Although the weather was perfect for a run in the woods the trail was leaf covered and slippery thanks to the rain that came through the days before. The wooden bridges were especially slippery. I heard that the first bridge took a runner out. I don’t know who it was but hope they are healed and running again. The trails were well maintained and the views were gorgeous!



I am talker, maybe it has something to do with being a middle child, and not having been heard as a child. When people that don’t know me run beside me and strike up conversation I am usually good to warn them of my “gift” for gab. I ran and talked my way the majority of the race with my good friend Deb Baker. It is always fun to get to catch up with friends during events like this. If you are ever feeling down this girl is one to run with because she always finds the positive in everything. She is also good to point out the beauty around you if you are prone to run with your head down. The sun was shining on race day and the the wind was blowing just enough to keep us cooled but not chilled. It was pretty much the goldilocks of weather. I also got to run with Brett Nguyen for a little while. I was blown away when he told me he had just finished the Seattle Quadzilla (4 marathons in 4 days) the weekend prior to LOViT! He went on to a strong finish for the day. I also got to visit with many other friends, I didn’t fall, and I enjoyed some brews at Superior Bathhouse with my friends Tina and Marc after so all in all it was a great day!



For those that have never run this course it is located off Shangri La, 25 miles west of Hot Springs, and 12 miles east of Mount Ida off of Hwy 270. The Lake Ouachita Vista Trail is a scenic single track trail, well marked with signs and arrows, containing no significant creek crossings, involving ~2600’ or so of climbing with a rough, rocky, 800’ climb up Hickory Nut Mountain to the turnaround aid station.

The aid stations were very well stocked and managed by the kindest trail angels! The volunteers greeted us with smiles, made sure we were restocked and then encouraged and cheered us on as we parted ways. There was also an unmanned aid station with individual bottles of water and gatorade. The race offered a drop bag service and even had T-Shirts and Hats for sale this year! This race was my first introduction to trail running back in 2011 so it is near and dear to my heart and I offer a huge thank you to the race director Phillip Carr for a great event, to the kind volunteers for caring for us throughout the day, and to the Trail Dogs for doing such an amazing job maintaining the course.