Riders and runners from a wide array of backgrounds and skill levels, all undeterred by December weather, came to Bella Vista for the second-annual Back 40 Trail Run and Ride last weekend.
The weekend event included a group run Saturday, with more than 400 participants registered, and a mountain bike race Sunday. Options for the run included a 5 kilometer, half marathon, 20-mile and 40-mile route, with the bike race losing the 5-kilometer option.
"It's a tough loop, they don't know how tough it is," said Mike Rush, proprietor of Rush Running.
Rush helped organize the event, he said, and his company is one of the event's sponsors.
For 40-mile runners and riders, the route is simply the 20-mile route through the main Back 40 loop done twice, Rush said. There was a 12:30 p.m. cutoff time for runners, he said, after which a runner would not be allowed to start the second lap because, even at the same pace, this would put the runner out after dark.
A runner going faster on a second lap, he said, is highly unlikely.
"That's like unicorns," he said. "Nobody negative splits."
Rush said he loved how it all came together. While it was chilly, he said, that made the weekend perfect for biking and running, and nobody missed last year's steady mist.
During a pre-race meeting, he explained how to read directions on the trails and shared some general advice. Rush told runners and riders alike he didn't want to see anyone littering.
Moreover, he said, the race raised $7,000 for the city, earmarked for trails, and another $7,000 for Drive with Care, a nonprofit organization that promotes safer interactions between automobiles and human-powered transportation.
"When you guys gripe and complain about those entry fees, remember it's all going right back," Rush said.
The first group to finish was the 5k runners, led by Nathan Palmer, 15. Palmer said he's on the Bentonville High School cross country team, but he's never gone trail running before.
"I thought, man, it'll be really fun to run on the bike trails," he said. "It was a lot of fun out on these, it's a lot of up and down, it's very different from running on the road."
He had a good time, he said, and he's probably going to keep running trails. He fully intends to race again next year, he said.
Jeanne Porter, of Webb City, Mo., finished the same run later, along with her husband, David Porter, and their shiba inu, Ruby.
She hasn't done a lot of trail runs with the dog, she said, but the fluffy friend likes to hike and run in trails.
"She loves trails," Porter said. "She's a Razorback fan, too."
Her family isn't new to this, she said. They do runs and triathlons, on top of camping and biking, she said.
She took a spill during the run, she said, but otherwise came out alright. It happened when she turned her head mid-conversation.
"We were just talking about taking it easy and not getting injured," Porter said.
They ran last year as well, she said, and plan to come back next year.
On the other end of the spectrum, Nathan Sicher, of Joplin, Mo., came in second in the 40-mile run.
He's been running since 2008, he said, and he also coaches runners, including some who ran in the event.
Sicher said he ended up running after he was convinced by a few of his associates.
"I seem to be friends with the race director and the guy who owns Rush Running," he said. "They're bad influences."
The race was exceptional, he said, featuring great trails and a pleasant crowd.
Some finished their run Saturday only to hit the trails on a bike Sunday.
Paul Finken, of Bentonville, said he did 13 miles each day.
"I'm a slacker, I only did 13 and 13, but I'm proud of it," he said. "I had fun being a slacker."
He runs and rides on a regular basis, he said, so he decided about three months before the event started to sign up and do both.
It started to feel like a mistake early on, he said.
"The first four miles were terrible," he said. "And the last eight miles were fantastic."
With the area's abundance of trails, he said, anyone who doesn't ride, run or hike is missing out.
Tyler Harbin, who rode 40 miles a day after running 40 miles, said he'll gladly do it again but he's also glad it's over.
"I hated every minute of that ride," he said.
He moved to Bentonville recently, he said, and he's been riding with a local team.
The run -- which took nine hours and 20 minutes -- was the toughest part, he said, and he did a lot better on the bike, aside from a mechanical issue and fatigue making each of the numerous climbs a trial.
He ended up with a hole in his tire, he said, and while he was able to patch the tire, he didn't have a good way to inflate it, meaning he rode the last five miles with extremely low tire pressure. Surprisingly, he said, the tire and rim held out all the way to the finish line.
He crashed a couple times as well, he said, though he managed to avoid serious injury or damage to his bike.
"I thought it was a mistake signing up for this thing last night, my knees were so sore," he said. "It worked out."
General News on 12/13/2017