They’re running all night long. Want to know why?

The Anne Springs Close Greenway is opening its trails for runners of all levels for a unique experience.

The Greenway will be hosting Ragnar Trail Carolinas-SC, a long distance, overnight running relay that invites residents to team up for two days and one night to run a combined nearly 120 miles on the Greenway’s trails Oct. 7-8, said Elizabeth Bowers, marketing and administrative coordinator.

“Our goal is to get more people on the Greenway,” she said. “We want to get people outside and enjoying the outdoor recreational opportunities that we offer. What better way to do that than highlight the trail system?”

In a Ragnar Relay, which take place around the world, teams of eight or four run relay-style on three different loops that start and finish at the Ragnar Village, where all the runners gather to camp, eat and socialize, said Dave Deboer, trail race director.

Each team will have a member running at all times during the event until every member has completed all three of the green (hard), yellow (harder) and red (hardest) loops, he said. While waiting on their next turn, the runners will be able to enjoy vendors, s’mores, dinner and classes such as how to make a great cup of camp coffee in the Ragnar Village.

“It’s kind of a big festival,” Deboer said. “It’s a cool way to meet a lot of new people. It’s a really social event.”

The Ragnar event is fitting for runners of all skill levels, he said.

“It’s a good way they can do it in bit-sized chunks,” Deboer said.

The Greenway posed the perfect location for the relay, with the various, well-marked trails on site and a big enough venue to fit thousands of runners, he said.

“It’s a unique area for us,” Deboer said. “The trails are unbelievable. You will have an experience like no other.”

The Greenway opened its trails to the event because it is focused on low impact and zero waste, with 120-200 runners on the trail at once and up to 1,500 runners throughout the entire race, Bowers said.

She said it will also bring visitors from the Charlotte area.

“It’s a really good fit,” she said. “It’s a great way for us to get exposure to our target market.”

The Greenway is working on unique ways to gain new members, which help fund the operations of the 2,100-acre nature preserve, Bowers said. She said the Ragnar event puts a spotlight on the trail system, one of the reasons Ragnar chose to come to the Greenway.

“It’s the backbone of the Greenway,” she said. “We’re really proud of it.”

The Greenway has also improved their hiking program, with options such as mystery hikes, photography hikes and an exploring the Greenway hike. Last year, the Greenway’s Blue Star Blazers Hiking Club also kicked off.

The Greenway also offers mountain biking clinics and hired a full time volunteer coordinator in January as more ways to get people involved, Bowers said.

“It’s amazing to see what people are interested in,” she said. “We want people to feel like it’s their Greenway, and this is something they love.”

Registration for Ragnar Trail Carolinas-SC closes Sept. 8. For more information, visit runragnar.com/event-detail/trail/carolinas_sc. To learn more about the Greenway, go to ascgreenway.org.

This story was originally published August 1, 2016 at 2:04 PM with the headline "They’re running all night long. Want to know why?."