The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire's Run the Rail Trail 5-Miler

Get outside and welcome spring with the 4th annual 'Run the Rail Trail 5-Miler' on Saturday, May 3!

Starting and finishing at the Aviation Museum of N.H., the run/walk event will take participants on a winding route through bucolic North Londonderry, highlighted by the newest stretch of the Londonderry Rail Trail.  The race starts at 9 a.m. and is open to all runners and walkers. The event is a fund-raiser to support the non-profit Aviation Museum's youth education programs, which includes an upcoming summer camp and a high school student plane-building project at the Manchester (N.H.) School of Technology.

Registration for the 'Run the Rail Trail 5-Miler' is $25 through Monday, March 31; for those 12 and under and 62 and above, the fee is discounted to $20. Starting Tuesday, April 1, the fee is $30 for all. Registration on Race Day is $35 per person. The first 100 registrants will receive an official "Run the Rail Trail 5-Miler" shirt.

Participants may register online at www.runsignup.com; under “Find a Race,” search for "Aviation Museum." More information is also available at www.aviationmuseumofnh.org.

Starting at the Aviation Museum of N.H.’s historic 1937 terminal building at 27 Navigator Road, the course will first wind through lightly-trafficked streets, including a nearly one-mile stretch of forest path through undeveloped land.

The route, which includes one water stop, will then take participants along the recently opened 1.2-mile section of the Londonderry Rail Trail, which passes through the remote Little Cohas Brook Reservoir area.  The route will then take runners and walkers back to the Aviation Museum and the finish line.

Because the route includes a stretch of unimproved forest trail, the event is not recommended for participants with strollers. Also, no pets are allowed. 

Prizes will be awarded to the top two male and female finishers, and in other categories such as longest time to finish.

Timing services provided by NovusMage. Traffic control and security will be provided by the Londonderry Police and Fire departments. The Aviation

Museum is also seeking Race Day volunteers. If you're interested in helping out, contact Leah Dearborn at (603) 669-4877 or at ldearborn@nhahs.org.

In addition, the museum is seeking business and community sponsors to help defray costs of organizing the event. For information about sponsorships, contact Jeff Rapsis at (603) 236-9237 or at jrapsis@nhahs.org.  

The Aviation Museum, a non-profit 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization based in the 1937 art deco passenger terminal at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, is dedicated to preserving the Granite State's rich aviation past, and also inspiring today's students to become the aviation pioneers of tomorrow.

The Aviation Museum of N.H. was named the ‘Best Place to Take Kids’ in Southern N.H. four years in a row (2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024) in the annual Hippo Reader's Poll.

The Aviation Museum is located at 27 Navigator Road, off Harvey Road, in Londonderry, N.H. For more information, visit www.aviationmuseumofnh.org or call (603) 669-4877.