Swamp Forest Trail Run
About this race
Saturday, January 9, 2027
Race start: 8:00 AM
Join Gulf Winds Track Club for the 13th Annual Swamp Forest Trail Run on Saturday, January 9, 2027, at Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park. The annual event offers runners a chance to complete a one-loop Quarter Marathon (6.8 mi), two-loop Half Marathon (13.6 mi), or three-loop 20-Mile Challenge (20.4 mi).
Registration
Opens October 1.
Race Shirt
December 15 (Noon) is the last day to register to receive a race shirt.
Event Limit
This event is limited to 150 runners; sign up early to guarantee your spot!
About the Course
The course consists of beautiful rolling terrain on both single-track and multi-use trails. The Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park Trail is comprised of three main loops: Swamp Forest, Coon Bottom, and Oak Hammock, along with several connecting trails. The course connects these trails into a 6.8-mile loop.
- The Swamp Forest Loop runs next to a seepage basin swamp and a profusion of ferns, passes ephemeral ponds, and a Beech-Magnolia forest.
- The Coon Bottom Loop runs beside a clear sand-bottom seepage stream in many places, and passes through Beech-Magnolia and Spruce Pine forests. The trail crosses a black-water stream that drains a seepage basin swamp. Along the north side of the loop, the trail passes through an upland forest.
- The Oak Hammock Loop runs near the shore of Lake Jackson. Deer can often be seen along the edges of open fields. The adjacent fields contain many fenced gopher tortoise holes.
- The Creek Forest Trail runs around the head of a seepage stream, curves around an ephemeral pond, then encounters a series of meander loops of the main stream. There are large patches of Giant Cane and Arundinaria gigantea along the trail.
- The Big Tree Cutoff passes a swamp that contains Pinckneya, Needle Palms and a stand of huge Tulip-Poplars.
Strava Course Map
Garmin Course Map
Course cut-off
The cut-off time for this event is 1:00 PM. This will give runners five (5) hours to complete the 20-Mile Challenge. If you do not finish your second loop totaling 13.6 miles within 3.5 hours, you may not continue and will be awarded the half marathon finish time.
Packet Pick
Saturday morning at the race from 6:30 AM - 7:30 AM. We encourage everyone to make any attempt possible to pick up your packet early so we can start the race on time.
Race History
Read about the 2020 run and view past years results:
- 2026 Results
- 2025 Results
- 2024 Results
- 2023 Results
- 2022 Results
- 2020 Results
- 2019 Results
- 2018 Results
- 2017 Results
- 2016 Results
- 2015 Results
- 2014 Results
Pick your distance
Trail running
Quarter Marathon
Half Marathon
20-Mile Challenge
Typical race-day weather
Based on 7 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Tallahassee, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 7:34 AM and sets at 5:53 PM local time (EST) in Tallahassee on January 9, 2027 — 10h 18m 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.
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Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
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Miles for Meals 5K (Aed x Kearney Center)
Gulf Winds Track Club 5 & 10 Mile Challenge
Full Press Apparel Memorial to Memorial Veterans Day 5K
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, 57 Tallahassee events
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