OPPORTUNITIES

Spa City race to test runners' climbing prowess

The Spa Running Festival will take place Saturday in Hot Springs.

Runners and walkers will compete at three distances: the Half Marathon Summit(2) Challenge; the Spa 10K; and a 5K (which will be divided between runners and walkers).

The name Summit(2) Challenge is self-explanatory: The 13.1-mile course takes runners to the summit of West Mountain and back down again ... twice. The elevation chart on the website shows a gain of about 500 feet over a distance of about two miles.

Participants don't have to be professional mountain climbers, but some kind of hill training is definitely recommended.

The website relates the story of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger who supposedly ran 26.2 miles from the battlefield of Marathon back to Athens, said, "We have won!," then collapsed and died. Organizers ask that participants not follow his example, but paramedics from LifeNet will be on hand, just in case.

All jokes aside, I recently participated in a half-marathon where a runner collapsed from dehydration. The weather has cooled off since, but hydration is still of the utmost importance. Summit(2) Challenge will have six aid stations; please use them as necessary.

Online registration is available until midnight Tuesday. The half-marathon costs $60; the other two distances cost $35. On-site registration and packet pickup will be available from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Hotel Hot Springs and Spa, 305 Malvern Ave. The two shorter distances will cost $40 each, and the half-marathon will remain $60.

The half-marathon has a 300-racer limit. In 2015, it sold out. Race-day registration (for races still open) and packet pickup will be available from 6 to 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena, 134 Convention Blvd.

The deadlines for a guaranteed event T-shirt have passed, but shirts will be given out while supplies last.

The half-marathon will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday, and the 10K and the 5K will begin at 8. The starting line for all three races is on Convention Boulevard in front of Embassy Suites hotel.

Participants must be at least 13 to run the half-marathon unaccompanied, and everyone must maintain at least a 16-minute-per-mile pace to finish by 10:30 a.m., when the course will close and any remaining runners will be moved to sidewalks.

The final event will be the Squirt Race at 9:30 a.m. for children ages 2 to 10. The 9- and 10-year-olds will run about a mile, but the course is progressively shorter for each younger age group. Parents can run or walk with the younger kids. All (child) finishers will get a medal, and awards will be given to the top three boys and three girls from each age division. Entry fee is $10 per child.

Runners (and 5K walkers) will be chip-timed. Timing chips do not have to be turned in after the race (the website refers to them as "nonreturnable souvenirs").

Awards will be given three deep by sex and age group, along with awards in the masters, grand masters and senior age categories. 5K walkers will receive awards three deep only in 10-year age groups. All half-marathon finishers will receive a medal.

The awards ceremonies will be in Rooms 207/208 of the Hot Springs Convention Center. The 5K awards will be given out at 9 a.m.; the Spa 10K awards at 10:15; and the Summit(2) Challenge awards at 11.

For those interested in half-marathon record breaking, this will be only the second outing for the Summit(2) Challenge. The fastest male half-marathoner in 2015 was Kevin Golden of Maumelle, with a time of 1:28:31. The fastest female half-marathoner was Rachel Sanchez of Anna, Texas, with a time of 1:42:01.

The Post-Race Party will be 5 to 8 p.m. in Lagniappe Restaurant at Oaklawn, 2705 Central Ave. There will be a pasta buffet, a cash bar and entertainment in Pop's Lounge.

Each racer will receive one ticket to the party with an RSVP, but must be 21 to attend due to age restrictions in the gambling area. Extra tickets will cost $15. Also, Oaklawn is giving a $10 free play coupon to any runners who feel like testing their post-race luck.

For more information and online registration, visit sparunningfestival.com.

White River Marathon for Kenya

The White River Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K will all begin at 7 a.m. Saturday at the Cotter school, 181 Mable St. in Cotter.

All three courses run out and back. The marathon will follow the half-marathon's 13.1-mile course out and back twice. With the exception of the first mile, which will be a slight downhill (and thus a slight uphill on the way back) the route is flat.

The White River Marathon is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

The two long events will garner finishers medals.

Online registration is available until Wednesday. The marathon costs $80, the half-marathon $75 and the 5K $30.

Packet pickup will be available 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Cotter school; registration will be available for an extra $10 if the races haven't sold out. There will also be a pre-race pasta dinner during packet pickup, $10 for adults and $5 for children.

Race-day packet pickup will be available from 5 to 6:40 a.m.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the town of Katito in Kenya. White River Marathon 2016 is also holding a used shoe drive.

For registration and more information, visit whiterivermarathon.com.

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ActiveStyle on 11/14/2016

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