History

Around and Around Since 2010

3 Days at the Fair began at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in 2010, bringing fixed-time ultrarunning to a short, flat loop in Augusta, New Jersey.

The idea was simple: give runners a course they could circle for hours—or days—with everything they needed close at hand.

What started with 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 Hour races has grown over the years to include the 144 Hour race, Marathon and 50K distances, Quadzilla and Hexazilla.

The course has changed along the way, eventually becoming the certified 1.000-mile loop used today, but the heart of the event has remained much the same.

Run a lap. Pass the aid station. Run another.

And another.

And maybe a few hundred more.

More Than a Race

There's something unusual about spending hours—or days—circling the same small piece of ground with the same people.

The competition is real, but 3 Days has always been about more than who's leading the scoreboard.

Campsites become temporary homes. Runners eat together, rest, head back onto the course and pass one another hundreds of times. Families and crews settle in for the week. Someone may be chasing a record while another runner is working toward a first 50K, first 100 miles or simply one more lap.

By the end of the week, the one-mile loop can feel like its own little community.

That's been part of the event from the beginning.

A Place for Big Miles

A flat loop and a clock that keeps running have produced some extraordinary performances at the Fair.

One of the most memorable came in 2011, when Phil McCarthy covered 257.34 miles in 48 hours.

The performance established an American record and remains one of the defining achievements in the history of 3 Days at the Fair.

But the event has never been only about records.

Over the years, runners have accumulated hundreds—and eventually thousands—of miles at the Fair. That history is now celebrated through the event's lifetime mileage program, with runners recognized as they reach 100, 250, 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 and more lifetime miles.

For some, 3 Days isn't a race they run once.

It's a place they come back to.

The Fair Through the Years

The event has evolved considerably since those first laps in 2010.

Different race distances and formats have been added. The course has changed. The awards have grown to include mileage buckles, coins and lifetime awards. Generations of runners have pitched tents beside the course and discovered just how far they could travel without ever being more than a short walk from where they started.

Even 2020 became part of the story with 3 Days NOT at the Fair, a unique entry in the event's history.

Through all of those changes, the basic appeal has endured: a simple loop, an open clock and the opportunity to find out what happens when you just keep going.

Stories From the Fair

The numbers tell only part of the story.

Over the years, runners have written about their experiences at 3 Days at the Fair—the good miles, bad miles, sleepless nights, breakthroughs, records and friendships that come from spending an unreasonable amount of time going around in circles.

Explore some of those stories from the early years:

John Fegyveresi's write up 2013

George Nelsen's write up 2013

Joseph Naura's writeup Part 1 and Part 2

Clifford Lange Top 10 Lists 2013

Article covering Phil McCarthy's American RECORD in 2011

Phil McCarthy's 2011 write up

Sabrina Moran's 2011 writeup

Tom Haines 2011 write up

Frank Colella's write up 2010

A Look Back

Photos from the early years offer another glimpse into how 3 Days at the Fair became what it is today.

[ 2013 Photos ]

[ More 2013 Photos ]

[ Even More 2013 Photos ]

Keep Going

Thousands of laps later, runners are still coming back to Augusta each May.

Some arrive looking for a personal best. Some want their first 100-mile buckle. Some are adding to a lifetime total built over years at the Fair. Others simply want to see what they're capable of when the finish line comes around every mile and stopping is entirely up to them.

The course is only one mile.

How many times you come around is up to you.

[ RESULTS & RECORDS ] [ AWARDS & LIFETIME MILES ]