If your running playlist leans more toward post-punk, art rock, and indie pop than the more traditional songs heard at many races, there’s a new event that may interest you.

Merge Records, home of indie artists Superchunk, Arcade Fire, the Mountain Goats, and dozens more, is holding a 25K race on March 22, 2014, to celebrate the label’s 25th anniversary.

The race will follow a 15.5-mile point-to-point course from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where Merge was founded in 1989, to the label’s current home in Durham, and every mile marker will be dedicated to a year of Merge’s history. That means mile after mile of DJs—many Merge-signed artists themselves—pumping out years of the label’s hits. The finish line celebration will host live Merge bands and a large community party open to the public.

Christina Rentz, Merge publicist and runner, says the label views the unconventional race as an opportunity to get the community involved in a way that might not happen with its traditional annual music festival in Chapel Hill. Rentz says many of the artists at Merge, such as M. Ward of She & Him and Heather McEntire of Mount Moriah, are big runners and will chronicle their training for the race with a series of blog posts, playlists, and 25K-specific training plans.

“I think everyone thought we were joking when we announced celebrating with a run,” Rentz says. “It’s kind of hilarious to think that after 25 years, we’re becoming a little less about partying all night and more about taking care of ourselves.”

But aside from the anniversary significance, why a 25K when a 5K or 10K might be an easier sell?

“People love weird distances,” Rentz says with a laugh. “15.5 miles is long enough to be a spring goal race, and we want to use the race to raise money for charity, which is harder to do with a shorter-distance race. That, and it’s pretty competitive locally for 5Ks—the race calendar here is bananas.”

The Merge Records 25K says it will cap entries at 1,000 runners and donate significant proceeds to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and Habitat for Humanity of Durham and Orange County. Registration is live here.

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