Hosted each spring in Greensfelder County Park in Wildwood, Mo., the Ozark Foothills Endurance Runs offers 100 Mile, 100K, 50 Mile, 50K, Night-50K, Marathon and 25K, 25K RUCK and 1Mi Kids Fun Run distance options. This is a looped course that utilizes some of the region’s top-rated trails, varying terrain …
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Hosted each spring in Greensfelder County Park in Wildwood, Mo., the Ozark Foothills Endurance Runs offers 100 Mile, 100K, 50 Mile, 50K, Night-50K, Marathon and 25K, 25K RUCK and 1Mi Kids Fun Run distance options. This is a looped course that utilizes some of the region’s top-rated trails, varying terrain that ranges from steep grade to rolling hills with a mix of roots and rocks to keep you present.
Come run the scenic and technical terrain laying at the foothills of the gently rolling Ozark Mountain range. More than 80 percent single-track.
The course is designed for the adventurous and well-prepared trail/ultrarunner. The terrain is challenging with single-track trails,small sections of fire/dirt road with substantial rocks, roots and /or ruts along with few small creek crossings to keep you present along the way. This is a hilly course; total climbs between 50-150 feet per mile with a few long ascents and descents of 360 feet per mile.
The 25K distance comprises of one loop connecting Deer Run, Eagle Valley, Beulah, Fossil Ridge, DeClue and Dogwood trails at Greensfelder Park. The loop has a cumulative elevation gain of 1,700 feet. The 100Mi distance comprises of four loops of the Marathon course (26.2-ish Mi loop X 4) with a cumulative elevation gain of 14,000 feet.
The course offers a challenging terrain ranging from steep grade to rolling hills, rocks, roots and creek crossings that will make for a fairly technical loop course.
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Great race and scenery
It is a difficult race with a rolling hills, rocks, sticking out roots with elevation gain 3,500 feet. So far it was the most difficult marathon out of 9th for … MORE
It is a difficult race with a rolling hills, rocks, sticking out roots with elevation gain 3,500 feet. So far it was the most difficult marathon out of 9th for me. Yet the most rewarding.
Fun course, but poorly organized
The Course: I'm a fan. Well-marked with rolling hills, surface ranged from rocky and fairly technical to smooth and fast, couple of creek crossings. Nothing super-steep, but plenty of incline … MORE
The Course: I’m a fan. Well-marked with rolling hills, surface ranged from rocky and fairly technical to smooth and fast, couple of creek crossings. Nothing super-steep, but plenty of incline and decline. 2021 was a weird year because it was pouring rain the days before and during the race, which made the course ridiculously muddy. I can’t believe the park allowed us to destroy the trails like that, but not my call.
The Finish Line: Disappointing. I passed through the finish area twice (once halfway through, then again at the actual finish), and both times, everyone seemed surprised and indifferent to see me. On the pass through, no one offered anything – I had to ask if there was water and, if so, where. At the finish, there was very little celebration or cheering for finishers, and no one even offered a beer until someone got upset that I sat down on what I thought was just an empty cooler (turns out the beer was inside). Lunch was extremely limited, and they ran out of one of the two options before even the 3rd-place runner finished the 50-mile race. There’s a theme here: it felt like the runners were just viewed as a burden.
The Organization: Disappointing. In addition to the issues above, I know the female winner of the 50-mile, and my wife won the 50k, but no one even bothered to tell either of them that they won. We didn’t find out my wife had won until hours later, that night, when results were posted online (way too late to participate in the winners’ photo and receive the award/plaque). When we asked about it, the response was that she just left too quickly. For the record, she changed shoes, at lunch, then literally stood 10 feet away while they handed me my plaque and took a photo of me (after waiting too long and failing to notify the other men’s finishers, too). Plenty of time to do the same for her. That’s particularly frustrating because the race is touted as female-run. So celebrate the females who worked their butts off running, too!! I’m used to races in which everyone is welcoming, friendly, and supportive. That just was not the vibe here at all.
In sum, this race has great potential, but needs some major work on the organizational front. This was a brutal year to be running, and equally brutal for the workers and volunteers, who were wet and cold with the rest of us. I get that, and I appreciate them putting it on anyway. No one wants to run a race that isn’t fun, though, and this could and should have been fun despite the rain. It’s a shame that it wasn’t.