Runners will attempt a pair of races this weekend in Northwest Arkansas -- for two reasons. They will run because those two races are there and because they (potentially) can complete them.
Some runners will attempt something more: doing both.
The annual Bentonville Half Marathon and the Hogeye Marathon and Relays fall on consecutive dates through what organizers of both races say is a one-time scheduling quirk.
Neither the Bentonville- nor Fayetteville-based race has an official count of double-doing entrants, and no incentive was created for this particular feat of foot. Mike Rush, owner of the trio of Rush Running stores in Northwest Arkansas and the race director for the Bentonville event, estimates that the number of such runners does not reach even 1 percent of the 3,000 or so he expects to start in Saturday's half-marathon. Tabby Holmes, race director for Hogeye, acknowledged the same.
But there will be a few who attempt the 13.1-mile half-marathon distance Saturday followed by the 26.2-mile Hogeye marathon the next day. Holmes is even encouraging it, to a degree, asking Bentonville runners to come the next day and run a lesser distance in her event. A marathon relay, for instance, requires about six or seven miles from four runners.
And the idea of the big double remains. She has heard people discuss the appeal.
"'Let's see if we can do this once in our lifetime,'" Holmes said of the mentality.
ONE CHANCE FOR TWO
Running back-to-back half- and full marathons isn't a new idea. But for Northwest Arkansas, the configuration does appear to be a one-time-only opportunity.
The dates for the Hogeye race have shifted back and forth over the past several years. Holmes said she tries to avoid the state of Arkansas' spring break because many students run the 5K distance, and she wants them in town. And she also directs runners around Easter Sunday, which falls on April 5 this year.
Rush professed to following similar guidelines. He, too, wants to avoid Easter weekend and wants to fit the race into spring break.
"Because of the time of year, we constantly have to juggle," Rush said.
The Hogeye celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2016, and that event will take place April 10. Bentonville Half Marathon officials have announced dates for the next four years, including an April 2 race next year.
Will two large running events on one weekend multiply or divide the number of participants overall?
Holmes said having the two races close to each other does make it harder to attract runners and recruit volunteers and sponsors. But the number of racers for this year's Hogeye is increasing after a dip last year.
Holmes attributed the increase in interest to a renewed push on social media. The race donated less money to charities in 2014 after the drop in its attendance, but Holmes hopes the hard work in recruiting runners results in an increase in donations this year.
Rush said the number of runners registered for Bentonville is similar to last year's tally, and he expects as many as a thousand might sign up in the days remaining before the race.
Rush described the Bentonville course as very flat and fast except for a very short but very difficult hill at the end of the race.
"It's our version of Heartbreak Hill," Rush said, referring to the tough incline at Mile 20 of the Boston Marathon course.
Decades ago when its course went from Fayetteville to Hogeye and back, Hogeye was ranked one of the toughest marathons in the country by Runner's World magazine. The course now winds through Fayetteville proper, using much of the available trail system, but it still incorporates many hills -- because how could anyone create a flat course in that town?
POSSIBLE, IN THEORY
The looming double run of 13.1 miles Saturday and 26.2 Sunday could be accomplished by many runners -- in theory. It just might take a bit of a brave soul to try it.
"Why? Because it's there. Why would you climb Everest?" said Gary Taylor, owner of Go! Running in Little Rock and a running coach for the past 15 years.
"It's a nice little challenge," Rush agreed. "Of course, I'm the kind of idiot who has run five marathons in five states in five days."
Ultramarathon runners preparing for 100-mile distances often choose to split training bouts over back-to-back days, Taylor said. A training plan for that kind of distance might not be organized by miles but by hours, perhaps a four-hour run on the first day and a five-hour run the next.
Runners attempting to follow a half-marathon with a full the next day likely won't need much extra training time. But slow and steady would be the key, Rush said. It would not be a weekend for personal records.
"If you're trying to race on either, I wouldn't do both," he said.
Taylor echoed that sentiment.
"If you run the half-marathon hard, it's going to be a long day," he said.
This kind of double is somewhat unconventional, but it does have a precedent.
Dozens of Arkansans have traveled to Colorado to do the Pikes Peak Ascent race and the Pikes Peak Marathon back to back.
And the Walt Disney World Marathon in Orlando each January hosts a half-marathon followed by a full marathon the next day. Disney organizers call their double the "Goofy," and runners who complete both races get three medals: one for the half, one for the full and one for completing both. To qualify for the third medal and "Goofy" status, runners must complete the races at a pace quicker than 16 minutes per mile, or about 3.5 hours for the half and seven hours for the full.
In 2010, the Little Rock Marathon's training team awarded an unofficial "Hobbitom Challenge" medal to racers who finished a half-marathon the day before Little Rock's marathon.
Taylor said he guesses doing this weekend's double would be easier psychologically if the races were switched and the full marathon was first and the half marathon second.
"It's less far to go when you're tired," he said.
NO REASON NEEDED
Feeling tired is almost a certainty.
Chris Bosch, a Springdale resident, decided in late December to attempt Bentonville and Hogeye.
His goal?
"Survival, and being able to go up the stairs at work on Monday," he said.
His training for the double extends from his last race, the Little Rock Marathon on March 1. He started running long distances on consecutive days in mid-March, covering 21 miles split between the two training sessions on the weekend of March 13.
He got the notion to run both through his involvement with the Fayetteville-based Mustache Running Club, a group led by Brian Bailey, whose downtown Fayetteville shop supplies the club name. The Fayetteville resident will attempt both distances as well.
Bailey briefly tried to persuade both race directors to pair up for a special medal for finishers of both big races. Communication was slow between the groups, so he backed off that plan.
Without a medal to collect, he's left with his initial motivation -- "the honest answer is because I can," he said.
March 7 and 8, Bailey completed the Post Oak Challenge near Tulsa. The trail-running event consists of a 50K and marathon on back-to-back days, so he's cutting his training miles in the hope of recovering quickly enough for the double this weekend.
The hardest part of his training has been getting accustomed to so little time off.
"Most running programs give you rest days after your biggest training day," he said.
Going without that rest means a runner must be mentally prepared for the fatigue that will no doubt come his way. Bailey hopes that at 20 miles into Sunday's race, he'll have nice weather and friends to push him forward.
"I have become accustomed to the 'get it done' pace. The mental battle is becoming a fun part of running for me."
Neither Bosch nor Bailey will take much time off after doubling down. There's an unofficial marathon traveling between Bentonville and Fayetteville on April 19. And that run will be treated much like this weekend's double, Bailey said.
"Surround yourself with good training friends, run a lot, and don't expect any personal best times on the first try," he said.
ActiveStyle on 03/23/2015