The Northwest Arkansas Hogeye tradition continues… it’s a PRETTY PIG DEAL! The Hogeye Marathon course will take runners past the city’s five major parks and, as in previous years, will include a portion of the Lake Fayetteville Trail. The course will be run primarily on Springdale streets, but sections will …
MORE
The Northwest Arkansas Hogeye tradition continues… it’s a PRETTY PIG DEAL!
The Hogeye Marathon course will take runners past the city’s five major parks and, as in previous years, will include a portion of the Lake Fayetteville Trail. The course will be run primarily on Springdale streets, but sections will run through Johnson and Fayetteville, and a small portion of the 26.2-mile course will take place on the Razorback Greenway.
The Hogeye Marathon & Relays, Inc. is a non-profit organization. The event is put on by volunteers and has always had the mission to give back to the NW Arkansas community, while promoting healthy lifestyles through running. In 1977, the first marathon started at the University of Arkansas and went to the small town of Hogeye where it turned around and came back, making the 26.2 miles. The course has since been changed to be more runner-friendly and covers the most scenic parts of Fayetteville. The Hogeye has a reputation and gives participants a pride which is unmatched in Arkansas and beyond.
LESS
Hilly Race in Arkansas
Overall, this is a nice race. The event is well organized, the water stations volunteers were great, and the finisher medal is quite snazzy. However, the second half of the … MORE
Overall, this is a nice race. The event is well organized, the water stations volunteers were great, and the finisher medal is quite snazzy. However, the second half of the race has some significant hills, so be prepared! Also, the fact that there was not a clock at the finish line was a tad disappointing. I am a runner who tends to dig a little deeper when I see the seconds ticking away on a large Timing Clock at the finish line…. I missed having a clock at the finish line of this race.
Great Race - Small Town Atmosphere
Website - As someone working on a half in all 50 states I love a race website that has all the information in an easy to find format. This race … MORE
Website – As someone working on a half in all 50 states I love a race website that has all the information in an easy to find format. This race has a fairly decent website but information was not update. All information is in the FAQ section but tabs were not updated. There were supposed to be shuttles from the host hotels and even though I asked on the FB page I never did figure out if they actually ran or not. Also, hadn’t noticed anywhere about getting the pull over as a finishers gift.
EXPO – was small but nice – everyone was friendly and the downtown is a nice place to walk around.
RACE DAY – Plenty of Porta Potties and everyone was so friendly and things were well organized. Plenty of parking nearby (within .3 )
RACE COURSE – It was one of my favorite races so far, it was a very pretty course. Going through a very rural town and into a pretty park. I had looked at reviews and the elevation chart and up until mile 6 I was thinking everyone who said this race was hilly hasn’t run a hilly course before. 🙂 As we turned left around mile 7 and I was staring down a long downhill I thought well crap, this is an out and back section. It took you down into and around the park which was absolutely pretty and nice to be running through. It was a loooooonnnnngggg uphill towards the finish and honestly not bad except it comes so late in the race. Crowd support is not a huge deal to me, I appreciate it when people are out but it doesn’t make or break a race for me, but there was a lot of crowd support on this race. Many funny signs and the aid stations had a lot of energy.
AID STATIONS – the aid stations seemed to be about every 1-1/2 to 2 miles which was awesome. They offered water and Gatorade. I don’t remember seeing and gels on the course but I don’t use them so I wasn’t looking for them.
POST RACE – An awesome after party!!! Pig snouts and a tech pullover were given at the finish line. Chicken sandwich, chocolate milk, water, banana – I honestly don’t remember everything they gave out. But it was a festive finish area.
SWAG – Short sleeve tech shirt – nice design and fit.
This was state #20 for me and was made extra special by having family (who live in ARK) surprise me at the finish line. The weather this year was pretty much perfect – 48 ish at the start and stayed very comfortable the whole race.
