Big long thing number 18 for calendar year 2019 at the Hogeye Marathon in Springdale, Arkansas. The current iteration of the course is rolling hills through a small downtown, tree lined suburban streets, a quick stop through the Double-A ball park, and a significant amount of asphalt bicycle paths around the local parks system. What the course admittedly lacked in charm I felt it made up for in spades with a tremendous amount of community support. Maybe it was just because I felt like I was unwanted in Pennsylvania, but these volunteers weren’t just there, they had tremendous enthusiasm, and that makes all the difference. I think this is my new favorite Arkansas race. A bit of inside baseball: if you’re unfamiliar with this portion of Arkansas, Hogeye is an unincorporated area outside of Fayetteville where this race originally finished. It has now been moved to Springdale without a name change, but I expect sooner or later it will be called the Arkansas marathon presented by Tyson foods or somesuch thing because it seems clear that the Tyson people have put their name on everything in town. Fun fact: Springdale was originally known as Shiloh, but discovered at the time of its post office registration there was another Shiloh in Arkansas. It was instead named after the number of springs found in the area.
