About the Event

For the Fallen! For the Present! For the Future!

JOIN US for the 7th. Annual Running of the Rough Rider Memorial 5K (and/or "Tot Trot") - Saturday, September 19th 2026, at the Black and Yellow Park (Calhoun City Recreation Park) located at 10 McDaniel Station Rd, Calhoun, GA 30701. This run is in honor of the 14 Rough Riders killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Proceeds generated from the race allow the local Calhoun, GA VFW Post 5376 to maintain and improve the Rough Rider Memorial Wall located at the 1-108th Headquarters in Calhoun, GA. Additionally, VFW Post 5376 also utilizes funds for Soldier, Veteran, and family functions at the post! This run is in honor of the 14 fallen soldiers from this unit!

NEW THIS YEAR......The 5K "Ruck"!!! Pay tribute to the fallen by participating in the Ruck Category. It will have it's own winners and it's own awards (as it should... it's hard!!!) Ruck weight requirements are 20 lbs for athletes that weigh under 150 lbs and 30 lbs for athletes that weigh over 150 lbs.

Registration: $30 5K Pre-Race Registration Fee (Runs until 11:00 PM, Sunday evening, September 13th.) You must register by this date to guarantee your T-shirt size and lock in at the reduced rate!) $40 Race Day Registration Rate.

Packet Pick-up: Will be held on-site Saturday morning beginning at 6:45 AM!

Race Route:
The route itself utilizes the paths in and around the Calhoun City Recreation Department’s Black and Yellow park! It’s a VERY fast, very scenic, and (mostly) flat route in and around the park that we know you will enjoy! AND…we are proud to report that it is now a USATF Certified Race Course! Please scroll down to see a route map!

5K & 5K Ruck Start-Finish & Race Day Parking:
Both the Start & Finish Lines are located in Calhoun City Recreation Department (Park), 10 McDaniel Station Rd., Calhoun GA, 30701

Race Day Parking: There is plenty of race day parking in the park adjacent to the ball fields and the start/finish line.

Race Day Schedule of Events:
*6:45 AM Race Day Registration Opens
*7:45 AM Race Day Registration Closes
*8:00 AM 5K & 5K Ruck Start Time
*9:15 AM Awards Presentation

5K & 5K Ruck Awards:
Awards will be given to the following separately for the 5K and the 5K Ruck as follows:
*Top 3 Overall Male and Top 3 Overall Female Winners
*Top Masters Male and Top Masters Female Winners
*Top 3 Male & Female in the following Age Categories: 10-Under, 11-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80 & Over

We do hope you will join us for this outstanding year 7 race in support of a tremendous cause!

water_drop Avg rainfall

5.0 mm

ac_unit Avg snowfall

—

air Avg wind speed

9.1 km/h (Light breeze)

opacity Sweat loss rate

Very high

terrain Course conditions

Hard and dry surface

sunny Max UV Index

Moderate (5.0)

humidity_mid Humidity

71.6%

wb_twilight Sunrise

07:22

nightlight Sunset

19:43

About Calhoun

Learn more about the host city, Calhoun.

Calhoun is in the Northwest High Country of Georgia and has this sort of idiosyncrasy in that it calls itself "The Land Of The Cherokee" even though there's hardly a Cherokee left standing, thanks to things like President Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act. But there was a time when it was the land of the Cherokee, after they had been pushed out of their former territory in modern day eastern Tennessee and western South Carolina by European Americans. Here they established a town called Ustanali and then an actual capital called New Echota where council meetings were held and a newspaper was printed using the syllabary that Sequoyah had created. By the 1830s though, they were forced out by Georgia and the command of Winfield Scott, with broken treaties of promised sovereignty in the Indian Territory that would become Oklahoma. New Echota is now preserved as a historic site near Calhoun.