Cannonball Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K to host large field

Distance running will be on display in Greensboro on Saturday in the Cannonball Marathon and Half Marathon.

The Junction 311 Endurance Sports events, with a start-finish line in Jaycee Park, will begin tonight with a new twist. The Cannonball's 5K, through Country Park, is scheduled for 7 p.m. today, instead of its normal Saturday running, and is part of a Double Barrel Challenge that is available for entries.

More than 700 entries, as of noon today, will make up the long-running Cannonball fields, with 330 in the half marathon, nearly 140 in the marathon and about 150 for the 5K. Forty-two runners are set for the 5K-half double, with 10 entered for both the 5K and the marathon.

Saturday's half marathon and marathon routes will include Country Park and an out-and-back course along the Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway. Runners will turn to go back after they've crossed Owls Roost Road and reached the pond at Bur-Mil Park; marathon participants will make that out-and-back trek twice.

The half and full will start at 8 a.m. Saturday. Disco Lemonade will play beginning at 9:30 a.m., and Chick-fil-A and SouthEnd Brewing will be on site.

The Cannonball is part of a healthy schedule of Triad long-distance races – most of them on dirt – in which runners can participate in a year's time. The guide to other events that include a race of at least marathon distance:

Triple Lakes Trail Races, Oct. 30

'The Greensboro races, now put on by Trivium Racing, will include a 40-miler and a 40K, just more than a mile and a third short of marathon distance. Triple Lakes also includes a 40-mile and 40K relay and a half marathon.

Information: Click here.

Frosty Fifty, Jan. 7-8

The Twin City Track Club's event on Jan. 8 at Salem Lake in Winston-Salem includes a 50K to go with its 25K and 50K relay. The 2022 Frosty Fifty will introduce a 5K on the night of Jan. 7.

Information: Click here.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre Marathon Relay, Feb. 13

While Junction 311's relay and its festive tent village in Country Park will again be the big attraction, 23 runners took it on solo in 2020.

Information: Click here.

Pilot Mountain Marathon, Feb. 26

Mountain Goat Racing's 26.2-mile run will take place at Pilot Mountain State Park.

Information: Click here.

Northern Trails Marathon, March 12

Trivium's race in Greensboro will be run in 2022 for an eighth year. A 10-mile race is also staged.

Information: Click here.

Doggettville 12, Sept. 17

This unique event is a 12-hour relay and ultra race on a 1-mile loop at the Doggett farm in Summerfield. Like the Massacre, the relay is the most popular, but a handful of solo runners will run. And run. And run.

Information: Click here.