The Hare Mountain 100 is a point-to-point, graduate level run through the most isolated, rugged terrain in Arkansas. It is extremely difficult. Big climbs and relentless smaller, steep climbs in between.
The Ozark Highlands Trail is hiked by thousands of people every year. While very remote, it is not a primitive, unmarked trail by any means. It is a National Scenic Trail maintained by volunteer members of the Ozark Highlands Trail Association.
But, please do not sign up if you are not comfortable with:
-being self sufficient
-no extra marking beyond trail blazes and wooden trail signs
-navigation
-carrying a little extra gear for your safety.
-long distances between some major aid stations (~12 miles is max on a couple, rest are below that distance)
A satellite GPS tracking device and the course GPX downloaded on your phone is a requirement for the 100. The tracker can be yours/borrowed or rented from Maprogress. It will be checked during check-in to make sure you have it. While the trail is marked very well with white blazes for the main trail and blue blazes for the spurs, turns can be missed. Sometimes trees fall where the trail turns. Sometimes the tree with the blaze falls. Sometimes leaves cover the trail. Sometimes it's foggy. It's the wilderness. It's a raw and incredible experience. Be confident you can stay/get back on course.
This is a 100 mile, advanced level, endurance event that incorporates 2 scenic spur loops along the Ozark Highlands Trail. It is located in the Northwestern part of Arkansas across the Boston Mountain segment.
Hare Mountain is the highest point on the OHT at ~2400 feet. This segment covers 164 miles of rocky, steep and rugged hardwood, cedar and pine forests. We’re utilizing 100 miles of the most difficult sections.
There are several creek crossings, amazing wildlife, incredible fall colors, waterfalls, bluffs and beautiful sandstone outcrops.
The race director grew up on this trail. It means a lot to her to bring such a wild and challenging experience to runners.
Measurements taken by GPS and topographic mapping have put elevation gain between 20,000-24,400 feet. It depends on the device/app. Runners will have 38 hours to complete the 100 mile run.

The 50 mile (16 hour cutoff, 6am start on the 24th) and 50k (10 hour cutoff, 9am start on the 24th) are out and back courses for 2026 due to the shuttle focus shifting to the 100. That means more elevation gain for each. Both start and finish at Shores Lake recreation area. The 50 mile will turn around at Cherry Bend TH and has ~12,000 feet of elevation gain. Check-in for the 50 mile is at the pavilion starting at 5am.

The 50k is an incredible course comprised of 6 big climbs and descents with 7000 feet of elevation gain. Runners leave Shores Lake, run to Ragtown Rd Aid and return via the same route.

The 25k loop starts and finishes at Shores Lake. Runners will go up the West side of the Shores Lake/White Rock loop, top out at White Rock lower TH parking, before descending to the spur for the East side of the loop. This course has 3000 feet of elevation gain.

The White Rock Ascent starts at the junction of the East side spur and the main OHT. Runners run to the top of White Rock (lower TH parking) for their time and run or walk back down to Salt Fork Aid. It has ~1300 feet of gain in 1.8 miles. It is a pretty hardcore climb.

The 100 mile shuttle is $30. We cover the rest. It leaves Shores Lake on Friday morning at 7:30AM sharp. Be there by 7:00AM. It will be in the gravel overflow parking between the pavilion area and the campground. If you are driving and parking for the day, back in. If you are camping in the campground, walk a short distance up the road.

If you drop at an aid station and you do not have crew, you will have to wait until that aid station breaks down before they can get you back to the finish. Perhaps in the future we can have a volunteer who would like to drive along the course and pick up dropped runners. It’s a long course for the 100, so it would definitely be a big ask. We are going to try though, for the future.

The 100 mile has had evelations gain between 17,000 and 24,400 with the average slightly over 20,000. GAIA, when we first created a route in this app to add waypoints more easily, had the course at over 20,000’ of gain. An update in their system significantly reduced the gain to around 13,000. This is highly inaccurate. We contacted them and we have worked with their support team to try to figure out what went wrong. They may or may not be able to fix this. When you sign up, you will get an email with a link to runners who have completed the 100 so you can see their Strava activity. The two years we held the event while there was more tree cover (due to more leaves), the gain dropped a bit on average. We think moving it back to the original date, will change this too. It is 20,000’ of gain and slightly more loss. It is also over 100 miles, with many runners getting 106 miles.

All of our distances except the 10k are UTMB Index races because we realize some runners would like to run at UTMB. We are allowing runners to improve their performance score, without losing our autonomy.

