Thursday, March 28, 2024

Vienna to be site of 100 and 50 mile trail runs

Tunnel_HillPlans are coming together for the first Tunnel Hill 100/50 mile races on the scenic Tunnel Hill Trail State Park in Johnson County.

The Tunnel Hill 100/50 run will be the first of its kind in Southernmost Illinois, attracting several hundred runners and supporters from across the country.

The timed race will be Saturday, November 15, starting and ending at the Vienna City Park, with a 30-hour time limit. Participants will start at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and finish no later than 2:00 p.m. Sunday.

The Tunnel Hill 100/50 run will give running enthusiasts the option of running 100 miles, or 50 miles.

The race is being conducted by Durbin Race Management of Western Kentucky, and hosted by the River to River Runners Club in Southern Illinois.

Race director Steve Durbin has successfully conducted many large running events throughout the region, including one of the largest trail runs in the United States at Kentucky’s Land Between The Lakes, with nearly 900 runners.

The River to River Runners Club is well-known in Southern Illinois for their annual River to River Relay held each spring, that crosses Union, Johnson and Pope counties.

The RRR Club also conducts the annual Tunnel Hill 10-mile Trail Run in early November at Vienna. This event has been ranked in the top ten 10-mile races by national running magazines for several years.

tunnel hill trail mapThe Tunnel Hill 100/50 racecourse:

The 100-mile run begins at the park in Vienna. Runners will head south 13.25 miles to the Cache River Wetlands Center, turn back north for 25 miles to the north turnaround, and then back 11.75 miles to the start/finish. This gives participants 50 miles. Repeat this course for the 100-mile run.

By repeating the 50-mile course, the route gives you the best course, with the most scenery. 50-mile runners will begin by running south for 13.25 miles, then turning back to run 25 miles north to the turnaround, and back 11.75 miles to the finish.

50-milers will run through the famous tunnel twice, and 100-milers four times.

Time limits: Both courses have the same 30 hours to finish. 100-milers must begin the second 50 in less than 15 hours.

Volunteers: If you would like to volunteer for this race, they’d love to have you for whatever length of time you’re available.

Questions about the race can be directed by email to Steve Durbin at durb417@gmail.com.

To sign up, visit http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=27957 or at Tunnel Hill 100 mile run with 50 mile option on facebook