Big Bang Mile and Science Festival

🚀 THE 5th ANNUAL BIG BANG MILE

"Anticipating the preservation of the Holmdel Horn Antenna and the creation of Dr. Robert Wilson Park."

The Shore Athletic Club is proud to host

Saturday, July 19, 2025,

RAIN or SHINE!
Bell Works in Holmdel, NJ

• Registration Limit: First 300 to register get a t-shirt!
• Open Participation: This race is open to all types of runners and all age groups!
• Masters Teams: Teams for the USATF-NJ 1 Mile Masters Team Championship will be declared using the normal process.
• Registration Link: Register here.

⏰ TENTATIVE EVENT SCHEDULE

• 7:00 AM: Bib and t-shirt pick up
• 8:15 AM: Community Run/Walk and U13 Mile
• 8:40 AM: Masters Men (ages 60+) Mile
• 9:00 AM: Masters Women (ages 40+) Mile

The schedule of each heat will be slightly adjusted on event day depending on the entries for each race.

🏆 AWARDS

• Open Runners Awards: Top 3 runners in each of the Open Men and Open Women Mile races will be awarded <:TBD>:.
• Masters Runners Awards: Top 3 masters men and women will be awarded a pair of Hylo running shoes.
• Age Group Awards: For the Top 3 (Male and Female) in various age groups.
• Cash Awards: $200 Cash Bonus for a winning time under 4:10 for men or under 4:50 for women.

📝 REGISTRATION

• $30: Early bird discount for all races until March 31.
• $35: All races from April 1 to June 30.
• Price Increase: $40 on July 1!
• Closing Date: Registration closes Friday, July 18, 2025.

No registration on race day.

No animals or headphones allowed in any heat for safety. Strollers allowed only in the Community race.

First 300 registered runners will receive a custom shirt with the Big Bang Mile event logo.

📖 THE STORY BEHIND THE BIG BANG MILE

The Bell Works building was once a primary location for Bell Laboratories. "Bell Labs" attracted top-notch scientists to conduct basic research that might advance telephony. Two such scientists, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, studied radio signals from space in support of the Telstar project. In 1964, to their surprise, they observed a background noise coming from every direction in the sky.

Wherever they pointed their radio telescope, they measured the same frequency and strength of microwave radiation. Puzzled, Penzias and Wilson conferred with colleagues. Princeton University astronomer Robert Dicke revealed they had found evidence for the Big Bang. This is a theory that the universe started with an explosion 13.8 billion years ago. For their important contribution to science, Penzias and Wilson were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1978.

The radio telescope used by Penzias and Wilson still stands today. It is located on top of Crawford Hill, about 2 miles northwest of the Bell Works facility. A nearby plaque explains its significance. It is worth a visit. In fact, Holmdel Township has purchased the 30 acres that surround the antenna and will convert it into Dr. Robert Wilson Park.

The Shore Athletic Club, New Jersey's oldest running club, dedicates the Big Bang Mile Race to scientists everywhere. We hope that runners draw inspiration from this story to learn more about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and perhaps even pursue a STEM career. Aim high!