On behalf of the Cameron Bean Memorial Fund and Fast Break Athletics, the inaugural Cam Run: Cameron Bean Memorial 5K and Magnum Mile, will be held on Saturday, Aug. 27, at 8 a.m. on Hamm Road. The Cam Run aims to both remember and capture the energy and essence of its namesake, Cameron Bean.
The top 25 men and women in the 5k will qualify to run the Magnum Mile Saturday night at 8 p.m., during the River Gorge Omnium Criterium, downtown Chattanooga.
The 5k race course will take participants out to Moccasin Bend Road where they will go south towards the hospital, pass a memorial for Cameron, turn around and head back the way they came to the start/finish on Hamm Road.
A parking lot at 175 Hamm Road will be open until 7:30 a.m. After 7:30 a.m., or after the lot is full, participants will be asked to park in the grass field at 10 Hamm Road, (0.2 miles further down the road on the left, from downtown)
A race day breakfast will be provided by FIVE Chattanooga at the starting line with their food truck. They will provide water, coffee and breakfast. FIVE will be open for lunch at 11 a.m. on race day, not only for the rn participants and volunteers but for the general public as well. The bar will be open and the restaurant will be offering a lunch specific menu for everyone.
There will be a door prize drawing at the 5k. Prizes will included a Zap Fitness mini camp for two.
The top 25 men and women in the 5k qualify to run the Magnum Mile Saturday night at 8 p.m., in front a cheering crowd, during the River Gorge Omnium in downtown Chattanooga. The mile race will take place just before the pro event during the Goss Insurance Criterium.
Criterium Cycle Racing returns to the streets of downtown Chattanooga. The spectator friendly course also has food and beverage vendors, restaurants, race announcer, podium ceremonies, beer gardens, and special events. There are bike races back to back all afternoon on Saturday before the Magnum Mile.
The Magnum Mile will begin at 1201 Market St. Free parking has been made available south of the course (Turns 1 and 2) in the Crye-Leike Realty Lot. Please do not park in the spots reserved for agents, and the Republic Gravel Lot B. Enter at Market / Cowart Street.
Prizes for the Magnum Mile are: 1st Place Men/Women: $500, pair of Reebok shoes; 2nd Place Men/Women: $300, pair of Reebok shoes; 3rd Place Men/Women: $150, pair of Reebok shoes; 4th Place Men/Women: pair of Reebok shoes; 5th Place Men/Women: pair of Reebok shoes and 6th Place Men/Women: pair of Reebok shoes.
About Cameron Bean:
Cameron, a Chattanooga native, was a multi-sport athlete in his youth, and became a standout runner at the Baylor School under the late Van Townsend. Cameron’s uncommon and ferocious work ethic molded him into an accomplished collegiate runner at Samford University. Such accomplishments include: Conference Freshman of the Year in cross country and track; Samford’s 5000m and 3000m indoor record holder; Samford’s 5000m outdoor record holder and 2010 SOCON indoor “Most Outstanding Track Performer”.
After college, Cameron showed interest in joining an elite running outfit in Blowing Rock, N.C., called Zap Fitness. Zap's head coach, Pete Rea, made Cameron an offer: move to Blowing Rock, get your own place to live, get a part time job, and I will coach you. By the end of his third year with Zap, Cameron was a fully funded resident athlete and one of the fastest steeplechase runners in the United States.
In July 2015, an undiagnosed hip injury led Cameron away from Zap and toward coaching athletes, training to become an elite triathlete, taking classes to increase his knowledge of the human body, and working at Chattanooga’s specialty running store, Fast Break Athletics.
On Sept. 19, 2015, Cameron set out from Fast Break on a training run. He was traveling southbound on Moccasin Bend Road – safely, running against traffic during daylight hours – when a southbound vehicle came across traffic and struck him from behind at a high rate of speed. He was left at the scene of the accident. Cameron passed away from the resulting traumatic injuries on Sept. 21, 2015, at the age of 28.
Off the track, Cameron was engaging, loving, and larger than life. A young man defined by his faith and invested in his family, friends, and those who shared his passion for running. Cameron was poised and eager to affect the Chattanooga area endurance community in a big way and we strive to continue his legacy.
Cameron won his last two races, the Fast Break 5K and Moon Pie Mini Mile, on Aug. 22, 2015, so fittingly, this year’s race has taken on a new name, The Cam Run: Cameron Bean Memorial 5K and Magnum Mile, and a new life. The 5k will be a morning run along scenic Moccasin Bend Road, where Cameron was struck. Runners will pass a Memorial for Cameron twice during the loop. The morning 5k will qualify runners based on performance for The Magnum Mile, a festive 1 mile sprint under the lights in downtown Chattanooga.
The Cameron Bean Memorial Fund is a Chattanooga based non-profit organization committed to promoting and fostering the growth of amateur running in and around the Chattanooga area through running programs, races, camps, clinics and safety advocacy groups.