NC Fossil Fest 5K
About this race
The in-person NC Fossil Fest 5K run will be held on Sunday, May 24, at 8:00 am in Aurora, NC.
Join us for our Annual NC Fossil Festival 5K Fossil Run! The 5K will take place in the Town of Aurora. Proceeds benefit the nonprofit Aurora Fossil Museum. Race bibs can be picked up on race day in front of the Aurora Fossil Museum at 7:00 a.m. Please arrive by 7:30 a.m. so you can park in the designated Festival Parking (grass lots south of Main Street), walk to the Race Start, and pick up your bib before 7:50 a.m. If you arrive after 7:45 a.m., you may be late starting the race. After the race, stay and enjoy the Fossil Festival activities! Dig for fossils, visit the food and product vendors, and explore the educational booths!
All runners participating in-person will be eligible for awards. Awards will be given for the Top 3 Overall Male/Female, as well as the Top 3 age group awards for Male/Female.
If you can't make it to the in-person event, you can opt to participate in our virtual event from May 17 to May 31. See Virtual FAQ's for more information. An $8 shipping fee will be added to the registration fee to cover the cost of mailing your race packet to you.
All racers, whether in-person or virtual, will receive a custom Finisher's Medal to commemorate participation in this year's Fossil Fest 5K!
All racers signing up by April 22nd will also receive a 2026 North Carolina Fossil Festival T-shirt! Encourage your family and friends to sign up with you for this jaw-some swag!
Pick your distance
Running
Virtual 5K
Swag will be shipped directly to you at additional cost after the Virtual Run end date (5/31/26). Not eligible for time-based awards.
NC Fossil Fest 5K - In Person
Swag at event. Eligible for time-based awards.
Typical race-day weather
Based on 12 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Aurora, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 6:01 AM and sets at 8:06 PM local time (EDT) in Aurora on May 17, 2026 — 14h 04m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
Reviews
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2026 results — NC Fossil Fest 5K
183 finishers across 2 distances · leading places in the Virtual 5K
| Place | Name | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dustin Kelty | 24:11 | 7:47 /mi |
| 2 | Laura Hunt | 27:39 | 8:55 /mi |
| 3 | Zena Khaled | 31:03 | 9:33 /mi |
| 4 | Mitsugu Conner | 33:15 | 10:44 /mi |
| 5 | Tanna Torcaso | 33:35 | 10:50 /mi |
Every finisher is on the results page, filterable by distance, gender and age group.
All results by year
Other races near Aurora
Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
Craven Smart Start Holiday Hustle
Colors 4 Cancer 5K/1M/Virtual
Trail to Tryon Holiday Half, 10K & 5K
Everyone Swims
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 1 Aurora event
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