01
Challenge worth taking on
We want runners to leave our events feeling like they pushed themselves somewhere meaningful and came out stronger on the other side.
About Wise Owl Races
Built by runners.
We started Wise Owl to build the kinds of races we wanted to run ourselves: challenging, welcoming events that help people explore Tennessee and discover what they’re capable of along the way.
The story
Two runners who wanted to see their own races come to life.
Wise Owl Races started in Nashville with a familiar long-run conversation: “I had this race idea I wish existed.”
So we built it. Trail relays, ultra camps, a fast trail half: events we’d want to show up for ourselves.
What we care about
Challenging races. Thoughtfully put on.
02
Clear communication
Courses should be marked well. Information should be easy to find. Runners should never feel confused about what’s happening.
03
Places worth exploring
We build races around trails, parks, and landscapes that make the experience feel connected to the land itself.
04
Welcoming community
Whether you’re racing for the podium or trying something difficult for the first time, we want Wise Owl events to feel encouraging and shared.
The team
Meet the team.
Wise Owl Races is run by two co-owners and co-directors.
Stephen Formosa
Wise Owl Races
Resident ultra runner and Frozen Head regular. Stephen leads on course design, camps, and trail-weekend logistics.
Read more about Stephen
Stephen came into running through the trails first. His first marathon was trail-based, and his first ultra was the Barkley Fall Classic during a year that packed roughly 12,000 feet of climbing and descending into the course. Since then, he’s completed distances up to 100K and continues to lean toward the half marathon through 50K range, though a 100-miler is firmly on the bucket list.
In 2025, he completed a seven-day run along the Cumberland Trail, traveling from the Georgia border to Catoosa Wildlife Management Area north of Interstate 40. Much of his connection to Tennessee’s trail systems comes from years spent hiking, whitewater kayaking, hunting, and exploring the outdoors long before Wise Owl existed.
At Wise Owl, Stephen leads on trail routing, course design, permitting relationships, and the overall flow of trail events. He’s usually the person scouting routes, talking with park managers, or figuring out how to make a course feel both challenging and memorable. He and Kelby also collaborate closely on event branding, swag, and race concepts.
Stephen brings deep knowledge of Tennessee trails and parks, strong relationships with the people who manage them, and an instinctive sense for route-building that shapes nearly every Wise Owl course. He also has two small dogs and is usually happiest somewhere outside, whether that’s on trails, rivers, or snow-covered mountains.
Best to reach Stephen about course questions, trail conditions and technicality, permitting and land management, trail gear recommendations, lodging or activity ideas around events, and collaborations involving trail races or outdoor events.
- Email [email protected]
Kelby Dover
Wise Owl Races
Nashville-based road, trail, and now ultra runner. Sub-3 road marathon, multiple ultra finishes, and the lead on registration, sponsorships, and platform at Wise Owl.
Read more about Kelby
Kelby came up through road marathons before gradually getting pulled deeper into trail and ultra running. He has a sub-3 road marathon to his name, completed the Rogue Gorge 50K in Oregon, and is currently building toward the 50-mile distance with eventual eyes on a 100-miler. Along the way, a handful of smaller trail race podiums and age group finishes surprised him enough to keep chasing bigger goals.
Most of his training happens on neighborhood roads, hills, and long routes around West Nashville, along with regular miles through Warner Parks. He grew up in South Georgia where there are no hills, but somewhere along the way stopped worrying about them and started embracing them instead. He also has a long-standing habit of occasionally falling on trails.
At Wise Owl, Kelby leads on registration systems, sponsorships, communication, social media, branding, and most of the technology behind the scenes. He’s usually focused on the details runners may never consciously notice: clear communication, smooth check-in flow, race-day organization, and making sure nobody is left wondering what’s going on.
He’s also the founder of Run This, an independent race registration platform built for race directors who want cleaner sign-up flows, better runner communication, and modern tools without the bloat of legacy platforms. Running Wise Owl alongside Run This means he spends a lot of time thinking about how technology and race experience fit together.
Most Wise Owl planning happens over coffee, long runs, or both. Kelby is married, runs mostly with podcasts or no headphones at all, and keeps a Nespresso machine working overtime in the kitchen.
Best to reach Kelby about registration questions, sponsorships, partnerships, runner communication, social media, branding, or anything related to Run This and race technology.
- Email [email protected]
Want to run with us?
See what’s on the calendar, sign up to volunteer, or just say hi.