Run for the Roses 5K
Sunday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. (registration begins 12:30 p.m.)
Dorothea Dix Park, Raleigh
ncroadrunners.org/run-for-the-roses
The 38th annual Run for the Roses benefits Canines for Veterans and Team Red White and Blue. On race day, pet food is collected for the Wake County SPCA.
Join in the hoopla for the entire family with face painting and a kids’ fun run. There’s a team competition (one male, one female) in which the top three teams receive awards. First place gets a $100 gift card to Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern!
New this year is a pursuit race in which speedy females start before the rest of the field and males race to catch up for a grand prize of $250.
N.C. Chillin'
Active vacay on tap for you? Those planning to visit North Carolina’s mountains, the highest ski area in the Eastern United States, are thrilled to hear this year’s forecast of below-normal temperatures from The Farmers’ Almanac.
Those low temps are all we need to keep the slopes covered, thanks to arsenals of snow guns, note the folks in the state’s tourism department. Here’s their rundown on our ski areas:
Appalachian Ski Mountain in Blowing Rock
The High Country’s first ski area, Appalachian Ski Mountain is known for teaching beginners, families and groups. appskimtn.com
Beech Mountain Resort in Beech Mountain
At 5,506 feet, Beech Mountain is the highest ski area in the East. Showstoppers include a central alpine village, the Skybar and a resident brewery. beechmountainresort.com
Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley
At the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cataloochee opened in 1961 to become North Carolina’s first ski area. cataloochee.com Sapphire Valley Ski Area in Sapphire Sapphire Valley is part of a 5,700-acre, four-season property. It’s especially attractive to families and beginning skiers. The resort is also known for the Great Outhouse Races, held Feb. 17. skisapphirevalley.com
Sugar Mountain Resort in Sugar Mountain
With 125 skiable acres, Sugar Mountain is North Carolina’s largest winter getaway, distinguished by the state’s only double black diamond slope and a Doppelmayr high-speed, detachable, six-passenger chairlift. skisugar.com Wolf Ridge Ski Resort in Mars Hill Thirty miles north of Asheville off scenic Interstate 26, Wolf Ridge sits just inside Pisgah National Forest. skiwolfridgenc.com