The Tuna Relay /200 will return to Mount Olive this Friday, October 22. Runners will be on Wayne County roads beginning at 12:30PM on Friday through midnight.

The race starts in Garner, NC and runs through eastern North Carolina to finish in Atlantic Beach. Runners will approach Mount Olive from Four Oaks and the Bentonville Battlefield Historical Association before proceeding to Daughtry Field in Mount Olive.

Residents who live along the route are asked to secure their dogs while runners come through the area. Loose dogs can lead to dangerous situations for both the runners and the dogs.

Runners will travel:

• From the Bentonville Battlefield Historical Association and run to Selah Christian Church along this route: Mill Creek Church Rd., Harper House Rd., St. John’s Church Rd./S Bentonville Rd., and Selah Church Rd.
• From Selah Christian Church they will run to Eureka Christian Church by continuing on Selah Church Rd. to Dobbersville Rd.
• From Eureka Christian Church runners will travel to New Saint Delight United Holiness Church using this route: Dobbersville Rd. to Marsh Kornegay Rd. and then onto Grimes Rd. Note that this is a new section of the course this year due to bridge construction along the old route from Church to Church.
• From Grimes Rd. runners will travel to Daughtry Field while crossing briefly into Sampson County on: Suttontown Rd., Coker Store Rd./Waller Rd., Thunder Swamp Rd., Old Smith Chapel Rd. and Daughtry Field Rd.
• From Daughtry Field the runners will travel to Union Wesley Church on these Mount Olive roads: Continuing on Daughtry Field Rd., Old Smith Chapel Rd./Smith Chapel Highway, W. Main St., NE Center St., E. James St., and Rones Chapel Rd./Summerlin Crossroads Rd. From Mount Olive the course heads to Pink Hill.

Each of the Tuna Relay /200 teams will have one runner on local roads at a time with support vans and teammates nearby. The 200-mile course along the back roads of Eastern North Carolina is split into 36 legs, and teams of 4-12 runners will cover the 200 miles. The Tuna Relay /70 will begin at 3:30AM on Oct. 23 in Trenton, NC with teams of 2-6 splitting 12 legs.

Approximately 700 runners are expected to finish on the boardwalk in Atlantic Beach on Saturday. Counties through which racers will travel include Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Sampson, Duplin, Lenoir, Jones, Onslow and Carteret.

“After a year without racing, we are excited to be back! We’ve missed it, and the runners have missed it. The number of participants is down slightly, and we expected that. With this being an outdoor event with runners spread out over 200 miles, we feel we offer a safe and fun event,” Race Director Brian Malak said.