

According to the Le Tour de Carrboro website, the race series has donated over $650,000 to various nonprofit groups.

“We've been very proud of what we've been able to give away to these great groups who work in our community,” Forbis said.

Derek West, the scoutmaster for Boy Scouts Troop 845, said his troop will partner with the race series for the first time this year. He said the partnership gives the Boy Scouts a chance to develop their leadership skills.

The Cardinal Track Club President Tina Clossick said she has been running with the club for 12 years, which has undergone recent changes, including the addition of tracking chips in runners' bibs.

The most notable change is that there are many more participants in the race series, Joan Boone, a volunteer for the club, said. She said the first Gallop & Gorge race hosted about 300 people, while in 2019, 2000 people participated.

However, Boone said one unchanging factor is the community's enthusiasm and support for the race series.

“People just love these races. We hardly have to do any marketing because it's word of mouth,” she said. “I think it's been that way since the beginning."

Carrboro resident Jaime Stein said she has ran in almost every race since she moved to Carrboro in 2011. She said it's an honor to finish the races and wear a special jacket, or whatever race-finishers get that year, and that she loves the community support. 

“This is the friendliest, most welcoming run,” Stein said. “The streets are lined with people, and everyone's cheering for each other.”

Le Tour de Carrboro Race Director Wayne Eckert said community engagement is important to Carrboro residents.

“[The Carrboro 10k] route winds through the Carrboro area, through the homes,” he said. “People just come out and cheer runners on and really participate.”

Eckert said participants who win the races in their age group on Saturday will receive homemade pottery made by Janet Resnik, a local potter from Carrboro, and a specially blended bag of coffee from Carrboro Coffee Roasters.

The Carrboro 10K will  begin at McDougle Middle School, crossing through Carrboro and finishing back at the school's track.

Online registration for the race will close on Thursday, Oct. 3 and in-person registration will take place on Friday, Oct. 4 and the morning of the race.

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