Big Bang Mile and Science Festival

🌟 EVENT OVERVIEW

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

The Shore Athletic Club is proud to host the

🏃‍♂️ THE 6TH ANNUAL BIG BANG MILE

Saturday, July 18, 2026,

RAIN or SHINE!
Bell Works in Holmdel, NJ

Possibly the best records-eligible road mile course in the universe!

First 300 to register get a t-shirt!

PLEASE NOTE: This race is open to all types of runners and all age groups! Teams for the USATF-NJ 1 Mile Masters Team Championship competition will be declared using the normal process. That is, team captains will submit their rosters by e-mail to the timing company (CompuScore in this case) and to the USATF-NJ LDR Committee the day before the race. USATF-NJ will send out e-mail early next week announcing the race and providing the details for the roster submission process. The Big Bang Mile registration web site is where non-USATF-NJ teams are declared.

⏰ TENTATIVE EVENT SCHEDULE

• 7:00 AM: Bib and t-shirt pick up
• 8:15 AM: Community Run/Walk and U12 Mile ^
• 8:40 AM: Masters Men (ages 60+) Mile -- part of USATF-NJ Masters Men Team Championship
• 9:00 AM: Masters Women (ages 50+) Mile -- part of USATF-NJ Masters Women Team Championship

The schedule of each heat will be slightly adjusted on event day depending on the entries for each race.
^ For each person entered in the Community and Youth Mile, $3 will be donated to our charity partner, __________________.
# For each team entered in the HS/MS Mile and the Fitness Mile, $10 will be donated to our charity partner, _______________________.

👥 TEAMS

• Team Creation: Teams for the High School and Middle School Mile and for the Fitness Team Mile are created via the Big Bang Mile race website. There is no fee for creating a team.
• Team Captain: The person who creates a team is the team’s captain.
• Contestant Requirement: Teams must have a minimum of 3 contestants.
• Team Flexibility: To encourage family teams in the Fitness Team Mile, we allow a contestant to "double dip" by competing for a team in the Family category as well as a team in another Fitness Team Mile category.

🏅 AWARDS

🏆 Open Runners Awards

• Top 3: Top 3 runners in each of the Open Men and Open Women Mile races will be awarded cash.
• 1st place: $100 cash + a $200 Bombas gift code + a free VO2MAX test by Atlantic Physical Therapy
• 2nd place: $100
• 3rd place: $75

Open awardees need not be members of USATF-NJ.

🎖️ Masters (age 40+) Runners Awards

• Top 3 Awards: Top 3 USATF-NJ masters men and masters women based on age grading will be awarded a pair of Hylo running shoes.
• Top Grade Award: Any non-USATF-NJ man or woman who achieves the top age grading for their gender will receive $100 cash.

🥇 Age Group Awards

For any runners (USATF-NJ Member or not), to be eligible for the Age Group awards, you must run in the Race for your respective Age. Age Groups (Male and Female) are for the Top 3 (Male and Female) for ages 18-29, and 5-year age groups from 30 through 79, and 80+.

💰 Cash Awards

$200 Cash Bonus for a winning time under 4:10 for the men or under 4:50 for the women. Any open finisher in the top 3 who is not a USATF-NJ member will be eligible for a cash award ($100 for 1st, $75 for 2nd, and $50 for 3rd for both men and women).

📅 REGISTRATION

• $30: Early bird discount for all races until March 31.
• $35: All races from April 1 to May 31. Price Increase to $40 on June 1!
• Registration closes: Friday, July 17, 2026
• 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, they observed a background noise coming from every direction in the sky. They had found evidence for the Big Bang, which theorizes that the universe started with an explosion 13.8 billion years ago.

The radio telescope used by Penzias and Wilson still stands today. Holmdel Township has purchased the 30 acres that surround the antenna and will convert it into Dr. Robert Wilson Park. The Shore Athletic Club dedicates the Big Bang Mile Race to scientists everywhere, aiming to inspire runners to learn more about STEM fields.

Learn more about the Big Bang Mile and register here.