Runners gathered early Sunday morning for the Cades Cove Loop Lope race in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The race was the second ever in Cades Cove, and was hosted by Friends of the Smokies.
"Well, we came down in 2010 to do the first one," Diane Inman, a race participant, said. "They said, 'It's now or never, we'll never do it again,' and here we are seven years later."
Inman also said there is no place quite like Cades Cove. She jumped on the opportunity to participate on this race a second time as well as support Friends of the Smokies.
The race director with Friends of the Smokies said this was a unique opportunity for many participating.
"It's not normal to have a race in Cades Cove," Holly Jones, race director, said. "It is a unique event that happened only once before."
More than 500 people signed up for the race.
Friends of the Smokies said it will spend more than $90,000 on historic preservation and wildlife management programs in Cades Cove for 2017.
Friends of the Smokies assists the National Park Service in its mission to preserve and protect the beauty in parts of East Tennessee. If you're wanting to take part in preserving the natural allure of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you can go visit their website here.
