Endurance Running Events
The fifth annual Herb Parsons Trail Marathon and Half Marathon is planned for Sunday, January 7, 2018. The marathon will start at 8:00 AM and the half marathon will start at 8:30 AM. The race will take place at Herb Parsons Lake located in Fayette County TN about 45 minutes from downtown Memphis.
Registration for the 2018 race will open in September 2017.
$40 for the half marathon and $55 for the marathon until December 7th; $55 for the half marathon and $70 for the marathon after December 7th. Online registration closes at 8:00PM central time (9:00PM eastern time which is the time zone that Ultrasignup uses) Friday January 5th.
↑The race takes place at Herb Parsons Lake. To obtain directions from maps.google.com or similar map websites, input the following GPS location which is the GPS location for the Lake entrance – 35.13721,-89.62653. The address 1295 Fisherville RD Collierville, TN 38017 is located just south of the lake entrance.
Directions to the park are copied below in the Directions section.
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Pre-race packet pickup is planned for Saturday January 7th at Three Guys Pizza Pies from 5:00-6:30PM at 9045 HWY 64, STE 105 Memphis, TN 38016. Pick up your packet and enjoy some good pizza, spaghetti, etc. The Three Guys menu can be seen at http://www.3guyspizzapies.com/20-2/. Three Guys is located a mile east of I-40 off of Exit 18 next to the Kroger.
Race day packet pickup will commence at 7:15 AM at Herb Parsons at the race start line on the west side of the parking lot.
↑There is plenty of parking space at the Lake in in the paved parking area and on the grass/open areas along the lake entry road. There will be signs saving some of the parking near the dock for fishermen.
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1) From I-40, take Exit 24/25 to HWY 385 and head south for 6.9 miles to the HWY 193 exit. At the end of the off ramp turn left and head east on HWY 193 for a mile. Turn right onto Fisherville Road and head 1.2 miles south to the lake entrance on the left. The start line is on the west side of the parking lot.
2) From Collierville and most points south, take HWY 385 and head north to the HWY 193 exit. At the end of the off ramp turn right and head east on HWY 193 for a mile. Turn right onto Fisherville Road and head 1.2 miles south to the lake entrance on the left. The start line is on the west side of the parking lot.
↑The best airport to fly into to run the Herb Parsons Marathon and Half is the Memphis International Airport (MEM). The Travel Math nearest airport to Collierville, TN link is http://www.travelmath.com/nearest-airport/Collierville,+TN.
↑1) For those traveling to the race from the east or west, the closest hotels to the start are off of I-40 exit 20 in Lakeland. The hotel choices at this exit are Super 8, Relax Inn, and Motel 6 which are 15 minutes from the Lake. Five minutes further away are additional hotels off of I-40 exits 16 and 18 in the Cordova area of Memphis.
2) For those traveling to the race from the south there are several hotels in Collierville about 15-20 minutes away from the Lake.
↑This is a trail race – an out and back on great single track trail for the half and two out and backs for the marathon. The trail is well shaded with some twists and turns. There are few rocks on the trail, but there are plenty of roots on this very run-able trail. The races start at the west side of the parking lot. The course follows the trail on the west, south and east sides of the Lake. At the 6.56 mile mark runners reach the turnaround aid station at Lakeview Road at which point runners head back to the start. The course will be well marked with arrow signs, ribbon, and flour markings.
This course is not USATF certified hence it is not a Boston Marathon qualifying event.
↑If you would like to be a race volunteer please contact Mike at events@altisendurance.com. Volunteers earn free race entries for themselves (or to donate to a friend/relative) in any Altis Endurance race.
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Historical average high and low temperatures for Herb Parsons Lake on January 7th are 49 and 28 degrees.
↑The 2017 marathon results have been posted at https://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=41057 and the 2017 half marathon results have been posted at https://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=41058.
The 2016 marathon results are here, and the 2016 half marathon results are here.
The 2015 marathon results are here. The 2015 half results are here.
The 2014 marathon results are here. The 2014 half results are here.
↑For the half: 3.35, 6.56, 9.8
For the marathon: 3.35, 6.56, 9.8, 13.12, 16.5, 19.68, 22.9
The usual long distance trail race food will be provided at the aid stations, ie. cookies, chips, water, and Gatorade. It is recommended that runners bring their own energy gels, electrolytes, and water bottle to the race as needed.
↑Runners have seven and a half hours to complete the marathon and seven hours to complete the half marathon. Half marathoners must be through the turnaround aid station by noon, and marathoners must be through the turnaround aid station the second time by 1:30PM in order to finish the race.
↑This race is a no shirt race. 2014 entrants received a car drink cup coaster with the race logo on it and a pair of gloves. Swag for the 2015 race included gloves and a Herb Parsons Marathon and Half ice scraper. 2016 swag included gloves, ice scrapers, and a few remaining drink coasters. 2017 swag is TBD.
↑As is the case with most races, there will be no refunds of entry fees to entrants. Transfers of race bibs from one runner to another is also not allowed. There is no camping at Herb Parsons Lake. This event is limited to 225 entrants.
↑If you have any questions please contact Mike at events@altisendurance.com.
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