Race Report: Ozark Foothills Endurance Runs - 2025 - 10th year anniversary!

Weathering the weather - Shalini Bhajjan

It’s 3 am in the morning on Saturday, April 5, 2025. Not only is it race weekend, it’s also the 10th year running anniversary of Ozark Foothills Endurance Runs. The very first race I ever race directed back in 2015. I’m anxious beyond my usual race weekend anxiety, I’ve checked the race weekend weather to the point of breaking my weather app. I’ve actually checked five different weather apps. No change.

It had been raining on and off all week long and due to the heavy rainfall, flash flooding and thunderstorms predicted for the weekend, we had to postpone the inaugural Ozark Foothills kids fun run to Sunday, April 6, as that happened to be the “better” weather day of the weekend. Friday, packet pick-up had to be relocated indoors. The runners, volunteers, crew members, pacers and I, we were all trying to make the best of the not so ideal weather condition predicted for the race weekend.  

As 6 am rolled around, I’m standing in front of the first wave of runners for the 100 miles and 100K distances, dressed in heavy duty rain gear just before it’s go time.
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One of the runners who has a history with the race walks up to me and asks: “Did you know it’s good luck to start a race in the rain? It’s a good omen.”

We both smile gingerly this is followed by “you know this is the jinx weather year.

Every other year OF100 just has insane weather. Runners are out here by choice! Now get the race started, it’s time.”  

After the first wave of runners take off, we roll into the 7am start for the 50 miles, followed by the 50K and 25K-Ruck divisions. After the nervous energy of getting the race started settles down, I reflect on that statement made by the runner. History is a strange thing!  

Ozark Foothills Endurance Runs has evolved over a decade to currently stacking as St. Louis, MO one and only trail/ultra-running event to offer the most commonly run ultra-running distances along with a couple of sub-ultra divisions. There’s a distance for everyone!

This is when it hits me, the weather history for this race has been bonkers. Going back to 2021 the first year we introduced the 100 miles distance along with a few other additions, it was the downpour year. 2022 was a peachy weather year, 2023 was the “tornado year” as we all commonly refer to in all endearment. Which was followed by an uneventful 2024 race weekend weather year and here we all were, once again admits another boat rocking, shit storm race weekend.  

​If you are wondering how the race went, we only had one 100 miles finisher. Doug Huddleston, having turned 60-year-old two days before the race and a previous DNF (did not finish) at the race.

​Doug finished in a time of 32:59:29!

A mere 31 seconds just before the rain weather extended final race cutoff of 33 hours.

​Despite the challenges posed by the weather the 2025 edition of Ozark Foothills Endurance Runs had a 75% finish rate.  

It was a tough race weekend. But when the community comes together in support of the race and the runners, the finish line has a hint of magic and madness. It’s like this one race is the linchpin in pushing the athletes to test their true grit and redefine their comfort zones. The one race that the local trail/ultra-running community comes together every April to uphold, time and time again no matter the weather. If you have a race like Ozark Foothills Endurance Runs in your neck of the woods, then go out and support the race. Keep the flames from withering no matter the weather.

​The last words I remember hearing from a runner who did not finish the 100 miles distance: “I’ll be back next year. I hear it’s the fair-weather year for this race!”