**MMMM Pre-race Instructions as of April 24, 2020**

MMMM Family,

Happy Friday and 13th Annual Mountain Man Memorial March Eve to all of you. Our transition to a virtual race for 2020 has been positive so far and we appreciate your feedback and continued support for our mission…honoring our Fallen Service Members and supporting our Gold Star Families.

Following are the details for the conduct of 13th Annual (Virtual) Mountain Man Memorial March

Conduct at your selected (safer at home) location – be safe

Conduct your registered race – be safe

Select any day between April 25 through May 25, 2020 to conduct your race in one effort on the selected day – be safe

Record your time and distance on a GPS device/app and save/screen shot it to be eligible and included in race results

Email us once you conduct your race and before end of the day May 25, 2020 at information@mountainmanmemorialmarch.com – your typed out race time (HH:MM:SS) and photo/screenshot of your GPS distance/time. Feel free to send us a message on your experience and photos as well.

We highly encourage you to post a photo and a message of you and your team conducting the race at your location. Be sure to include which Fallen Servicemember you were supporting for your march.

Please use the following tags in your posts –

#MMMM2020 #honorthroughaction #mountainmanmemorialmarch

Race results will be posted May 26, 2020; ensure your results are emailed to us by the end of the day May 25, 2020.

Race results will include category places; placement medals will be included in packages mailed the first week of June 2020

We appreciate that nearly all of you will be running/marching in different conditions – terrain, weather, other environment – and that the only common denominator to the competition aspect would be distance. However, we will still hold a competitive aspect to this year’s virtual race by publishing race results and awarding placement medals. Please keep in mind that the primary purpose of our march is to take the opportunity each year to gather (this year virtually) and honor those that have served our Country and have since passed. We honor their service and sacrifices, as well as support their families, through our actions, deeds and words. Please remember this as you race/march, post to social media and submit your results.

Please post your race photos, comments and stories here:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TheMountainManMemorialMarch/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/mountainmanmemorialmarch/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/MMMM_March

We look forward to seeing all of you race virtually and the interaction on our social media sites in the month to come. We thank you all for your participation and support this year. We hope that all of you are safe and continue to be safe through the pandemic and our transition back to a new normal.

Honor * Through * Action

**COVID-19 Update to MMMM as of March 28, 2020**

The 13th Annual Mountain Man Memorial March is going ViRtUaL! Hello MMMM family and we sincerely hope you are healthy, safe and still awesome. The MMMM committee met this past week and made a decision on the 2020 race scheduled for 25 April 2020 in Gatlinburg, TN. As a mostly, Military community, we can appreciate operating in indefinite conditions and subsequently, exercising resilience, focus and determination to accomplish the mission.

The Mountain Man Memorial March’s mission has always been to honor the fallen Veterans and support their families, the Gold Star Families. The truth is that we can still accomplish this mission by still executing this year’s march in a virtual setting. What does this actually mean?

We would like all MMMM participants to remain focused in their training, and consider participating in the 2020 MMMM at your location. Yes, conduct the march, at your registered distance; let us know your experience, your time and most importantly, the meaningfulness of your support to our MMMM and GSF community. More details on the conduct of the virtual race will follow within the week, but we did want to let you know that MMMM is committed to its mission even considering the current CV19 world pandemic.

We also appreciate the fact that you may not be able to conduct the race at your location for whatever reasons known or unknown. MMMM will offer a full registration fee refund if you decide not to continue virtual participation in the 13th Annual Mountain Man Memorial March. If you do decide to strap on your sneakers or boots and conduct the race at your location, MMMM will mail you the 13th Annual t-shirt and participant medal. Again, more details on the conduct of the virtual race will follow within the week.

Finally, our thoughts, concerns and prayers are extended to all of you at this time. Please make the best decision, in regards to conducting the MMMM virtually and be respectful others’ decisions and thoughts. We strongly recommend you regard the advice of your local officials and health professionals before conducting the race virtually. We want you to be safe and return to Gatlinburg, TN for the 14th Annual Mountain Man Memorial March in 2021!

**Honor-Through-Action**

___________________

The 13th Annual Mountain Man Memorial March has gone virtual.

If you no longer wish to conduct the race virtually, at your location and registered distance, instructions for cancelling your registration follow. You must request a cancellation NO LATER THAN APRIL 15, 2020.

Here’s how participants can cancel their registration and request a refund:

Enter your Confirmation Code (found on the confirmation receipt)

Select ‘CANCEL: cancel your registrations’

Acknowledge the terms

***There will be a notice that you will not receive a refund, but this is a notice we cannot change in the system. You will receive your registration fee refund according to the notes below***

Enter “Refund for COVID19” for your cancellation reason

Submit cancellation

Cancellations will be processed in bulk after April 15, 2020. After speaking with imathlete and due to the density of cancellations this company is handling, they estimate your refund in two-three weeks.

** Your refund will come in the form of an electronic check which will be attached to your billing email address used when you registered.

A following message will include more information on the virtual race conduct.

**Honor-Through-Action**

___________________

American Legion Post 2 and the University of Tennessee ROTC plans, organizes and executes the Annual Mountain Man Memorial March.

Created in 2007 by the members of the University of Tennessee’s Army ROTC Rocky Top Battalion to honor a friend and classmate who had been killed earlier that year in Iraq, this event has continued to grow each year. That year, forty Cadets marched 26.2 miles, each carrying a 35-pound rucksack to represent his sacrifice, along with a signed Gold Star flag and his photo. At the end of the march, they presented his family with the flag.

The following year, the Rocky Top Battalion challenged ROTC units from across the Southeast to join them in honoring fallen service members and their Gold Star Families (GSF). The response was overwhelming as more than 30 ROTC units from across the Southeast, Ohio, Michigan and Texas participated.

More than a decade later, this event this has become one of the largest events in the United States to celebrate the service and honor the ultimate sacrifice of these fallen service members. Along with more than 45 ROTC units, participants now include active duty military, reserve and guard units, veterans of all services, family & friends of the fallen, JROTC units, and even Cub Scout Packs.