Runners get a chance to kick off the start of spring with a run through the Ozarks here in southwestern Missouri, just a short drive from the nearby country music entertainment capital of Branson, at the annual springtime running of Springfield's Frisco High Line Run for Scouting, which saw just over 260 runners cross the finish line in the half marathon, 5K and 1-Mile race combined in 2010.

The course takes runners along a converted railroad track known as the Frisco Highline Trail, which stretches more than 35 miles between Springfield and the Missouri town of Bolivar, which lies just to the north. While much of the trail is made of a compacted crushed gravel surface, the race route will take runners along newly paved stretches of the path.

From the starting line at the Marriott Courtyard hotel on West Kearney Road just to the northwest of Springfield -- near the Springfield-Branson National Airport -- runners follow an out-and-back route that takes them northward along the trail toward Bolivar, until they reach the half-way turnaround point and head back toward the Courtyard hotel for the race finish.

Described as flat and fast by the race organizers (the Ozark Mountain Ridge Runners running club), the course also takes runners over a railbed with history, as the railroad tracks that once connected Bolivar with Springfield were part of President Harry Truman's famous whistlestop tour, in which he traveled by train to meet with voters in his 1948 campaign for re-election.

After the race, if you're in town for any length of time you'll no doubt want to check out some of what Springfield has to offer. Though eclipsed in the popular imagination today by nearby Branson as well as Nashville, the city in the 1950s was known as the "crossroads of country music," as it hosted a number of the nation's most watched shows on country music and musicians back in the 1950s.


Race Weather & Climate

Located in Missouri's southwestern corner, roughly 215 miles southwest of St. Louis and about 45 miles north of Branson, Springfield typically experiences mild to moderately cool and occasionally quite cold weather in March, when average monthly temperatures range between 58°F and 35°F. On the day of the race (March 26), the average high is 61°F and the average low is 38°F, while precipitation amounts average just over 3.8 inches for the month.


Fees

$35 for the half marathon
$30 for the 5K
$5 for the 1K


Registration

To reserve your spot in the spring 2011 running of Springfield's Frisco High Line Run for Scouting Half Marathon, 5K or 1K race, register online at Active.com.


Websites

www.omrr.org



Start/Finish Area Map


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