BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Following years of sustained growth in participation, the War Eagle Run Fest is set to pitch the Auburn and Opelika chambers of commerce against each other in a friendly rivalry for a good cause.
Organizers used a press conference inside Jordan-Hare Stadium on Monday, Sept. 14, to unveil the new War Eagle Run Fest Chamber Challenge, a head-to-head competition that will pit member businesses of the two chambers against one another when the race returns next February.
This year’s twist is that a portion of every entry will become a donation the respective chambers will give to local charities of their choosing.
“We really want to make this the true corporate chamber challenge of the Auburn-Opelika area,” said Mike Wattigny, marketing and creative director for FRESHJUNKIE Racing, which produces the event in partnership with Auburn-Opelika Tourism and Auburn University.
Beginning Oct. 13, businesses belonging to either the Auburn Chamber of Commerce or the Opelika Chamber of Commerce can form teams and register under their chamber’s banner.
For every Chamber Challenge entry, $5 will go to charity, giving the rivalry a philanthropic payoff no matter which side comes out ahead.
The competition won’t be decided by finish times alone. Organizers plan to recognize teams for turnout and spirit, with categories such as best dressed and most enthusiastic. Full details are posted on the race website.
Leaders of both chambers embraced the challenge and the chance to needle each other in a friendly manner.
“We’re happy to be in competition with our friends at the Opelika Chamber, but we know our Auburn Chamber members are going to get out and support this like they do anything else,” said Anna Hovey, president and CEO of the Auburn Chamber. “A lot of them have already participated in these runs in the past, and there’s such a rich tradition of the great experiences they’ve had.”
Opelika Chamber Vice President Mackenzie Poole said the event is built for newcomers, not just seasoned runners. According to Poole, two of her staff members took part last year in their first 5K ever.
“We’re so excited for this partnership,” Poole said. “I think this event is just so important and so fun. We’re really excited for our businesses to be able to experience this opportunity and promote it to our community.”
The chambers are lining up behind an event that has outrun nearly every expectation. What organizers hoped might draw 1,000 runners in its 2022 debut instead drew more than 2,500.
Participation has climbed every year since by roughly 400 to 500 additional runners annually before jumping to about 6,400 this past February, when the race split its 5K and half marathon into a two-day weekend for the first time.
That weekend sold out across almost every distance and drew runners from 47 states and three countries, organizers said. It also introduced the Weagle Weagle Challenge, a belt-buckle-style award for runners who complete both the Saturday 5K and the Sunday half marathon.
It was a personal complement to the new team competition, and one that is expected to return in some form or fashion in 2027.
The race has also collected hardware of its own.
It was named the best half marathon in Alabama by the runner-review site RaceRaves in both 2024 and 2026, and FRESHJUNKIE and the War Eagle Run Fest were finalists for the Sports Events and Tourism Association’s Event Partnership of the Year in markets with under 500,000 residents.
For Auburn-Opelika Tourism, the run has become an economic engine in what used to be a slow stretch of the calendar.
“Typically, February is a slow time. Now it’s becoming a busy time,” said Anthony Terling, AO-Tourism’s sports and event development manager, who pointed to the spending out-of-town runners bring to local restaurants, shops and hotels along with the thousands of dollars FRESHJUNKIE has returned over the years to civic and youth groups that supply race-day volunteers.
However, the morning’s most striking guest wasn’t a runner at all.
Independence, the bald eagle who soars over Jordan-Hare Stadium before Auburn home football games, appeared alongside Will Johnson, a raptor specialist with the Auburn University Raptor Center.
Johnson said the center delivers about 300 educational programs a year and treats more than 300 injured raptors annually, and he compared the birds’ training regimen to the one runners undergo ahead of a race.
“Our birds are athletes too,” Johnson said, inviting participants to meet the eagle and other birds afterwards.
Registration for the 2027 War Eagle Run Fest opened at 12:01 a.m. Monday at WarEagleRunfest.com. Chamber Challenge team registration opens Oct. 13. Wattigny said sign-ups were already running about halfway to the entire opening-day total from a year ago roughly 10 hours after the link opened.
“We are welcoming runners, walkers and eagles from all around,” Wattigny said. “War Eagle.”
