When you truly believe in something, and you carry it in your heart, you accept no excuses, only results.
—Ken Blanchard
Alcohol is prohibited on park district property.
| Dates/Times/Etc.: | The Potawatomi Trail Runs (held in Pekin’s McNaughton Park) are being held on the weekend of April 7-10, 2016.
The 200 mile race starts at 4pm Thursday, April 7th. The 150 mile race starts at Noon Friday, April 8th. Pre-race meeting at 11:45am. The 50 and 100 mile races start on Saturday, April 9th at 6am. Pre-race meeting at 5:45am. 30 mile fun run starts on Saturday, April 9th at 8pm. . The course closes for all racers on Sunday, 4 p.m., April 10th. Time limit for the 50 and 100 is a generous 34 hours. |
| Registration: | Race Registration is available through RunRace.Net |
| Course Difficulty: | Easier than Barkley. Cooler than Badwater. Lower altitude than Leadville. Warmer than Yukon Artic Ultras.Thanks, Ollie 🙂 |
| Hotels: | Holiday Inn (309) 353-3305 3615 • Kelly Ave. Concorde Inn (309) 347-5533 • 2801 Court St. Super 8 (309) 347-8888 3630 • Kelly Ave. Comfort Inn (309) 353-4047 3242 • Vandever |
| Directions to the hotels: | Follow McNaughton Park Drive back to Rt 98 (Edgewater Dr). Turn left on Rt 98 and continue along until Parkway Drive (first stop light). Turn left on Parkway Dr. until you reach Court Street. NOTE: You will pass through TWO stop signs AND TWO stop lights before reaching Court street. Turn left onto Court street and the hotels are about 2 miles down the road on your left (right past Menards and across the street from Wal-Mart). You will pass through 4 or 5 stop lights before reaching the hotels. |
| Directions to the start/finish from the hotels: | Take a right onto Court Street and head west. Follow Court until you reach Parkway Drive. Go right on Parkway and through two lights and two four way stops. The next light is Edgewater Drive (this is also known as Rt. 98). Take a right on Edgewater and go up a hill. You will pass a residence driveway and the entrance to your park will be your next right at the top of a hill. There is also a sign for Soldwell Program Center. Turn right into the park and follow that driveway until it ends.
N 40 degrees, 35.606 minutes and W 089 degrees, |
| Food: | Goodfellows (1414 N. 8th St.), Avanti’s (509 S. Parkway Dr.), and LaGondola (2996 Court St.) have pasta and pizza. You can also find Mexican, Applebee’s, fast food, and pizza along Court Street. All of these are one block off Court Street, which is a main street running east/west in Pekin. The hotels are ten minutes from the start. |
| Directions to the race: |
Click here for help finding the start/finish or simply Google search “McNaughton Park Drive Pekin, IL” and you should be able to figure it out (the start/finish is at the end of the col de sac)! If coming from the South – Continue to follow I-55 north until you meet I-155N. Take the exit for I-155 and continue to head north until you reach the exit for Rt. 98 (I believe this is exit 31, but don’t quote me on that.. ROUTE 98!). Take the exit for Rt 98 and head West towards Pekin. McNaughton Park Drive will be roughly 6 miles down the road on your left. Here there will be signs for Soldwedel Program Center and also signs for John T. McNaughton Park (although these signs are not as visible as the SPC signs). Follow McNaughton Park Dr until you reach the end and you will be at the start/finish. If coming from the East – Continue to follow I-74 west until just past Morton, IL. Take the exit for I-155 South (I believe exit number is 101, but again, don’t quote me). Follow I-155 South for a short bit until reaching the Exit for Rt 98 (Exit 31 I think…). Head West on Route 98 towards Pekin and the rest is the same as above. If coming from the North – Depending on where you are coming from you will be taking either I-39S or I-55S to get to central IL. Both interstates will bring you into Bloomington/Normal where you will take an exit for I-74 West. From here you can follow the directions above (from the East). If coming from the West – Continue to follow I-74 east until you are nearing Peoria, IL. Here you will find signs for I-474 East. Take the exit for I-474 and continue to follow until you cross the Illinois River. The first exit over the river is Exit 9 (this one I know for sure!) and will put you on Rt. 29. Follow the signs toward Pekin. Continue on Rt. 29 for 2-2.5 miles until you see signs for Rt 98 East. Turn left onto Rt. 98 (left-hand turn will be your only option) and follow for another 2-2.5 miles until reaching McNaughton Park Drive. You will turn right here and there will be signs for the Soldwedel Program Center and John T. McNaughton Park. Continue along McNaughton Park Drive until you reach the col de sac and you will be at the start/finish. |
