When it comes to running a race, a wig, a rubber nose and a candy bag probably aren’t high on the list of necessary equipment. Unless you’re participating in the Halloween Monster Dash on Halloween night in Fayetteville.
This is the first year for what’s essentially a mash-up between Halloween festivities and a 5K fun run. Promoter Bruce Dunn of All Sports Productions hopes the combination is a draw. The event includes a 1-mile fun run.
“You and your office mate might not go trick-or-treating and you may or may not do a 5K or a fun run, but all those combined? That makes sense.”
The idea, he explains, came because his company was looking for an alternative to their usual “super-competitive” events.
Normally, on a race course, there would be aid stations with water. But this is Halloween, so while water will be offered, at the Monster Dash there will be candy stations provided by local businesses. Think of it as high-powered trick-or-treating.
It’s a good opportunity to relieve some of your guilt if you have a Halloween candy binge. Or it’s a great place to work off your kids’ sugar high before bedtime.
The race and fun run start and end at Church Avenue and Center Street, with preregistration at 4 p.m. and a carnival and expo at 5 p.m. The5K starts at 6 p.m. with the 1-mile fun run departing five minutes later. After the race, winners of the costume contest will be announced. The actual costume judging will take place along the route at the candy stations.
People are welcome to participate as individuals or as teams. Registration is $35, $25 for ages 6 to 12. For a two-person team, the cost per person is $30 and $20 for children. For four members and up, it’s $25 and $15. Children 5 and under race free.
The theme is fun, Dunn says, and the 5K race isn’t going to be timed.
“This really is more about getting out and having fun as opposed to what type of running shoes you have on and if you have a watch and how fast you are.”
Though if you are planning on running and want to avoid an accident, you might want to rethink the clown shoes.
For more information, call (479) 521-7766 or visit halloweenmonsterdash.com.
Dodging zombies
Hot Springs Village will spend all day Saturday showing off all the outdoor amenities the community has to offer - and fending off life-stealing zombies.
It starts benignly enough at 8 a.m. with a Birdwatching Eco Walk along the Magellan Beaver Dam Trail with members of the Audubon Society. A Geocaching Walk follows at 9 a.m. on the Cedar Creek Trail while a leisurely Cycling Fun Tour explores the Hernando Trail East. Other activities through the day include a dog costume parade, golf cart decorating contest and a Segway trail ride.
That all leads up to the Dusk Scare 4-mile competitive run along the Hernando Trail West. It’s a U.S. Track & Field-sanctioned race that will be timed. The scare part comes from the zombies who will try to steal participants’ “life lines” along the way.
Winner of the race will be the person with the best time, regardless of whether they lost their life line or not, so the zombie part is, according to marketing coordinator Sharon Bowen, “more like animated decoration.”
Registration is $35 for the race. All other events are free.
For more information, call (501) 984-9963 or (866) 984-9963 or visit hsvzombietrailrun.com.
History on wheels
Hop on your bicycle and “Tour duh Sunken Lands.” It’s the fifth year for the 52-mile “cultural ride” around the flatlands of eastern Arkansas and it gives an opportunity not only for fresh air and exercise, but to explore a less-often-biked corner of the state.
The ride is presented by and benefits the Sunken Lands Regional Chamber of Commerce, an organization that promotes tourism in the communities of Marked Tree, Lepanto, Dyess and Tyronza. Organizer Linda Hinton explains, “We’re just little small towns and we don’t have alot to offer by ourselves but we have quite a bit together.”
Participants can see for themselves just how much there is as they stop and visit a number of cultural and historic sites along the route.
The tour starts at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Southern Tenant Farmer’s Museum, 117 S. Main St., Tyronza, and travels to Johnny Cash’s boyhood home in Dyess Colony.
The trail then leads to Rivervale, which Hinton describes as “an oddity. It’s where a ditch runs under a river.” After a tour and history lesson on the ditch’s construction, it’s on to Lepanto and the Painted House (used in the movie of the same name), then the Marked Tree Delta Area Museum before returning to Tyronza.
Cost for the ride is $30 and includes a T-shirt. Preregistration is not required.
For more information, call (870) 487-2909 or visit sunkenlands.com.
Keep it green
Pack Rat Outdoor Center, Fayetteville National Heritage Association and Fayettechill will work to raise awareness and money for an outdoor haven with the first official Kessler Trail Run, 9 a.m. Saturday.
Mount Kessler Greenways is 387 acres of private land on Mount Kessler and community efforts are underway to protect and buy the land as a space for outdoor recreation and education.
There are 10K and 20K options- both of which start and end at the Old Smokehouse, 1725 Smokehouse Road, Fayetteville.
Organizer Ali Williams describes the timing as “grass roots-y,” saying it’s not so much a race as a fun run. Participants are welcome to time themselves, but, in the interest of saving money for the purchase of Mount Kessler, there will be no official timekeeping.
Afterward, there will be a party at the base, with “Frank Sharp’s gourmet grub” and a host of Northwest Arkansas beers.
Registration is $20 but trail run participation is limited to 150 and is expected to fill up. If running isn’t your thing but you still want to share in the party, the cost is $10 and admission there is unlimited.
For more information, call (479) 521-6340 or visit mtkesslergreenways.com.
Crafty kids
Young people ages 8-12 can get a real-world lesson in the things that crawl, fly and creep by going to O.A.K. (Outdoor Awareness for Kids) Camp at Lake Dardanelle State Park near Russellville, where they will participate in crafts, hiking and outdoor activities, 6-9 p.m. Nov. 8 and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 9.
Registration is $25 per camper, which includes meals and supplies. Registration deadline is Friday and space is limited.
Call (479) 967-5516 or visit arkansasstateparks.com.
ActiveStyle, Pages 28 on 10/28/2013