Hotter and hillier in the last half
Beautiful course and nice weather. We had good cloud cover for the first half of the race; however, once the clouds cleared out, it got much hotter. Over al a … MORE
Beautiful course and nice weather. We had good cloud cover for the first half of the race; however, once the clouds cleared out, it got much hotter. Over al a great experience.
Fantastic small town race
For a small town race, fantastic job with things like traffic control, fluid stations and volunteers. Lots of great energy. Didn't like the uphill the last 3 miles, but otherwise … MORE
For a small town race, fantastic job with things like traffic control, fluid stations and volunteers. Lots of great energy. Didn’t like the uphill the last 3 miles, but otherwise I enjoyed the course. Highly recommend!
Great race with great support
There is no shortage of volunteers for this race. It’s been happening for 46 years. The course is not too hard for being in Arkansas. There a lots of little … MORE
There is no shortage of volunteers for this race. It’s been happening for 46 years. The course is not too hard for being in Arkansas. There a lots of little hills but nothing like my training run. The swag is top notch.
Alternative to Little Rock
This was a well put on race. There is a tough hill around mile 9 but after that it's pretty much flat. Went with my husband and a friend. MORE
This was a well put on race. There is a tough hill around mile 9 but after that it’s pretty much flat. Went with my husband and a friend.
Lots of fun, low pressure
Friendly staff and volunteers, good crowd support for a small race. Nice course using Northwest Arkansas’s scenic trail system. Rolling hills that you should prepare for, but it’s not like … MORE
Friendly staff and volunteers, good crowd support for a small race. Nice course using Northwest Arkansas’s scenic trail system. Rolling hills that you should prepare for, but it’s not like running in the mountains. I hope to run it again.
Great paved trails
A little chilly at the start, 28 degrees, but warmed up to about mid 50s. Race run on combination of roads and paved trails. Very nice trails with lots of … MORE
A little chilly at the start, 28 degrees, but warmed up to about mid 50s. Race run on combination of roads and paved trails. Very nice trails with lots of nice woods and shade. Plenty of rolling hills and nothing too crazy. Sadly there was no alcohol on the course with exception of great jello shots at mile 26 aid station. They were great and refreshing, had 3! May run this one again. I was one of the 5:30 pacers, had a blast!
Well-Run and Friendly
The communication about the race was excellent from registration to post-race photo links. The volunteers and fellow runners were all friendly and made up for the lack of on-course scenery. MORE
The communication about the race was excellent from registration to post-race photo links. The volunteers and fellow runners were all friendly and made up for the lack of on-course scenery.
Excellent race
Since this was the first race since the start of the pandemic it went off very well. Unfortunately the weather was wet and ended up quite chilly. I haven't run … MORE
Since this was the first race since the start of the pandemic it went off very well. Unfortunately the weather was wet and ended up quite chilly. I haven’t run much lately but had one of the best races I had in a long time. I’m not a fast runner but I enjoy being out there with everyone.
Gorgeous course - but yough
This was one of the first races toward the end (hopefully) of Covid lockdown so there were things that were understandably missing (like an expo). Keeping the above in mind, … MORE
This was one of the first races toward the end (hopefully) of Covid lockdown so there were things that were understandably missing (like an expo). Keeping the above in mind, the race went off remarkably well. The planned staggered start went off quicker than planned due to the deluge of rain (and it rained the entire race, but it was a war mush rain). Great volunteers and well-stocked aid stations were plentiful. It was a smaller race but they had very friendly pacers, which a lot of the small races don’t include. There was even a random guy passing out jello shots toward the end (don’t mind if I do, thank you!). This part of Arkansas was absolutely wonderful from the ease of the airport to great restaurants to choose from. Anybody needing Arkansas will not be disappointed in this choice. Kudos to all involved.
Not my best performance.
I really like the race production and RD. Everything was extremely well organized. Unfortunately, I was uninformed about the number of hills and the heat got to me before the … MORE
I really like the race production and RD. Everything was extremely well organized. Unfortunately, I was uninformed about the number of hills and the heat got to me before the end. Count it up to bad planning on my part. Watch the weather on this race… it can be extreme.
