As the sun goes down on Saturday, October 7, run, jog or walk as many laps of Observatory Park’s Planetary Trail as you can between 4 and 6 pm.  Each completed 0.85-mile lap will propel you through our solar system. One lap takes you to Mercury, two to Venus, three to Earth and so on…

Participants can race against each other, sure.  But most will just race themselves to see just how far “out of this world” they can go.  When planning your voyage, consider that one lap is just under a mile, but all 16 possible laps (13.6 miles) are just over a half marathon, so space travelers of all ages and abilities truly win by coming out!  Where will YOU land – in our solar system, or beyond?

Space is limited, with race T-shirts guaranteed only for the first 250 to register, so sign up ASAP at http://bit.ly/gpdspacerace2023 for $20.  Everyone who completes at least one lap will earn a Space Race finishers medal plus a ribbon recognizing how far they went and which planet they reached.  Awards will also be given to the top three male and female finishers.

The Space Race course (aka Observatory Park’s Planetary Trail) is flat aggregate surface outlined at http://bit.ly/gpdspacerace2023-map and will be chip-timed for two hours by GCXC.  Observatory Park is located at 10610 Clay Street in Montville Township.  You can also learn more about this special International Dark Sky Park at www.geaugaparkdistrict.org/park/observatory-park.