4sta Hike

4sta Hike

Welcome to the 8th Annual 4sta Hike. Sitting along the banks of the Mighty Mississippi, this race takes place within the Loud Thunder Forest Preserve near Andalusia, IL.

Course: A 1-mile loop that you get an opportunity to tackle as much as you’d like. We have a few different courses that we could potentially run. One of the courses sticks to the main trails (Easy) and another has a few off-trail sections (Hard) added for further enjoyment. We prefer the hard course and plan to use it if possible! Depending upon rain levels throughout the summer and leading up to the race, we won’t know the final course until a week or so out. For the sake of clarifying these courses: Easy = 230’ gain/230’ loss per loop Hard = 304’ gain/304’ loss per loop We've never run the easy course and don't plan on it.

Terrain: You will experience smooth single track, rocks, roots, downed trees and steep gradients (we’ve seen up to 48%). You can expect a gorgeous but challenging course with plenty of gently rolling terrain. This preserve is known to have deer, turkeys, coyotes and snakes commonly visible within its trail network.

Time Limit: 4 Hours It’s totally your call as to how much you want to work. Come out for 1 loop or stay and grind for all 4 hours. Your final loop needs to be completed by noon. A loop finished after 12:00pm doesn’t count.

Aid Station: We will have a small aid station at the Start/Finish. With this being a looped course, we also encourage chairs, pop up tents, etc. so you've got a spot to replenish and recover every few loops. Depending on how fast you plan on going, you could hit this every 10-30 minutes.

Awards: We will have a cool and functional award for the male and female with the most loops completed within the time limit. We are also working on options for swag for each participant as well as post race food and cold beverages. More to come on this!

Charity: As we've done each year, all proceeds after minimal expenses will go back to the forest preserve. In 7 years, we’ve been able to put back over $6,200 into Loud Thunder!

Rules: Be honest and don’t litter Show up and show out

Sponsors: TBD