A hidden gem
This was a GREAT EVENT! It was well run, well organized. The volunteers were AWESOME, the water stops were practically EVERY SINGLE MILE. They all had water, of course, most … MORE
This was a GREAT EVENT! It was well run, well organized. The volunteers were AWESOME, the water stops were practically EVERY SINGLE MILE. They all had water, of course, most had gatorade (some full strength and some diluted) and MANY MANY had fuel as well! Gels, chews, oranges, etc… The people at each station were plentiful, encouraging, and positive! (There were a FEW spots where volunteers were supposed to be guiding runners on the course (turn here, not that way, etc) and at LEAST one stop the teenagers who were there (no adult) were laying in the path (effectively blocking the WRONG WAY, I’ll give them that) but it was a little ridiculous and at mile 22.5, you don’t have a lot of energy to be amused at ridiculous. The medals are big and heavy with a spinner and glitter. Loved it. The SIGNS at each mile were BIG! You knew where you were! There were some NOT scenic parts of Springdale we ran through, but there were some BEAUTIFUL PARTS! I had low expectations of Arkansas, but I left VERY PLEASANTLY SURPRISED!! If I were taking a survey and it asked me my opinion of the Hogeye Marathon is much better than before! I would go back and run it again (despite the hills) and that is saying something since I would NOT go back and run the DC RnR again. Nope never. I would highly recommend this one. GREAT value for the price, and a great positive experience! Also the photos are free! Another huge plus in my book!
Right size, Lots of Volunteers
This is a beautiful run, much of it through parks in Springdale and Fayetteville, AR. The area is hilly, but the course was not too bad - a few significant … MORE
This is a beautiful run, much of it through parks in Springdale and Fayetteville, AR. The area is hilly, but the course was not too bad – a few significant climbs between miles 12 – 15. The run went through the minor league ballpark – a nice touch. Starting line was easy to get to with plenty of nearby parking. Volunteers were at every crossing even thought it was a cold and blustery day. Excellent race.
Fun race with great community support
I really enjoyed this race even though the weather was cold and super windy. The course has some rolling hills and has some parts that move from road to paved … MORE
I really enjoyed this race even though the weather was cold and super windy. The course has some rolling hills and has some parts that move from road to paved running trails. Community support was great. A few more port-a-poties at the start would have been good and a better communication regarding hotel shuttle buses and replying to Facebook communications. Post race food was great!
Great race!!
Great race, good swag, good course support. Nice medals and awards. All aspects of the race went smooth. Weather was less than ideal but the RD can’t control the weather. … MORE
Great race, good swag, good course support. Nice medals and awards. All aspects of the race went smooth. Weather was less than ideal but the RD can’t control the weather.
Need port-a-pots at the start line. Not enough bathrooms at preface.
Great course-great support
This was a very cool course. I was skeptical of moving the race of Fayetteville, but the city of Springdale really works hard to provide support and security for the … MORE
This was a very cool course. I was skeptical of moving the race of Fayetteville, but the city of Springdale really works hard to provide support and security for the runners. The race displays the trails and the streets via this course so there was a lot to take in. We even ran inside of the Arkansas Naturals AA baseball stadium. Post race swag and food was the best I’ve ever seen.
Fun race, long history.
NWA has a fun running community. The organization at The Hogeye has a long history and is set to continue well into the future. The 2015 course was the 2nd … MORE
NWA has a fun running community. The organization at The Hogeye has a long history and is set to continue well into the future. The 2015 course was the 2nd of 3 major route changes. This course took you through downtown Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas and utilized the Razorback Greenway trail system with a nice loop around Lake Fayetteville. Now the race has moved a wee bit north into Springdale, but the course looks very promising. I can’t wait to run the new course on my birthday in a few more years.