By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
Carrboro —This Thanksgiving Day, those of us hoping to justify indulging in that extra piece of pie can do so with several hundred runners by our side for the 12th annual Gallop and Gorge 8K.
The Gallop and Gorge – the final leg of the Cardinal Track Club’s Le Tour de Carrboro race series – drew nearly 800 runners last year. The race is also the 2008 Southern Regional Championship 8K for the Road Racing Clubs of America.
This year’s race is dubbed the Double B Gallop and Gorge in honor of Bobby Biles, one of the founders of the Cardinal Track Club, who left Carrboro for New Mexico earlier this year. Club President Jon van Ark expects a big crowd for the race.

“The Gallop and Gorge has really become a family kind of race,” said van Ark, president of the Cardinal Track Club, adding that he’s noticed an increase in family groups at the race over the past couple of years.

The race isn’t just a good way to burn a few extra Thanksgiving calories; it’s also a good way to give back during the holiday season. The Cardinal Track Club, which has more than 200 members, benefits four different community partners: Club Nova, El Centro Latino, Carolina Outreach and the Optimist Club of Chapel Hill. Proceeds from races and club dues – which totaled about $16,000 last year – go directly to the club’s community partners, which are selected every year through an application process.

In exchange for funding, the community partners provide volunteers to help staff the club’s races, which, van Ark said, helps increase their visibility in the community while providing much-needed help. For each race, the club needs about 40 to 60 volunteers.
The club organizes three races that make up Le Tour de Carrboro – 4 on the 4th, the Carrboro 10K and the Gallop and Gorge.

Founded by Biles and Dick Forbis, a longtime runner and track official, the Cardinal Track Club is the only running club in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

“The impetus for getting the club going was for putting on races in Chapel Hill and Carrboro,” van Ark said. “The Gallop and Gorge was the first race that they did.”

The Gallop and Gorge is also the club’s biggest race, having grown from about 200 participants the club’s first year to an expected 1,000 this year.

“Our charter really is promoting health and fitness in Chapel Hill and Carrboro,
van Ark said.

The club organizes several group runs a week and welcomes any and all participants, especially to the social run on Tuesdays.

“The goal of that one is to be inclusive,” van Ark said. “You get to know the people on the social run.”
The club also supports a running program called No Boundaries, which trains beginning runners. Locally, No Boundaries also has programs for intermediate and advanced runners.

With a diverse group of members, the club is a “good fit for runners that like other runners,” van Ark said.

The Gallop and Gorge is bright and early Thanksgiving morning, with the start scheduled for 8 a.m. on Roberson Street. First prize in the men’s and women’s groups is $150, second is $75 and third is $50.
Participants can register for the race online at cardinaltrack.com, at Fleet Feet on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. or the day of the race. Registration is $30.

For more information about the race or the Cardinal Track Club, visit cardinaltrack.com