Neal Denton/The Baxter Bulletin
The White River Marathon for Kenya has a slightly new course as it returns for its 18th edition Saturday in Cotter.
Instead of ending at the Denton Ferry RV Park like in past years, the final 2 miles of the marathon will now run south, down the Cotter walking trail, ending at Big Spring Park.
“I’ve been touting it as the world’s largest finish-line arch,” race director Paul Gigliotti said. “The finish line is literally under the rainbow arch bridge.”
The first 24 miles of the race will still be on pavement, but the final 2 miles will be on gravel.
“People with the Cotter Chamber have been asking me for years, ‘why don’t you finish in the park?’ The big reason we didn’t is it’s a road race and a Boston Marathon qualifier,” Gigliotti explained. “That last 2 miles is on that fine-packed gravel. It’s nice to run on, but if you’re really going for speed — the road runners might not like it.”
The marathon and half marathon start at 7 a.m., and the 5K begins at 7:30. All runners for each race must be present at the Cotter school before 6:45 a.m. to avoid traffic conflicting with the start of the race.
Numbers are down this year due to the Little Rock Marathon pushing its event from March to the same weekend as the White River Marathon. With overall numbers lower, Gigliotti increased the amount of 5K runners allowed.
“We’re at the cusp of 500 right now, and we cap it at 750,” Gigliotti said on Wednesday. “The 5K is sold out already. At first, we capped it at 125, but with the lower numbers in the other races because of Little Rock, we raised it to 160 and it still sold out.”
Gigliotti also said the course had to be recertified through USA Track and Field, so it was a good time to make the change.
“They’ll run across Highway 62, down Denton Ferry Road to where it flattens out,” he said. “Where the finish line used to be, at the cul de sac, they’ll still turn around there. It’s been tough to mark — I don’t know how many miles I’ve put on my car driving the same 7-mile stretch.
“The finish is prettier, too,” he added. “They’re right on the river. It also gives us a cool finish-line area. Our Achilles heel was spectator parking before, and we used shuttles from the school all day. Now, they can just drive themselves down to Big Spring Park.”
Even with lower numbers, the event is still drawing runners from around the country.
“I believe there were 28 states represented as of (Wednesday),” Gigliotti said. “With the new course, I think we’ll get some back who have done it in the past. This year, we have our first runner from Venezuela, I believe. We usually have someone from Ontario, Canada, or Puerto Rico or somewhere.”
And many locals have participated in the event since its inception.
“Kathryn Grace, who lives out on Cranfield Road,” Gigliotti said, “she’s over 80 years old and does the marathon every year. Kathryn does her marathon early there on her road and turns in her time sheet. It took her 10 hours, but she finished it. She’ll come and participate on race day and walk the 5K.”
Proceeds from the race still go to benefit the work in Kenya by World Vision International, an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization.
“We had adopted the village of Katito, Kenya, in the past, but they’ve finished that project,” Gigliotti said. “This is a new village, and it goes toward mother-and-child services. It’s all through World Vision, and they are sending representatives out here this year and will have a table set up near the finish line.”
Gigliotti said there will be no pasta dinner Friday night, but Rapp's Barren and House of Pizza are offering discounts to runners on Friday and Saturday. Registration is still available Friday at Fit.1, located at 905 South Street in Mountain Home.
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November 19, 2021 at 01:19AM
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White River Marathon returns with new course - Baxter Bulletin
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