The Bike & Hike for ALS Arkansas begins at 7 a.m. Sunday at Rockwater Village, 1600 Rockwater Blvd. in North Little Rock.
The event is, technically, a duathlon, following the two-activity, three-leg format of bike-run-bike. The bike portion will be an out-and-back on the River Trail, from Rockwater Village to Pinnacle Mountain, covering about 18 miles each way.
The "hike" moniker is well deserved: The middle leg involves going up and over the peak and then around the base, a combined distance of about 3 1/2 miles.
Participants will have three aid stations: at Two Rivers Park, in the transition area at Pinnacle Mountain and near the peak of Pinnacle Mountain. A sag (support and gear) wagon will patrol parts of the course where vehicles are allowed.
Online registration is available until noon Saturday, costing $90 for ages 18 and up and $35 for under 18. There's also a team option that allows as many as 10 people to sign up together for $750.
Packet pickup and late registration will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Rockwater Marina, directly across the street from Rockwater Village.
Participants are asked to take their hiking gear (shoes and any other supplies) with them to packet pickup. Each registrant will be provided a Bike & Hike nylon bag corresponding to his or her bib number that will be held at the Pinnacle Mountain transition area. Bags can also be dropped off at the starting line between 6 and 6:50 a.m. Sunday. The bags will be transported back to the starting line as they are dropped off in the transition area after the hike portion.
The transition area will be strictly controlled to protect bikes and gear. Participants will have to sign into and out of the area so that organizers can track who has arrived and departed safely.
All participants will have to sign a waiver before competing, and helmets must be worn while cycling. There will be volunteers and signs to help with directions and safety, but this will not be a closed course. Organizers say that participants are expected to be courteous of pedestrian traffic on the River Trail and obey all traffic laws.
Proceeds from the 2016 Bike & Hike for ALS will benefit Operation Speak Easier, which is an initiative by the ALS Association of Arkansas to help provide speech devices for people who have lost the ability to speak as the degenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progresses. To learn more about Operation Speak Easier, visit alsa.org. To learn more about devices and software for this purpose, visit tobiidynavox.com.
There will be a celebration at the finish line (back at Rockwater Village) beginning about 10 a.m. with music, snacks and drinks. Registration fees include two adult beverage tickets redeemable at the Diamond Bear Brewery tent; those tickets will be in the swag bag.
Bike & Hike for ALS honors Les Vahsholtz, who died from ALS in December 2012 and was the father of event director Tim Vahsholtz.
Online registration and more information are available at bikehikeforals.com.
Eureka Springs Multisport Festival
Eureka Springs is the place to be this weekend for runners, racers, riders and swimmers. All can compete in a multisport festival dubbed The Eurekan. The festival crams four separate events into three days.
First up is a triathlon Friday at the Holiday Island Recreation Center, 13 Buckskin Lane, Holiday Island. Saturday is bike day with a multitude of rides and races of various distances all beginning at Victoria Inn, 4028 E. Van Buren St. in Eureka Springs. Finally, Sunday is for the runners with a 5K, 10K and 1 Mile Fun Run, all beginning at the Eureka Springs City Auditorium and Courthouse, 44 S. Main St.
All of these events can be taken individually, but for the truly dedicated (deranged) endurance athletes, there is a package deal referred to as "The Eurekan." Competing for the title of The Eurekan entails completing certain events each day. The triathlon at 2 p.m. Friday has a 300-yard swim, a 7-mile bike ride and a 2-mile run that must be completed in two hours or less. At 7 a.m. Saturday, participants must complete the 100-mile ride in 9.5 hours. At 7:45 a.m. Sunday, the Eurekan qualifier is the 10K, which also has a two-hour time limit.
There is also a "Half Eurekan," which still involves doing Friday's triathlon but "only" a 58-mile ride Saturday and a 5K Sunday.
The minimum age to try for the full or Half Eurekan is 16, and organizers say, "No exceptions."
Online registration is available until Thursday. Doing The Eurekan costs $175 and the Half Eurekan costs $140. Competitors in the full or half must have a USA Triathlon license; a one-event license can be bought for $15 at registration (annual licenses are $50).
Individual events are priced separately, and some also require racing licenses.
Helmets must be worn during any cycling event.
Packet pickup and late registration will be 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Inn of the Ozarks, 207 W. Van Buren St. This will be the absolute last chance to register for the triathlon individually or The Eurekan as a whole.
An additional packet pickup will be offered from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Holiday Island Recreation Center. Other individual event registration deadlines and packet pickups are available with the full schedule and online registration at eurekasportsfestival.com.
The awards ceremony for all events will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Eureka Springs City Auditorium and Courthouse with refreshments and door prizes for attendees.
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ActiveStyle on 08/08/2016