New 5K race marks anniversary of Helene return for Black Mountain Primary and Elementary Schools
Warpony Resiliency Run inspired by power of perseverance and community support
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 20, 2025
Black Mountain Primary and Elementary Schools teacher Marcia Tucci, coach of the Pony Pacers, prepares for the inaugural Warpony Resilience Run, Oct. 25. The event, marking one year since students returned to school from Helene, will support local school running clubs and communities struggling in the aftermath of natural disasters. Photo courtesy of Breanna Hensley/Buncombe County Schools
One year ago, as the leaves changed and temperatures fell across the Swannanoa Valley, local children had yet to resume classes, nearly a month after Tropical Storm Helene devastated the region. For the youngest among them, the return to the comfort and familiarity of their hallways and opportunity to reconnect with cherished teachers and faculty required support from neighbors, family members and communities, near and far.
That spirit of kindness and encouragement will be celebrated, beginning at 8 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 25, when Black Mountain Primary and Elementary Schools host the inaugural Warpony Resiliency Run 5K, honoring the one-year anniversary of the day students returned to campuses in Buncombe County.
Widespread damage to area infrastructure forced BCS to suspend classes for 20 days, following the historic natural disaster that claimed the lives of 43 county residents, destroyed homes and businesses and left many area residents without potable water for nearly two months.
“The day we came back from the storm, we had so much love and this outpouring of support that came to us from so many different communities, I really wanted an opportunity to give back to other communities in need,” said Marcia Tucci, the academically gifted teacher at Black Mountain Primary and Elementary Schools who established the event. While out for a run, the coach of the Pony Pacers, an afterschool running program for students of BMP had an idea to memorialize that feeling.
“Last spring, I was already thinking about the idea of organizing a run for the Pacers, and I thought about that day we all walked back in our doors and saw our children,” she said. “The Resiliency Run was born out of that.”
The event will support the Pony Pacers, the Girls on the Run program at BME and other school communities impacted by weather-related disasters, according to Tucci, who has taught in Black Mountain for nine years.
“So many communities reached out to us to see how they could support us last year, so this felt like an opportunity for us to pay it forward by giving something to others in need,” she said.
The goal of the event is to raise $1,000 for a community in need and to establish the race as an annual local event.
Runners of all ages will gather, Oct. 25, at Black Mountain Primary School to join the inaugural Warpony Resilience Run. Photo by Breanna Hensley/Buncombe County Schools
Online registration for the race, available at runsignup.com, is open through 11:59 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23, at a cost of $25. On-site registration will open at 7 a.m., on the day of the race, with packet pick-up held from 3 p.m. - 5:45 p.m., Friday, Oct. 24, in the BMP field, adjacent to the school.
The route begins on the fenced BMP field and follows the Village Way greenway to the BME track, before heading west on the sidewalk along Old U.S. 70. Runners will turn on North Ridgeway Avenue and continue along sidewalks on First Street and Montreat Road to South Cotton Avenue. The course will access the Flat Creek Greenway from East Cotton Avenue, beginning the final stretch back to BMP.
The fundraiser was planned and organized by Tucci, three other teachers and two members of the Black Mountain Schools PTO.
“We had a great team helping me with this, and we’re all really excited to bring a new race to Black Mountain,” said Tucci, a native of the Swannanoa Valley. “We’re starting very small, but this is something we would like to build and keep here in our community.”
While the event supports the running clubs and school districts struggling to recover from disasters, its significance to local students is marked by the participation of principals of BMP and BME.
“Every finisher gets a medal, and (Kelly Owen) from the primary school will hand those out at the finish line,” Tucci said. “Black Mountain Elementary School Principal Bill Honey will be our route rider, so he is riding with the lead of the pack and then following through to sweep.”
While the Warpony Resiliency Run will bring the community together to help others facing challenges, it also encourages young runners “keep running,” according to the organizer.
“We want to encourage kids to stay active and keep running,” she said. “The Pony Pacers run on the primary school track, so it’s fitting they start and finish there. This race gives them an opportunity to get on the sidewalks in town with the community and keep moving.”