Asheville Independence Day 5k

July 4th, Downtown Asheville NC

Asheville Independence Day 5k

July 4th, Downtown, Asheville North Carolina

Start your celebration off with a BANG and support Western North Carolina!!

Join us for an exciting family-friendly 5K event in the heart of beautiful downtown Asheville! Our scenic route begins and ends at Pack Square, the vibrant center of the city, taking participants through the charming streets of downtown.

This is truly a community event designed for participants of all ages and fitness levels. Whether you’re a seasoned runner looking for a fun local race or a family wanting to enjoy some active time together for the holiday, this event is perfect for you. We’re excited to be partnering with Food Connection as our nonprofit partner for the 3rd year in a row.

We encourage bringing your family and friends to make it a memorable group experience. Register four or more people at the same time and receive a 15% discount. Strollers are welcome but are asked to start at the back of the pack. Walkers are welcome but we ask that you plan on finishing within an hour and 15 minutes. For safety purposes, and in compliance with our race insurance, we do not allow dogs or any other animals to run with participants at our events. Service animals will be allowed with prior approval (more than 5 days ahead of race day send request to [email protected]) and supporting documentation. Running with your animal will result in disqualification from award categories and timing results.

The race is capped at 700 runners.

Race Weekend Schedule

Friday, July 3rd

3:00-6:00 pm ~ Early Packet Pick Up Party at The Mule thanks to Devil’s Foot Brewing

~ The Mule (home of Devils Foot Craft Soda), 131 Sweeten Creek Rd. Ste. 10, Asheville, NC

On-line registration closes at 7:30am July 4th OR when event SELLS OUT!!

Saturday, July 4th

7:00- 8:00 am ~ Race Day Packet Pick Up – Pack Square

8:00 am ~ 5k Race Start

9:00 am ~ 5k Awards

5k Race Pricing

$40 Early Early Bird Pricing~ Oct. 1 – December 31, 2025
$50 Early Bird Pricing~ January 1st – May 31st, 2026
$60 Summer Pricing~ June 1st – July 3rd, 2026 (closes at 7:30am July 4th or at Sell Out)

Discounts

15% discount for registration transactions of 4 or more.

Included in Registration

Finisher medal
Short sleeved, technical race t-shirt
Custom race bib
Professionally chip timed race
Donation to Food Connection
Post race snacks

Run for Good

We are proud to be partnering with Asheville’s very own Food Connection as our non-profit partner. $5 from each 5k will be donated to the work they are doing in our community. Feel free to add a donation to your registration as well!

Food Connection originated in December of 2014. Since launching over 485,000 fresh meals have gone to feed our neighbors in need we’ve also expanded to serve other parts of Buncombe County including Leicester, Black Mountain, Swannanoa and also parts of Madison County. Food Connection has kept an estimated 170 TONS of fresh meals out of the Buncombe County landfill.

Food Connection food truck

2025 Race Day Photos

Album #1 ~ Paul King photographer Album #2 ~ Paul King photographer Album #3 ~ Paul King photographer Album #4 ~ Paul King photographer Album #5 ~ Paul King photographer Album #6 ~ Paul King photographer Citizen Times Photo Essay Carrie Turner Photo Gallery

Refund/Cancellation/Transfer Policy

AVL Independence Day

The Asheville Independence Day 5k and Kick It Events have a no refund policy.

Adding on the Race Roster Enhanced Refund Protection Program is an enhanced refund service provided outside of Kick It Events and you are subject to the Protecht Terms and Conditions. Please read them carefully before purchasing.
No refunds will be given if you signed up for this race by accident. Double check the city, date and time BEFORE registering.
If you can’t make it to the race and want your race swag mailed to you, you will be required to pay the shipping cost for your race bib and race swag.
In the event of inclement weather, the event will be postponed to July 11 at the race directors discretion. There will be NO REFUNDS if the event needs to be postponed.
Inclement weather determination is at the discretion of the race directors. We are looking for dangerous conditions for our runners and volunteers or flooding along the river.
The postponement announcement will be made as early as we can. If there is surprise weather we reserve the right to postpone the race up until race morning. The latest announcement will be made at 5am race morning.
If the event needs to be canceled due to a global pandemic or health emergency, there will be no refund. We will do our best with a virtual event or socially distanced race.
Race postponement will be emailed out to runners using the email used during registration, posted on the race website (https://avlindependenceday5k.com/) as well as posted on our social media platforms.

Race updates will be sent to the email address you registered with. Always make sure that your email is correct. In the event that the postponement date needs to be canceled, there will not be another postponement and there will not be any refunds.

If you wish to move to a virtual runner, you will be required to pay the shipping cost for your race bib and race swag.

You may transfer your registration to another runner or to a different distance up to 5 days before the event using the transfer button on the registration page. After the 5 day cut off please reach out to [email protected] for help with transferring.