Shady Lady 5K & 10K and Half Marathon

You don’t need to be a lady to run in the League of Outdoor Women’s Shady Lady Trail Run, which is part of the Heritage Area Hustle Race Series! The race is open to men, women, children, aliens, kangaroos, etc. All of the funds raised go to support programming for the League of Outdoor Women, so come show the women in your life how much you want to support their outdoor adventures! Please feel free to run or walk.

***The starting location and race day registration will be the Joe Wheeler Marina (not at the boat ramp!).  When entering the park from Highway 72, follow McLean Drive until you pass the lodge on the left. This will be near the end of the drive. You will find parking on the left side and Shady Lady registration there.***

View the course maps at the following links. 5K - https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/planner/view/545473 10K and Half -https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/planner/view/545474

The trails at Joe Wheeler State Park are excellent for trail runs – they are relatively wide and well managed. Some elevation change on the trails is present and they are not maneuverable for strollers or wheelchairs not built for all-terrain navigation.   Prizes will be awarded to the overall winners of the 5k, 10k, and Half Marathon, as well as prizes to winners of each age group.     The Shady Lady is part of the Heritage Area Hustle Race Series. Participate in the Shady Lady, the Bad Kitty (5k, 10k, March 16), and the Artsy Fartsy (5k and 1 mile fun run) and receive a special medal for completing the series! The League of Outdoor Women is a program of the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, a National Park Service-funded program at the University of North Alabama. LOW hosts monthly events in locations around northwest Alabama year-round and hosts a monthly LOW Book Club in Florence. Follow the League of Outdoor Women – LOW on Facebook to stay updated on all that we’ve got going on!   Transgender and Non-binary Participant Policy:

We strive to create and foster a culture of inclusivity. While we have designed an experience that may challenge our racers, it is also important to us that all participants are accepted and welcomed at our events.

We accept each entrant’s declared sex and gender at face value. No additional supporting evidence is required.

Our registration platform Runsignup.com offers a non-binary option for participants. This should appear as an option when creating a Runsignup.com account. If you already have an account you may need to edit your account to show your gender no as non-binary. You can edit your profile by following these instructions.  In addition to your Runsignup profile, we will ask your gender identity during the registration process with additional terms such as Two Spirit, Non-binary, Agender, Genderqueer, and other. We will provide an opportunity for our runners to express their desired pronouns at Race Day Check-in. We will have an awards category for the top three overall non-binary runners in each event.  

We plan to periodically review this policy to be sure it is up to date and equitable.  Please contact the MSNHA Programs Coordinator, TJ Johnson (tjohnson34@una.edu), if you have any questions, comments, or feedback.  This policy was updated January 2024.   Event Schedule October 26th:  ·       7:30 AM – Race Day Check-in Starts ·       9:00 AM – Half Marathon Start ·       10:00 AM – 10k Start ·       10:30 AM – 5k Start ·       11:30 AM – Awards