FAQ

Well hello, New Person!

The most relevant answer: Ichauway is the name of the physical location where the Ichauway Dog Days 5K has been held since 2008. But this place is much much more than just pretty roads to run on once a year -- Ichauway is also the beloved landscape, home, and community for many of the folks who participate in the event.

Some more background: Ichauway is the name of a 29,000 acre property in rural Baker County, Georgia. It is named after the Ichawaynochaway Creek that runs through the center of the property. Originally a quail hunting reserve, Ichauway is now the home of The Jones Center at Ichauway, an ecological research center where a community of scientists, educators, land managers, technicians, and critical support staff all work to better understand the ecosystems that once covered the southeastern US: the longleaf pine forest, the surrounding streams and wetlands, and the wildlife that thrive within them.

The Dog Days Challenge is named for the time of year in which our event has traditionally been held: the Dog Days of Summer.

Colloquially, people use the term "Dog Days of summer" to refer to the hottest, most oppressive part of summer -- those days when walking across the parking lot to get to you car is enough to make you long for an ice bath.

Astronomically, the Dog Days of summer refers to the time of year when the sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, also known as the Dog Star. This period lasts from July 3rd to August 11th.

This year, our race falls a little outside the astronomical definition of dog days, but we still fall squarely within the window of oppressively hot Dog Days, at least here in Southwest Georgia.

ABSOLUTELY ANYONE CAN PARTICIPATE. This event originated at Ichauway, but this year we're expanding so anyone with a desire to get some physical activity in and help out our community can join in. We hope you decide to join us!

We see you, loophole nerd.

A 5K finishing time only counts if you complete the full 5 kilometers in one continuous session. This should go without saying, but you have to propel yourself using your own legs (or arms if you're cruisin' via wheelchair).

Ahem. This means you cannot add up a bunch of sprints done over several days and count it as your 5K finishing time. Nor can you ride 5 kilometers on your bicycle and count it as your 5k. But we know you knew that already. :)

The good news: it IS okay to run multiple 5Ks during the Challenge week and submit your best time. If you're up for it.

This year, there's just no way around it. Terrain, temperatures, and running surfaces will all vary across the different courses our participants will run.

To uphold the ancient 5K tradition of honoring the really really fast people, we will still award a prize pie to the top female and top male 5K finishers.

But! We also want to embrace the diversity of all the ways folks choose to participate, and acknowledge that this event really isn't about direct competition anyhow. We've decided to award additional prizes by drawing randomly from the groups of participants that qualify.

Does it motivate, challenge, or inspire you? Then YES. Definitely.

Glad you asked. We want to be super transparent about where the money is going.

The final amount will vary a little depending on how many folks ultimately register. Between about $3.56 - $4.56 of every $5 registration will go toward United Way of Southwest Georgia.

If you would like to donate more (please do, if you can), you can do so via our event registration site or our t-shirt fundraiser. All of those extra donations will go to United Way of Southwest Georgia, minus transaction fees.

Being able to offer this virtual event (swag included) to folks at a really accessible price while still being able to raise money for our neighbors was very important to us. Generous event sponsors are covering the majority of race overhead -- this includes donating handmade medallions and covering the cost of buying and shipping prize pies, shipping stickers to all participants, etc. We also found some generous partners like TicketTailor, the company we're using to handle registration, which currently hosts online events like ours for free due to COVID-19.

Oh boy. I know. We miss all the prize pies too. Especially the "Share-Pie".

The shift to a virtual format this year also meant we'd have to re-think our pie awards. In Normal Times, volunteer-made pie prizes are delicious and FREE, and getting to the winner is as simple as handing it over. This year we had to factor in costs of shipping food items and health concerns, all while balancing our fundraising goals for the event. Ultimately, we were able to afford four personal-sized pies shipped to winners.

Ichaustray - noun. One of the many stray dogs and cats frequently found on Ichauway or in surrounding counties that is rescued and given temporary care and shelter by Ichauway employees until a better home can be found.

First off, we should say that we seem to have inadvertently tied up the identities of the Dog Days 5K events and the plight of Ichaustrays over the last few years. It's probably worth clarifying that although many Ichaustrays are dogs, and this is the Ichauway Dog Days Challenge, fundraising for strays and local shelters has not been associated with Dog Days 5K events at all for most of the event's history. In fact, most Dog Days events have not been fundraisers of any sort. When fundraising is involved, it's always targeted toward an area of need in the community, and twice that area of need has been the Ichaustray Fund and local animal shelters.

We are happy to report that the Ichaustray Fund is currently doing quite well thanks to other fundraising efforts of multiple Ichauway events held over the past couple of years, like lab t-shirt sales and a successful chili cook-off and bake sale.