550 Bags, 18 Coolers, and a 4:00 AM Alarm: The Making of Sledgehammer

As the dust—or rather, the sand—settles on another Sledgehammer Beach Run, I’ve been reflecting on what it actually takes to bring this race to life. While the runners see the finish line and the medals, our team sees a six-month puzzle finally coming together.

It starts half a year out, navigating permits with the Town of North Topsail Beach and dreaming up the year’s medal and shirt designs. From there, it’s a whirlwind of marketing, insurance, and coordinating with our partners at Onslow County Parks & Rec.

The "crunch time" is where it gets real. Two weeks out, we’re running the course ourselves to scout mile markers and turn around points. By race week, we’re hand-packing 550 runner bags and loading a trailer with a small mountain of gear: tables, A-frames, tents, and enough bottled water to hydrate an army. Friday is a marathon of its own, hitting packet pickups at Fleet Feet Jacksonville and Blue Water Inn before prepping the site for the morning.

Race day is the ultimate "divide and conquer." Because we can’t prep a beach course in advance, we’re out of the office by 4:30 AM. By 6:00 AM, our gators are hitting the sand to set up hydration stations—including 18 Igloo coolers and 1850 cups of water. Thanks to our incredible board members, tourism partners, and the Semper Fi & America’s Fund, we manage everything from parking to packet pickup to every water station on the course. 

By 12:30 PM, the last runner crosses, but our day is far from over. Sand gets on everything. We spend hours scrubbing gear, organizing and putting away all our event supplies.

Afterwards we pivot to post-race support, including photo uploads and virtual race fulfillment. We are proud of the effort that goes into Sledgehammer and grateful for the community that makes it all worthwhile. It’s a 12-hour day capping off six months of work, but seeing those runners hit the sand makes every grain of salt worth it.

-Marisa Reeder

Associate Director