Christmas Classic 5k

The Christmas Classic 5k is a holiday-season 5k at Oak Mountain State Park, with a route around Double Oak Lake and a family-friendly setup that includes a 12-and-under 5k and the Candy Cane Challenge for kids. The event embraces the season: runners are encouraged to wear holiday costumes, tie jingles to their shoes, and chase extra prizes by beating Santa or Mrs. Claus. It also offers two finish lines, and the first 200 participants receive custom Christmas Classic 5K swag. The course is mostly flat, with one hill about 1.5 to 2 miles in and a separate “Top of the Hill” prize for the first man and woman to reach that point. Awards go beyond the overall winners, with gift cards, medals, and mugs for top male and female runners, plus medals and mugs for age-group leaders and the first boy and girl in the one-mile event. Every kid in the one-mile race gets a medal. The race also carries a memorial piece: it is dedicated to former race director Sabrina Bugay-Willis, and the start includes a horn sounded in her memory.