Get ready to lace up your running shoes and join Asheville's Annual 5k Celebrating Workplace Wellness - the Chamber Challenge! Scheduled for Friday, May 3, 2024, the Chamber Challenge more than just a race; it's a celebration of community wellness and friendly competition among businesses in the Asheville area.

The Chamber Challenge is designed to promote community wellness through friendly competition between businesses in the Asheville area. Encourage your co-workers, family and friends to participate. 

Registration

• Early Bird Registration: $35 through March 31st
• Regular Registration: $40 through April 21st
• Late Registration: $45

Register on Race Roster!

Register by April 14th to receive a free short sleeve shirt with your registration. Beginning April 15th, shirts will only be available in limited quantities and sizes for $10.

If your company is registering 25 or more participants, please contact Judi Willard at [email protected] to coordinate special arrangements.

Training Opportunities

Join the Chamber for Chamber Challenge training designed for ALL fitness levels with YMCA Personal Trainer Suzanne Ion.

These free sessions will be held Tuesdays at 5:30 PM beginning on March 19 and ending April 23 at the Asheville Chamber (36 Montford Avenue). The last session will be a preview run/walk of the actual Chamber Challenge 5k course beginning at the Chamber, winding through historic Montford and finishing in the parking lot once again.

These training sessions are open to anyone – whether you’ve registered to participate in the event or not.

YMCA Training Tips for the Chamber Challenge 5K:

• Fueling your body properly is essential to reaching your health and fitness goals. There are two simple ways to get started on this. Firstly, consider having several smaller meals a day. This will help keep your metabolism elevated! Secondly, consume higher amounts of protein with each meal. Protein is highly thermogenic so it not only will help keep your hunger at bay and keep your metabolism roaring, but it will also help protect your current muscle mass. Start with these two things and your body will thank you!
• Stretching is just as important as cardiovascular and strength exercises. Daily stretching can help increase the range of motion in your joints, improves blood circulation and posture, and eases muscular tightness throughout the body. It can also help improve athletic performance and aid in preventing injury. 
• Running can be a therapeutic and beneficial type of exercise, unless you are one of the many people who struggle with foot pain or discomfort. There is a new popular type of shoe that is spreading through the running community - a wide toe box running shoe. They give  toes more room to spread and grip the ground, which provides more support and a better push-off. If typical running shoes cause blistering or numbness, pain in your toes from pressure, or if you have flat feet, you may want to consider switching. These types of shoes are also showing more benefit for other forms of exercising such as strength training.

5k Race Course

Want to run or walk the Chamber Challenge 5k course? The course begins and ends at the Asheville Chamber and winds through the historic Montford neighborhood.

• Start on lower level of Chamber parking lot and turn right onto Hill Street
• Right on Courtland Avenue
• Left on Pearson Drive
• Left on Rosewood Avenue
• Right onto Hawthorne Lane
• Right back onto Rosewood Avenue
• Right on Tacoma Street
• Left back to Pearson Drive
• Right on Santee Street
• Right on Montford Avenue
• Right into Chamber parking lot before the Chamber building
• Finish line is in the bottom of the Chamber parking lot

Find more details and register at AshevilleChamber.org/News-Events/Events/Chamber-Challenge.
Source: Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce