Endurance Running Events
Can the seventh annual Herb Parsons Trail Marathon and Half Marathon top the sixth annual race? Of course!!! The seventh annual race is set for Sunday, January 5, 2020. The faster new loop course was well received at the 2019 race. Small tweaks to the course might make it even more fun-to-run in 2020. The marathon starts at 8:00 AM, and the half marathon starts at 8:30 AM. The race takes place at Herb Parsons Lake located in Fayette County TN about 45 minutes from downtown Memphis.
Registration for the 2020 race will open on/about September 1st.
$55 for the half marathon and $75 for the marathon. Online registration closes at 8:00PM central time (9:00PM eastern time which is the time zone that Ultrasignup uses) Friday January 4th.
For those runners who would prefer to copy and paste the registration link into their browsers the race registration link is https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=60149.
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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 4th 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.
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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.
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This is a trail race that uses some of the great single track trail at Herb Parsons Lake. The course is slightly faster than previous years due to being a slightly flatter course. Two counter-clockwise loops around the lake to complete the half marathon, and four loops around the lake to complete 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 will be well marked with arrow signs, ribbon, and flour markings.
Note: The interconnecting trails at Herb Parsons are labeled as the green, red, and yellow trails.
To run the course loop, start near the six-picnic-table pavilion south of the parking lot. Run across the parking lot to the START sign and start running a counterclockwise loop around the lake. At the .45 mile mark at the end of the levee go right following the red/yellow trail. When the trail returns near to the lake again at about the 1.6 mile mark take a quick left and then a quick right to jump onto the green trail (just look left to see the green arrow sign). Stay on the green trail. At about the 3.9 mile mark continue straight instead of following the green trail which goes left for a quick loop. Continue straight on the green/red/yellow trail 50 yards later. At the 4.4 mile mark the trail hits the road – go left and cross the bridge. Jump back onto singletrack shortly after crossing the bridge (there is a sign at the trail). At about the 5.3 mile mark after crossing a short trail bridge go right at the Y following the yellow trail. Both trails come together about three tenths of a mile later; continue on the combined trail until it ends near the lake parking lot. Cross the parking lot and head to the six picnic table pavilion to finish the loop.
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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The 2019 finisher award is pictured above.
↑Historical average high and low temperatures for Herb Parsons Lake on January 5th are 49 and 28 degrees.
↑The 2019 marathon results are linked here, and the 2019 half marathon results are linked here.
The 2018 marathon results are linked here, and the 2018 half marathon results are linked here.
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.
↑Aid Stations: 1.6, 4.4, 6.6, 8.2, 10.9, 13.1, 14.7, 17.5, 19.7, 21.3, and 24.0
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 desired/needed.
↑Runners have seven and a half hours to complete the marathon and seven hours to complete the half marathon. Half marathoners must start their second loop by noon, and marathoners must start their third loop by 1:30PM in order to finish the race.
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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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