One of the brand new races that we are timing this is year is Ace the Race 5k, located in beautiful Chatsworth, Georgia, in the North Georgia Blue Ridge mountains.

We chatted with race director, Clayton “Red” Lyons about the race and what runners can expect.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved with Carters Lake? 

My name is Clayton “ Red” Lyons, my wife and I volunteer for the US Army Corps of Engineers at their public facilities (i.e. campgrounds, day uses and Nature centers). We are both retired and I was a former USACE employee. We started at the Carters Lake USACE project in October of 2020.

We lived in Ellijay Ga. years ago and fell in love with the lake, so an opportunity to come back and work here as a volunteer was exciting.

For those who don't know, can you tell us a little bit about Carters Lake? Where is it, why is it important?

Carters Lake is a 3200 acre man made lake managed by the USACE. It has approximately 62 miles of shoreline, is about 11 miles long and almost 450 feet deep. The property adjoining the shoreline is owned and maintained by the USACE and is a wildlife management area so there are no houses or docks on the shore with the exception of the one and only Marina.  Its has the largest earthen dam this side of the Mississippi River and considered the cleanest lake in Georgia. It is fed by the Coosawattee River and is the drinking waters source for neighboring counties.

I see that the race is sponsored by Our Beautiful Carters Lake Inc. Can you tell us a little bit about what you all do?

In 2023 Our Beautiful Carters Lake Inc was formed as a 501 C. 3 nonprofit corporation and has a Partnership agreement with the USACE. Our mission is to assist the USACE in maintaining and improving the public use areas around the lake. We hold our annual National Public Lands Day Cleanup on the last saturday of each September where volunteers from neighboring  communities come out and pick up trash from around our shoreline and public use areas, perform trail  birdhouse and fish habitat maintenance. After the clean up, participants recieve a free lunch and tee shirt.

What about the race itself? How did it come about and how does it benefit the work you all do?

Ace The Race is a 5K held in April to help fund our National Public Lands Day event. Its as well as our other events provide an opportunity for the public to get involved in our project and to spend more time at Our Beautiful Carters Lake.

What should runners expect on race day? Where is the race, when does it start, and is there anything else unique about it? 

The Race starts at our Northbank Park and goes across the dam past our trial heads and overlooks, to the Nature center parking lot and then returns to Northbank park on the same route.

Its scenery includes the lake, nature areas, parks and mountain views as you run or walk along. It starts at 10:00 am and is only $20 this year.

We hope to become known for our awesome tee shirts and the beautiful scenery along the way.

Interested runners can sign up for the Ace the Race 5k on Terra Running Company’s website or directly through Our Beautiful Carter’s Lake website.