The gently rolling hills and rolling
country roads of Northwest Arkansas's Ozarks region are the setting
for the third annual running of the Winslow Half Marathon & 5K
Run, for a race that is set to take runners on an out-and-back tour
of the hills just outside this tiny city that lies along the western
edge of the Ozark National Forest. This year's race is scheduled for
September 14th.
Featuring a race start and finish that
lie just a short drive from one another in downtown Winslow -- home
to a few hundred residents, according to the most recent census --
the race is a fund raising effort by the Winslow Community Development
Council and is also timed to coincide with the annual Winfest Music
Festival, which has drawn musical acts both locally from Winslow and
from around Arkansas since it was first staged back in 1982 and a
Community Expo at the finish line in Peaks Park..
Both
the half marathon and the 5K race start at the Winslow Public Library
on Highway 71, just off School Avenue. From there, runners in the
13.1-mile half marathon follow a route that winds westward along
School Avenue and then turns south on Main Street and then west again
on East Van Buren Avenue, which runners will remain on for the next
couple of miles until the course makes a slight left turn onto
Bunyard Road, just before passing the mile 2 marker.
After
making the turn onto Bunyard, runners then follow the route for
nearly the next five miles as Bunyard first heads south and then
curves around to head west in the direction of Interstate 540. Race
organizers say that have planned the race route to be as flat as
possible in what is a generally hilly part of the country, and while
runners can expect some rolling hills along Bunyard, the elevation
changes are never dramatic and usually involve only small uphills and
downhills.
The half marathon turnaround point lies
between the mile 6 and mile 7 markers on Bunyard Road, and there
runners make the turn and retrace their steps along the route they've
just run all the way back to Winslow. The course turns left onto
Center Street before bringing runners all the way back along Van
Buren, to take runners up toward the finish line at the Winslow City
Hall, which lies inside the Frisco Loop. The half marathon is open to
walkers as well as runners, provided they can finish the course
within the event's three-hour time limit.
For more information
visit www.winslowrun.com or contact John Ford at [email protected]
214 394 1475