Runners in Bentonville, Ariz. might be competing for an unprecedented trail-race prize purse of $10,000 in November, and it’s not too late to enroll. Hosted by Ultrasignup, the inaugural occasion has its roots in 2021, when the brand new homeowners of Ultrasignup, impressed by the best way the path neighborhood got here collectively in the course of the pandemic. hosted an extremely standard occasion referred to as the Path Get together.
The Ultrasignup staff needed to host a race that was a throwback to the Nineteenth-century sport of pedestrianism. “Individuals would collect beneath the massive prime and stroll and run for sport–bets have been made, limits pushed, and recognition soared,” they clarify on their web site, and invite runners to come have enjoyable beneath the metaphorical massive prime.
With a low entry charge of $40 USD for the 5K occasion and $50 for the 10K, the path race has a surprisingly giant prize purse and affords a free neighborhood shakeout run the night time earlier than the occasions.
“The 10K prize purse is throughout two divisions, women and men, and breaks right down to $3000 for 1st place, $1250 for twond place, and $750 for 3rd place. It’s an open division, that means that it’s doable a non-pro runner may find yourself on the rostrum if they’ve a very good day, however we definitely hope this occasion attracts professional runners, perhaps even some roadies with the shorter distance,” explains Ultrasignup’s advertising director Annemarie Kruse.
Kruse says Ultrasignup and their companions on this race wish to drive the rising sport of path operating ahead and assist the professional runners, and have put the proceeds from the registration charges proper again into the purse. “A technique to do this is thru a significant prize purse, one other method is to attract as a lot consideration to the game as we will, thereby bringing in new runners and spectators.”
“Brief format path races like this 10k are ripe for elevated viewership,” says Kruse, and the occasion hopes to draw followers. The race winds by way of the attractive Handcut Hole park in Bentonville and is a “pretty ‘flat’ course with solely 735ft (224 metres) of elevation achieve however it’s also fairly technical and fixed,” Kruse says. “The path floor is rocky and the route is punchy, with one fairly vital rocky climb.”
Runners can depend on a community-driven occasion with a number of enjoyable and intense competitors. In the event you’re on this occasion or the opposite Dust Circus races (held in Flower Mound, Tex., Boulder and Pheonix), head right here.
