The Rugged Red Trail Half Marathon
About this race
HERE'S TO YEAR 12 OF THE RUGGED RED RACE!!!!
Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 7:15am in Slade, KentuckyJoin us as we run in one of the most spectacular trail settings in the United States and provide support to the men and women who serve on the search & rescue teams that regularly save lives in the Red River Gorge area.
RACE FEATURES:
- Spectacular 13.1 mile looping trail course on private property in the scenic Red River Gorge
- Commemorative long sleeved performance shirts (Men's & Women's sizes)
- Custom Finisher's Medals
- Lively DJ playing great music to celebrate the accomplishment of all finishers
- Overall Top 3 M/F and Top 3 M/F in the following age groups (0-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69 and 70+)
- Free Race Photos (Thanks to Skyler Dickinson Photography)
- Complimentary hot and cold brew coffee (Thanks Berserker Brew)
- A complimentary West Sixth beer for all racers (21 & older)
- BBQ Lunch provided to all racers (Thanks Hungry Hiker Bar & Grill)
- Run The Red Teams (Teams of 5 or more SAVE $5/team member)
- Convenient Thursday Packet Pickup in Lexington, Friday PPU in Slade, KY
- Post race shakeout/massages by Lance Minnis
- Raffle for some great prizes!
- Great camping and lodging options in the RRG --- The entire Natural Bridge Campground is available for racers in 2026!
- A trail running experience like none other!
You can find the course map here -
HALF MARATHON ROUTE
COURSE HYDRATION: Our race is cup less. Please bring a water bottle or self-hydration system. We will have Shaklee hydration and water at the start area and water at 5 locations along the 13.1-mile route.
SPECIAL AGE BASED PRICING (Ages 10-16) We are offering a $35 registration fee for those running who are ages 10-16)
PACKET PICKUP (PPU): We are hosting several packet pickup opportunities. Our packet pickups will be held on Thursday, 10/1/26 from 5-7pm at J&H Running Company (197 Moore Drive in Lexington) and on Friday, 10/2/26 from 4-8pm at the Natural Bridge Campground (pavilion). This is the race venue. We will also hold last chance PPU on race morning (Saturday, 10/3/26) 5:45-7am at the same location. The address for Natural Bridge Campground is 90 L&E Railroad Place, Slade, KY 40376
ONSITE CAMPING/LODGING INFO
Please check out the race website and our FB page for more info and updates and reach out to BobBaney12@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Pick your distance
Trail running
Half Marathon
Race is a Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) Trail Race with a 5.5 hour time limit (25 min/mile pace). Awards for Top 3 M/F Overall and 5 Year Age Divisions. Participants receive a commemorative Rugged Red performance shirt and can earn a finisher's medal by finishing the race in the designated time limit.
Running
VIRTUAL Half Marathon
Can't run The Rugged Red in person but want to support our great cause? Consider signing up as a Virtual Runner/Walker/Hiker. For a $60 donation you can run/walk/hike your own Rugged Red Half Marathon on your own schedule on your own trails. We'll mail you your commemorative race shirt and finisher's medal. (Optional) You have the option of logging your time or indicating completion of our virtual 13.1 on the race website.
Typical race-day weather
Based on 12 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Slade, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 7:32 AM and sets at 7:15 PM local time (EDT) in Slade on October 3, 2026 — 11h 42m 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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Results — The Rugged Red Trail Half Marathon
Other races near Slade
Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
The Red Monster
Woolly Booger 5K & Main Street Mile Walk, Beattyville, KY
Propellers to Pavement 5K
Propellers & Pavement 5K Run/Walk
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, 4 Slade events
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