IMPORTANT RACE DAY AND ROUTE INFORMATION

RACE WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Registration, packet pickup, race START and FINISH  take place at Centennial Park or across the  lot at 245 North Garden Street, Hot Springs, SD 57747

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2026

You can  REGISTER ONLINE Saturday until midnight! 

SUNDAY AND MONDAY:

REGISTRATION AND PACKET PICK UP IN ONE OF THE WHITE TENTS.

SUNDAY EVENING, MAY 24, 2026

5:30 to 6:30 P.M.
Late registration/sign-in/packet pickup. You are encouraged to come SUNDAY to ease the process on Monday morning. 

EVENT DAY SCHEDULE: MONDAY MORNING, MAY 25, 2026
7:00 to 8:00 A.M.: Sign-in, Packet Pickup and Late Registration.
Limber-up on the lawn, get to know your fellow climbers, hydrate.
8:30 A.M.: 5K/2M Program/housekeeping
8:50 A.M.: 5K/2M Line up at start line
9:00 A.M.: 5K/2M Shotgun start
10:30-11:00 A.M. (approximate): 1st Place Awards all events
11:00 A.M. COURSE CLOSES Aid station volunteers will be released. We will make an effort to leave remaining route signs out until stragglers cross the FINISH line.

KID ZONE: As always, plenty of fun for the kids before and during the race. 

SUNDAY EVENING: You may also register Sunday evening from 5:30 to 6:30 at the white tents across the parking lot from the park,  245 North Garden Street. (Rain back up same address, Scout Center small green building between the Masonic Temple and United Church, across the parking lot from Centennial Park, which is across River Street from City Hall.) or possibly at American Legion.

MONDAY: You may still register Monday morning from 7:00 to 8:00 :00 am. Look for the REGISTRATION banner on the white tent, or bad weather backup at green Scout Center or  American Legion

PLEASE HELP US MAKE MONDAY MORNING SMOOTH BY REGISTERING AND/OR PICKING UP YOUR PACKET ON SUNDAY. 

PACKET PICKUP: You can pick up your packet, including your shirt, during the registration times noted above. If you registered after regular registration ended, you will probably not get a tee shirt. There are extras which will be assigned to first registered (online or in person). Every finisher will receive a Finisher's medal.

UP If you have done this race before, you know we are rather casual. In 2024 we implemented a simpler award/timekeeping system.

Awards: Everyone who finishes still earns a delightful hand-made finisher medal. We award 1st, 2nd and 3rd place male and female ONLY in each of the three events. No age group awards. While we love a winner and some healthy competition, Stars has always been more about personal challenge—

Honoring America's Fallen Heroes by Having the Courage to Get Strong—in body, mind and spirit.

Timekeeping: We track times only for 1s, 2nd & 3rd m/f in each category. We do have a professional clock, courtesy of our parent organization, Challenge Dakota, and First Interstate Bank Community Foundation, but no professional timekeepers here, just our lovely volunteers. Thus we need your help in doing the best we can to get it right:

• CRITICAL! You must go through the FINISH line CHUTE and YOUR RACE BIB MUST BE PINNED TO THE FRONT OF YOUR BODY!!! You are responsible to ensure that YOUR BIB NUMBER IS VISIBLE BEFORE and UNTIL YOU ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF THE CHUTE. If you don't follow these rules you won't just mess up your own time, YOU MIGHT MESS UP THE TIMEKEEPING FOR FIRST, SECOND THIRD PLACE WINNERS!

• ALSO CRITICAL: You will be handed a popsicle stick as you go through the chute. It will have a number on it, indicating your placement in the time chain. You MUST BRING THE POPSICLE STICK TO THE CHECKOUT TENT and MAKE SURE THE VOLUNTEERS MATCH your stick number to your bib number BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE TENT. This is also where you pick up your finisher medal. No stick, no medal!

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2920847?units=km

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2920889?units=km

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2920855?units=km