| Course markings: | You will be following the Potowatami Trail (RED TRAIL). The entire race will be run in the woods, around prairies, or through fields. The Park District is marked once a year with red paint on trees. There are also orange marks on trees for the horses. You will always follow the Red Markings and my YELLOW TAPE. VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU FOLLOW THE YELLOW TAPE. There are areas where the orange tree markings and the red markings vary. I will overload those areas with tape. There are also two sections where you will leave the red trail so it is important that you follow the yellow tape. There will also be white ground paint to follow in the grass. Getting lost will be very hard to do. |
| Note: | The course will be well marked and you shouldn’t have any problems finding your way around the 10-mile loop. Enjoy your time and best of luck. |
| Creek crossings: | You might be able to stay dry if you choose to make the effort. This may add several seconds to your time as each crossing has areas of shallow water near the route, unless we have recent rains. If it rains, nobody stays dry. The 1st crossing is the deepest, if you run straight through it, you will get wet past your ankles. There is a shallow spot to the right about twenty yards. Once across the creek, go back towards where you turned away and follow the yellow tape and the red markings, DON’T follow the orange. #2 crossing is now a wooden bridge. Way too easy! #3 crossing has been modified to make a channel that is usually narrow enough to jump. It is a wilderness run so don’t wear stuff you can’t get wet. Enjoy the creek crossings, they are part of the accomplishment. |
| Hazardous Areas: | Be cautious on all bridges. Several have been rebuilt but are very slick when wet. Be cautious of all logs, rocks, roots, and small stumps. Poor traction and unstable footing on logs and rocks plus roots and small stumps are a major cause of falls and tripping. |
| Bathrooms: | There will be port-a-potties at the start/finish. and by the Heaven’s gate Aid station near mile 7. Additionally there are men’s and women’s outhouses just after the first aid station (mile 2.5) and just before the finish (mile 9.6). |
| Aid Stations: | The start/finish aid station (#1) will have water, Heed, soda, bagels, raisins, oranges, bananas, cookies, M&Ms, chips, pretzels, licorice, sandwiches, Vaseline, aspirin, and some surprises later in the race. (#2) will be primarily water and some goodies and (#3) will be fairly well stocked but not as loaded as the start/finish. You will be able to get fruit, pretzels or chips, soda, cookies, and water. |
| Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. | Contact |
| Elevation Gain: | The elevation gain per 10 mile lap is 1,600 feet. |
| Refund Policy: | Entry fees are partially refundable before March 1st, and NON-refundable after March 1st. |
| Dropping Down a Race: |
All race results will remain in the category where the runner originally registered. Finisher awards will be given to all finishers of their registered race. Times and distances will be listed for those not completing their full distance at the end of the race result listing. Pre-registered runners may drop down to a shorter distance if done at least 30 minutes before the start of the race. Entry fees, however, can not be refunded for distance drop downs. |
| Camping: | Camping is available at the start/finish area starting at noon on Thursday. |
| Pasta Dinner & Packet Pickup: |
Packet pickup will be scheduled as follows:
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| The pasta dinner will be served at the Sodwedel Program Area (first right once you turn onto McNaughton Park Rd) at no cost to all entrants on Friday, April 8th from 5pm to 8pm. |