About the Big Cheese 5K
The course starts on School Street during the town's River Rat Parade, so the opening stretch along Main Street runs through an active crowd. A real hill on Exchange Street is the hardest part, followed by a loop around Silver Lake Park where Girl Scouts run a water station. A few more hills follow before Crescent Street drops you back down to a finish in front of Town Hall.
Packet pickup runs the evening before at the YMCA lobby on Main Street, with race-morning pickup and registration available in the gymnasium before the start. Awards and results happen back at the gymnasium after the finish, where cold water and snacks are waiting.
Free race emails
Get the Weekly RunSesh
In for this one or still deciding, keep race season near Athol on your radar: a Monday look ahead and a Thursday rundown of the weekend's races.
Two helpful emails per week. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Distances & Start Times
Going for a Time?
Set a goal and get a pace band: every mile split on a card sized for your phone lock screen, so race morning needs no math.
Plan Your TripWhere to Stay
Traveling for this race? The map shows hotels and rentals in and around Athol — pan or zoom to compare what's nearby.
The map is provided by Stay22. If you book through it, RunSesh may earn a commission at no extra cost to you — it never affects the races we list.