Athens Big Fork Trail Marathon (or 50k)

The way Jacob Evans described this course to me, there was no way i wanted to miss it.  Being two weeks out from HURT and still wanting a good ass whip of a training run i knew i needed to get up there and run it. mountains in Arkansas aren't the biggest but when there is 16 of them on a marathon course then the climbing adds up. Each one climbs between about 400 and 700 ft. the overall climb is about 9k for the marathon. that is more mountanous then almost any of the famous mountain races you hear about.

i was a little skeptical if it truly was that difficult or if it was just overhyped. the way my quads feel two days later, its safe to say that the course beat the hell out of me.  the event itself really is one of the best kept secrets around here. its a free race, no course markings you just follow the actual trails markings, and a lot of people who are ready for one hell of a trail.  i enjoyed it more then almost any other race i've ever done.

 

the pictures above give you somewhat of an idea of the terrain. the last picture also shows my wrong turn. before that turn i was going at a high effort and concerned with time/place. after that detour, i took the race way less serious so it was actually kind of nice since it allowed me to enjoy the race so much more.

 

i would love to go and run the course from time to time for training. not only was it beautiful but it will train you for any mountain race.  i really hope to do it again next year but i know it will effect bandera since they are back to back weekends.

 

my main goal wasn't a certain time or anything but more of my legs to hold up the entire time and give myself a confidence booster for hawaii next weekend. i was pumped how i ran it and im looking forward to the ass whipping of the h.u.r.t. 100!