Dirt Circus 10K trail race offers $10,000 prize purse
It's not too late to sign up for the inaugural Dirt Circus trail event
Photo by:
Rush Running Co.
Runners in Bentonville, Ariz. will be competing for an unprecedented trail-race prize purse of $10,000 in November, and it’s not too late to sign up. Hosted by Ultrasignup, the inaugural event has its roots in 2021, when the new owners of Ultrasignup, inspired by the way the trail community came together during the pandemic. hosted an incredibly popular event called the Trail Party.
The Ultrasignup team wanted to host a race that was a throwback to the 19th-century sport of pedestrianism. “People would gather under the big top and walk and run for sport–bets were made, limits pushed, and popularity soared,” they explain on their website, and invite runners to come have fun under the metaphorical big top.
With a low entry fee of $40 USD for the 5K event and $50 for the 10K, the trail race has a surprisingly large prize purse and offers a free community shakeout run the night before the events.
“The 10K prize purse is across two divisions, men and women, and breaks down to $3000 for 1st place, $1250 for 2nd place, and $750 for 3rd place. It’s an open division, meaning that it’s possible a non-pro runner could end up on the podium if they have a really good day, but we certainly hope this event attracts pro runners, maybe even some roadies with the shorter distance,” explains Ultrasignup’s marketing director Annemarie Kruse.
Kruse says Ultrasignup and their partners in this race want to drive the growing sport of trail running forward and support the pro runners, and have put the proceeds from the registration fees right back into the purse. “One way to do that is through a meaningful prize purse, another way is to draw as much attention to the sport as we can, thereby bringing in new runners and spectators.”
“Short format trail races like this 10k are ripe for increased viewership,” says Kruse, and the event hopes to attract fans. The race winds through the beautiful Handcut Hollow park in Bentonville and is a “fairly ‘flat’ course with only 735ft (224 metres) of elevation gain but it is also quite technical and constant,” Kruse says. “The trail surface is rocky and the route is punchy, with one pretty significant rocky climb.”
Runners can count on a community-driven event with lots of fun and intense competition. If you’re interested in this event or the other Dirt Circus races (held in Flower Mound, Tex., Boulder and Pheonix), head here.
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