On your marks — runners are invited to join the Run the Lake 5k at 9 a.m. Saturday on the Allison Cemetery Trail at Lake Wappapello State Park. The course is the latest race offered by the Poplar Bluff Trails Coalition, which also organizes the Wolf Creek and Victory Trail runs.
PBTC President Brock Littles said the group decided to create another trail run to show off area trails less renowned than Wolf Creek.
“It was mainly just to give an awareness to people that there are trails out there other than Wolf Creek to hike or run,” he explained, adding they settled on a 5k because the region already has half marathons and 8-mile runs.
With the 10th annual Wolf Creek Trail Run in April and the return of the Victory Trail Run in September, Littles also hopes the timing of the races will inspire people to keep fit throughout the spring, summer and fall.
The Feb. 11 race will cover the looped Allison Cemetery Trail. According to Littles, “It’s kind of an unknown treasure really, it’s got great lake views. And it is a rocky course, but it’s really pretty.”
PBTC members volunteer for trail maintenance duties across Southeast Missouri. Many run and bike those trails outside their work.
“We’ve got a group of board members that stay pretty active and they’re our eyes and ears,” said Littles. “They go out and they’ll hit these different trails, and we know what ones need the work the most.
“We’ve already been out there (Allison Cemetery Trail) two times since Christmas, working the trail, cutting trees that have fallen down. Especially with the snowfall and whatnot, you’re always going to have limbs falling...I’m going to go out there a day or two before the race and try and clean it up a little bit and mark it so people don’t get lost. I don’t anticipate that to happen, but you never know,” he went on.
First-time trail runners should expect running off-road to be more physically demanding than paved terrain and will need to watch their step to avoid rocks and other small obstacles.
“The ground’s more giving than what you’d have on a sidewalk or city street, so you have to be nimble and it’s much more work,” Littles explained.
Littles thanked community sponsors for their support of this new trail run, including fellow runner and Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce President Steve Halter, Butler County EMS, Henson Trash Service, Black River Outdoors, Mossy Oak Properties, Rowland Family Dentistry, First Midwest Bank and See the Ozarks.
Runners can sign up for the event on ultrasignup.com and by emailing Littles at blittles@onemidwest.com. Registration is $30.
More information about PBTC and its upcoming projects can be found at poplarblufftrails.org