Dalton, GA
The Georgia Jewel is a trail race built on care for the land, the miles, and the people who move through them. Set along the historic Pinhoti Trail in northwest Georgia, the Jewel offers runners an honest challenge and a deeply human experience. Whether you are stepping onto trail for the first time or returning for a longer journey, this race invites you into a landscape shaped by patience, effort, and community. Every distance is part of the same story, and every runner is welcomed into it.
Our Story...
Our story in trail running began long before GPS watches and smartphones were part of the sport. Our earliest races were run with simple bottles and fizzy electrolyte drinks that often failed spectacularly. What stayed with us was the feeling of moving through wild places on our own power and realizing that running could be both simple and profound. That feeling has never left us.
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We took on the Georgia Jewel in 2016 and have been honored to steward it alongside a growing and generous community. Over the years, we've learned from other race directors, trail advocates, and volunteers throughout the Southeast who care deeply about this sport and the places it depends on. The Jewel has grown because of that shared effort, and because so many people believe that ultrarunning is about more than distance.
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Beyond the race, we live full lives rooted in curiosity and care. Franklin works in integrative medicine and loves research, lifestyle medicine, and the occasional bag of potato chips. Jenny works in private equity and directs outdoor camps for women and girls through SheVentures and sheSHEVentures. Our kids, Luci and Levi, bring their own sense of wonder to the trail world, from running and reading to science and building with Legos. As a family, we love being outside and discovering what adventure looks like together.
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We live in Chattanooga, and approach race weekend the same way we approach life. As a family.
Parents help. Kids help. Friends and longtime volunteers show up. We want the finish line to feel less like an event and more like a gathering. Our hope is that when you arrive, it feels a little like coming into our home.
Our vision for the Georgia Jewel is simple and enduring. We want runners to experience the joy, challenge, and friendship that trail running offers. We work toward that by hosting a race that values preparation, welcomes difference, and serves with humility.
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Trail running isn't yet accessible to everyone, and we believe the responsibility to remedy that lies with the entire community. We try to listen, to learn, and to plan in ways that make time on the trail safer and more inclusive. We recognize that every runner arrives at a starting line by a different path, and we want the Jewel to honor those journeys with respect.
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Directing this race is a privilege we don't take lightly. When you step onto the trail, you place trust in us, and we feel that deeply. We're grateful for every runner who enters our world through the Georgia Jewel, and we'd love to welcome you into it!
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-Franklin, Jenny, Luci, Levi, and Forest the Dog
* Sweet pics by the amazing Jobie Williams, Lavender Roots Photography and a few iphones.
Our Amazing Partners
The Jewel is only amazing because of our partners and the city of Dalton. Since it’s inception, the Jewel has worked with the Dalton Convention Center, downtown area businesses, the Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association and the Dalton Amateur Radio group to create an event we hope, makes the city proud.
Most people know Dalton as the carpet capital of the world. And while that’s true we’re more impressed that it was because of a woman (ok, Jenny is.) Catherine Evans Whitener began making bedspreads and was so dang good at it her orders far exceeded her production. So she taught and hired help to create what is still Dalton’s staple industry, carpeting textiles.
We love the feel of downtown Dalton and the nostalgia it brings. We’re always so grateful for The Dalton Visitors Bureau who consistently help, lending their equipment, space and support. We think they’re pretty great people.
And the Pinhoti…
The Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association boasts of some of the hardest and most loyal trail lovers we know. You can find them clearing trails, managing trails and communicating when something isn’t right. You’ll seldom see their faces, which makes them quiet heroes in our book.
We’ve never lost a runner because of the gracious support and help from the Dalton Amateur Radio Club. These guys are brilliant. If a zombie apocalypse was ever true, we'd wanna be with these guys. They can communicate through the Georgia mountains and can talk when our modern cell phones are useless. They monitor runners in and out of aid stations and help us keep track of everyone. They’re brilliant at their craft and we’re so thankful for them.
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There are so many others to thank. Partners humble us. We depend on their help and they consistently choose to keep investing in us. To be helped and supported like this is truly exceptional. Please join us in giving them some love with your time and resources so they feel appreciated and valued.
