Less than a month after it was first announced, the First Ever First Annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Zero K foot race in Hot Springs has already drawn 52 runners from five states.
Proceeds from the race will benefit Tri-Lakes CASA.
"In less than a month since we announced the event we've gotten 52 people to sign up," Desternie Sullivan, executive director of Tri-Lakes CASA, said Friday. "It's been mind-blowing."
What's more surprising, she said, is how far the race has reached.
"The first out-of-state registration came from Houston and that blew our minds, so we made a Facebook post saying we would give a prize to the person who travels the farthest," she said, noting that since that post CASA has received registrations from Texas, Tennessee, Missouri and Florida.
The idea for the event came later, she said, as the brainchild of Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, who while in Key West, Fla., learned about "Key West's Wacky Florida Keys Cow Key Channel Bridge Run."
"He got the idea while down in Florida where the granddaddy zero K race has runners going 300 feet over a bridge,” Sullivan said. “It's ironic that all of our St. Patrick's Day festivities happen on Bridge Street. Of course, our race is 299 feet because everything to do with our parade has to be the shortest.”
There will be three separate heats for the race. All races are self-timed, according to Visit Hot Springs.
The first heat will be for first-place contenders. Runners should bring their fastest run and try to set the world record.
The second heat -- the Leprechaun Dash -- encourages runners to dress up in their best St. Patrick's Day gear, or as their favorite leprechaun, and run.
The final heat is the Last Place Shootout for the slowest racer to cross the finish line while maintaining a forward motion. According to the release, "this one is great for younger kids, pets and the laziest of runners."
In a news release, Arrison said while organizers expected the Zero K would be a big hit with the public, "we didn't expect that word about the race would spread so quickly to states outside Arkansas. This is shaping up to be one of our great events for the city of Hot Springs.
"Since the whole racecourse is only 299 feet long, runners should get signed up soon because we can only fit a certain number of runners onto Bridge Street."
Sullivan said it's important to note that there will be a hydration station at the halfway point in the race route, "so for anyone who is getting a little tired and can't finish the race, we have you covered."
The registration deadline is Feb. 28. The entry fee will increase from $20 to $25 at midnight Jan. 31.