Take a run and/or a gravel grinder through a little slice of heaven in Cherokee County, nestled along the beautiful Illinois River. The Pumpkin Holler 100-Mile, 100K, 50K, 25K, and 10-mile races will take part in the beautiful J.T. Nickel Preserve. The largest privately protected conservation area in the Ozark, …
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Take a run and/or a gravel grinder through a little slice of heaven in Cherokee County, nestled along the beautiful Illinois River.
The Pumpkin Holler 100-Mile, 100K, 50K, 25K, and 10-mile races will take part in the beautiful J.T. Nickel Preserve. The largest privately protected conservation area in the Ozark, the Nickel Preserve is a 17,000-acre remote area northeast of Tahlequah, OK, and runs alongside the scenic Illinois River. The preserve was formed in 2000 as the result of a land gift from the John Nickel Family. This 17,000-acre landscape rests in eastern Oklahoma’s rolling Cookson Hills and has many spring-fed creeks amid a rugged topography of steep slopes and narrow valleys. The surrounding areas are characterized by steep canyons and narrow ridges, harboring a mosaic of oak-hickory forest, lofty pine woodland, and a diverse mix of savanna, shrub-land and prairie.
The course consists of gravel country roads with a few nice climbs. It is home to grassy prairies, oaks and pines, and an extensive system of tributaries feeding the Illinois River to the south. The tree covered trail will be bursting with yellows, and reds and browns as the trees are just beginning to turn colors and show off their magnificent fall foliage. We simply believe that we have found a little slice of heaven in our otherwise mad world.
Pumpkin Holler also boasts some of THE BEST aid stations and aid station volunteers around. Most of our volunteers are experienced ultra-runners and know how to take care of you. They feed you, hug you (if you need it) and get you in and out of the aid stations and on your way to the finish!
The gravel race is SUNDAY and will be held alongside the already established Pumpkin Holler 100 mile running race and will share the road with the 100 mile runners as they are finishing up their event. You will do one loop for the 30 or two loops for the 60 with a 10 mile out and back in the middle of your first loop for the 70 milers.
Cherokee County
The Pumpkin Holler race is set in the middle of Cherokee County and runs right next to the beautiful Illinois River. Tahlequah is deeply immersed in Native American tradition and history. With the newly designed belt buckle and finishers medals we hope to represent some of that history.
Did you know that Wilson Rawls novel “Where the Red Fern Grows” was set in the Ozark hills in and around Tahlequah Oklahoma? You also run right past the Nichols Wildlife Preserve. The scenery around Pumpkin Holler is spectacular!
Pumpkin Holler derives its name not because it is near Halloween but because there is “Pumpkin Holler” history. There is literally a small community on the course called Pumpkin Holler!
Check out the History Page on the race website for information on the Pumpkin Holler name and history of the Pumpkin Hollow area of Cherokee County.
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My first 50k
This race had a pickup at the local runners world. The course is along side of a river where you can do float trips. As I am not a trail … MORE
This race had a pickup at the local runners world. The course is along side of a river where you can do float trips. As I am not a trail runner this had some easy roads to run down. However, you must be ready to climb hill after hill. Then you have cattle guards and one place with a weird rock formation. However the usually roots and large rocks weren’t present. I am glad it was dry that day but it was hot… so I survived and now I am Ultra Man… no I have completed one 50k. I will leave the rest to others. Cheers