OPPORTUNITIES

Outdoor Rendezvous offers camping, classes, hikes

Hiking the Ozarks is putting on a weekendlong Outdoor Rendezvous beginning at 9 a.m. Friday through 4 p.m. Sunday at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch near the Buffalo National River.

Hiking the Ozarks bills itself as a lifestyle company that uses this event to "bring together outdoor enthusiasts from all over the Midwest for networking, camping, education and enjoying the outdoors."

Online registration is not a requirement, but organizers do ask that interested participants reserve a spot through the website so they can have an accurate head count. In 2016, about 300 people came from nine states to attend the event 7.5 miles west of Jasper off Arkansas 74.

Campers can register in person at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch beginning at 8:45 a.m. Friday. The cost for the event is $50 all inclusive (except camping) per person for the weekend. Camping will cost another $5 plus tax per person per night. Besides campsites, a limited number of first-come, first-served cabins are available to rent.

The $50 event fee includes guided hikes, educational classes geared toward hikers and backpackers, beginning and intermediate rock climbing classes, mountain biking, yoga and more. In addition, each person will receive one entry for various raffles and door prizes that will be given away; as many as 20 more tickets can be bought for $1 apiece. Organizers say that in 2016 they gave away almost $4,000 in gear and prizes.

Food is not provided, so rendezvous-ers will need to supply their own for the weekend. Dogs are not allowed at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch.

For more information, visit horseshoecanyonduderanch.com.

For a complete schedule of activities and to reserve a spot, visit hikingtheozarks.com and click on "Event."

MidSouth Marathon

The MidSouth Marathon and Half Marathon will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Wynne High School stadium, 800 E. Jackson Ave. in Wynne.

Online registration has closed, but in-person registration will be available at the MidSouth Marathon Expo from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at Wynne First Assembly of God, 1900 N. Killough Road. The marathon and the half marathon each cost $40.

A pasta dinner for runners and their families during the expo will cost $10 per person; kids 12 and under eat free.

Race-day registration and last-minute packet pickup will be at the stadium from 6 to 7:45 a.m. Saturday.

The deadline has passed to guarantee a T-shirt, but remaining shirts will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Both courses are out-and-back style, primarily flat but with rolling hills, one of which is really memorable. The course is mostly lightly trafficked roads. Runners are expected to exercise caution and follow traffic laws. The turnaround for the half marathon runners will be marked by two hay bales in the middle of the road.

There will be fully stocked aid stations approximately every mile.

Runners will be chip-timed, and awards will go three deep by sex in each distance for the following categories: overall, masters (ages 40 and up), grand masters (ages 50 and up) and seniors (ages 60 and up). Awards will also be given out three deep by sex for the fastest runners in each distance by age group, mostly in five-year increments.

The half marathon awards ceremony will begin at 11:45 a.m., and the marathon awards will begin at 1:30 p.m. All participants who complete the race will receive a finisher's medal.

Course support for runners will close at 2 p.m. Stragglers will be allowed to finish the course, but aid stations will be closed and support will not be available.

Showers and dressing rooms will be open for runners at Wynne High School. The post-race barbecue lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Massage therapists will be on hand to offer massages post-race at no charge, but tips will be accepted.

For those interested in record-breaking, the course records for the MidSouth Marathon are held by Randy Starr, 2:29:54.76; overall female, Joyce Deason, 3:09:59.25; masters male, Lance Winders, 2:41:25.13; and masters female, Barbie Hilderbrand, 3:28:09.23.

For more information, including hotels and directions to the MidSouth Marathon Expo or Wynne High School, visit midsouthmarathon.racesonline.com.

Tour duh Sunken Lands

This scenic bike ride will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, 117 Main St. in Tyronza.

Online registration is available through Wednesday for $55 per rider. On-site registration will open at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Tyronza Senior Center, which is next-door to the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum.

Registration includes entrance to all the museums along the way, and there will be a warming soup station at The Painted House, a museum on Arkansas 135 near Lepanto created from a set used in the Hallmark dramatization of a John Grisham novel.

The Tour duh Sunken Lands follows a loop of about 52 miles and includes stops at Whitton Farms, Dyess Administration Building (including a bus ride to Johnny Cash's boyhood home), the Rivervale Tunnels, The Painted House and the Marked Tree Delta Area Museum, before finishing back at the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum.

This will not be a closed course. Riders are required to wear helmets and follow rules of the road. A sag vehicle will assist any stranded riders.

For online registration and complete route information, visit astate.edu/tdsl.

Please send tips for active recreation to

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ActiveStyle on 10/30/2017

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