More than 573 runners passed through Macon County April 24-25 as part of the annual Smoky Mountain Relay from Brevard to Bryson City.
On April 25, volunteers rallied at Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center to host a free breakfast of oatmeal and biscuits for the runners, some of which were finishing up their half of the relay and some were planning to continue on to the next leg of the journey through Nantahala National Forest and on to Brevard.
Runners were sorted into 12, nine and six-person teams with many teams including athletes from across the country. Participants from Washington state, California, Louisiana and more joined runners from the southeast, including 11 runners from Macon County.
Some teams featured friends and veterans who had run together previously, but often single participants were paired with other groups to fill new teams, and often entire teams were assembled from runners who had never met before.
Rachel Sheely and Cameron Campbell were the only two in a group of nine with previous experience running the relay, with all the members of their group friends who had worked together at the REI Co-op.
Another group, primarily from Charlotte, brought in Julie Elchwender from Montana to fill out their team for a run. Elchwender said the race “has been humbling.”
Aaron and David Lilley, a father-son pair from Charleston formed a team of 12 including members from California and Louisiana. David Lilley said their team, by coincidence, was made up of several veterans and several father-son duos.
The overall winner of the 2026 relay was the Mountain Running Company, a team of nine sponsored by the store of the same name. Leslie Grotenhuis, event director for Kick It Event Management, said the team ran 211 miles in 25 hours, 50 minutes. The second place winner was RunHky, a Hickory team of 12, which finished the race in 29 hours and 14 minutes. Third place went to The Maggots, a team of six with previous experience running sponsored by Jus’ Running. The team finished in 30 hours and six minutes.
The original Smoky Mountain Relay was held in 2009. Bob McCollum, a volunteer and organizer for the breakfast, said the the Cowee Community Development Organization started the breakfast nine to 10 years ago. Volunteer Anne Hyder said runners are always deeply thankful and appreciative to have a hot meal.