-Everything is easier for you with a crew. You can camp at the start if you have a crew or some prearranged way of getting back to your car if you do not purchase a shuttle ticket. You cannot leave a car there otherwise. The race is providing transportation to the start from the finish at 7:30am Friday morning
-There are hotels in Clarksville (on I-40) about 30 minutes south of the start
-There are rentals in the area near start
-Ozone campground is at mile 17
-Redding campground is at mile 62.
Ozark is about 30 minutes south of Redding on highway 23 and has hotels. Turner Bend and Byrd's also have cabins and campgrounds near Redding. Turner Bend is on highway 23 and Byrd's is on highway 215 (same highway Redding and Indian Creek aid stations are on). There's also a lot of free dispersed camping in the area on forest service land.
-The finish is at Shores Lake Recreation Area in a campground. You can camp at the finish. Nearby is White Rock with a campground and cabins. There are hotels along interstate I-40 in Alma, Van Buren, Fort Smith (also suggested airport to use).
If you do not have crew and are riding the shuttle, Alma has the closest hotels near Shores Lake

There is no Packet Pick-Up/Check-In before race day. It’s too remote for this to work for us for any distance.
For the 100, you check-in at Haw Creek starting at 9AM.
The 50 mile, 50k and 25k check-in is at the Shores Lake pavilion starting at 6:00AM Saturday.

1. Will I get lost?
   You probably will not get lost but you might have to pause and think for a moment, check your GPX course route. Most runners who get off trail know pretty quick. It’s more likely to occur if you have not read the detailed course description, studied section maps and/or did not download, the required, GPX file.
   

2. Can I defer to the next year?
   Maybe.
   

3. Can I get a refund?
   No, we cannot offer refunds. Everything goes into the race or the trail, most of it early on, besides food.

4. Is the trail marked?
   The trail is marked with white blazes for the main trail and blue blazes for the spurs. They are rectangles. If the are tilted in one direction or another, watch for a turn. If they are level, watch for a very sharp turn. There are also wooden trail signs. That is where part of the race proceeds go. The RD routs new signs to put up on 4×4 post in areas of need. This is her pet project for the OHT.

5. What if it rains a lot and the creeks are too high to cross?
   If the creeks are somewhat high, we will rope them. If they are flooding we will alter the course if it is on race day or the day before race day. If it is predicted to flood 3-4 days before the race we will cancel or talk to the forest service about rescheduling (unlikely to happen due to hunting seasons).

6. What’s the weather like?
   It could be 80 with lows in the low 40’s and dry. It could be 50 and raining. It could be 70 and clear. It could really be anything. If you are in the 100 or 50, do not skip the required gear.

   
   

The 100- The cutoff for the 100 is 38 hours. However, our policy is, if you get to the last aid station, Salt Fork, before the cutoff time there. then we will give you an official finish even if the last few miles to Shores Lake put you over 38 hours. So the key is to get to Salt Fork on time.
The 50 Mile-The cutoff for the 50 mile is 16 hours. However, our policy is, if you get to the last aid station, Salt Fork, before the cutoff time there. then we will give you an official finish even if the last few miles to Shores Lake put you over 16 hours. So the key is to get to Salt Fork on time (3PM).
the 50k-The cutoff for the 50k is 10 hours. However, our policy is, if you get to the last aid station, Salt Fork, before the cutoff time there then we will give you an official finish even if the last few miles to Shores Lake put you over 10 hours. So the key is to get to Salt Fork on time (noon).
the 25k-The cutoff for the 25k is 7 hours. You need to be at Salt Fork in 4 hours (11AM).
10k-The 10k needs to be complete in 5 hours or less. You should be at the first creek crossing and turning around by 2.5 hours in those 3 miles out.

The Ozark Higlands Trail is one of the great long trails in the US. We use part of the original 165 miles covering the Boston Mountains. It is rugged, steep, rocky and beautiful. There are lots of creeks and waterfalls and fall colors of yellows, oranges, reds, and even maroons. It makes our race an aided expedition through tough wilderness.

All drop bags and lost items will return to the finish at Shores Lake pavilion. And while we wish we could, we cannot afford to ship every left item back to runners. If you are local, hopefully we can get with you soon. If you are out of state, you can let us know what you want to do (hang onto until you are back the next year (we know you’ll want to come see us again!), you want to pay to have it shipped to you, donate it, etc.

You can have a pacer starting at Ozone Aid.
All pacers will sign a waiver and get a wristband. The waiver and wrist band can be picked up at the start if you are there to drop your runner. If you pick them up at an aid station later, that aid station will have the waiver and wrist bands. Wrist bands will have the Bib number of your runner, your last name and the aid station you are starting from.