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Having expanded Rock the Block last year to all all-day events, Ed McNeal was looking for a way to keep the momentum going this year. But it had to be unique. The solution: add a 5K fund-raiser – but hold it at night! The result is the inaugural Rock the Block Moonlight Madness 5K & Fun Run, to benefit the United Way of Forsyth County.

McNeal, the city’s Director of Marketing and Communications and a prime mover behind Rock the Block, hopes that combining the race with entertainment and food will draw new faces to the annual end-of-summer music festival.

“We’re calling it a Rock the Block ‘pre-party’ and holding it the night before Rock the Block,” McNeal said, “but it’s still   downtown, and we’ll create a ‘Rock the Block’ atmosphere with a party band and food.”

The Moonlight Madness 5K isn’t the only nighttime 5k in the Triad—the New Year’s  Eve midnight run at Tanglewood is another such race—but with an 8 p.m. start time on a comfortable September evening, the race should draw plenty of runners, says Chris Frye, the race  director.

“It’s an out-and-back course,” Frye said. “We start at Second Street and the Strollway, run down past Old Salem to the Salem Creek Greenway, run a short distance on  the greenway and back up the Strollway to Third Street.” A large closed-circuit TV screen will show the runners as they cross the finish line.

Read more on page 10 in the August Issue of Forsyth Family Magazine