Register for This Year’s Run
When: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Where: USC Upstate, 300 Hodge Drive, Spartanburg SC 29303
Registration Fee: $25.00
Come Walk, Run or Just for Fun …
“This annual race has come to mean a great deal to our students and the greater Spartanburg community. It’s also making a huge impact on the cross country and track programs here at Upstate. This is such a great way to honor Josh's memory.”
Carson Blackwelder, USC Upstate Cross Country and Track and Field Coach
Day of the Run Details
“Our family has been overwhelmed by the positive response we’ve gotten since establishing this race in memory of Josh.
We started out really small, and now, every year, hundreds of folks participate in the run.
What matters most to us is that the race supports scholarships for deserving student athletes and for the track and field and cross country programs. And at the end of the day, our son would be proud.”
Johnny Lee, pictured with his wife Laurie, and daughter Macy Lee Chadwick
More About the Josh Lee Memorial 5K
Each year, USC Upstate Athletics, in partnership with Johnny and Laurie Lee of Spartanburg, S.C., host the Josh Lee Memorial 5K on the USC Upstate campus.
The race is named in honor of the late Josh Lee, a USC Upstate cross country runner and scholar-athlete who was one of four student-athletes killed in a car accident in October 2015. The annual event is organized by the Lee Family; 2008 alumna Cathy Voelker and her husband, Thomas; and USC Upstate Cross Country Coach, Carson Blackwelder. The first run was held in 2016 as part of the Mighty Moo Festival in Cowpens, and moved to a larger venue at USC Upstate in 2018.
Proceeds from the race go to the Josh Lee Memorial Scholarship which was established in 2015 by the Lee family to create transformative opportunities for student-athletes. The scholarship is awarded each year to a male and female member of the cross country or track and field team. Candidates for the scholarship must have at least a 3.0 GPA and be in good standing with the school.
The Josh Lee 5K continues to grow and welcomes runners and walkers of every age. Registration for the race is $25 and participants can sign up here.