Delta Grind

Celebrating the unique culture and beauty of the Arkansas Delta, runners can expect a challenging and scenic course that showcases the beauty of the Delta region. Live music will be playing throughout the day, and delicious food from local vendors served after the run.  Cupless event. BYO bottle/hydration pack recommended. Water jugs on course.

"The first bit of the course runs through the town, Past the Delta Cultural Center, where the King Biscuit Blues radio show continues its daily broadcast, just as it has for over 80 years. Up the brick path of the levee walk overlooking the port of Helena. Looking down on the ruins of old warehouses and wholesalers as the bricks turn to gravel and you head out of town.

Leaving the levee and entering the national forest, the road moves further from the river. On the west side, Crowley’s Ridge rises steeply. As geologic features go, this one is pretty new. It was formed about 20,000 years ago as windborne glacial loess accumulated here. Helena is the southern end of the ridge, which extends about 200 miles north to Missouri and rises 250 feet above the otherwise pancake-flat region.

The riverside to the east is a dense tangle of thick, flat woods, interrupted occasionally by cypress swamp. At first glance, much of the scenery in the forest was not unlike the typical green tunnel you find elsewhere in the region, but as the eyes began to soften and adjust, differences appeared.

The trees that make the consistent canopy are considerably taller than most you find in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains. The timber industry was a main source of wealth in the Delta in the 19th century, but most forests were cleared and turned to cotton, rice, and, later, soy fields. Most of the existing Arkansas mills are in the hilly parts of the state, and those forests are more likely to be interspersed with recent cuts.

The road itself was softer and sandier than non-Delta gravel roads, making for an ideal running surface.

There were more cool drinks waiting back at the finish, with mocktails and cold local Arkansas and Mississippi beer set up in a brick-lined picnic area that had once been a building. The live blues music and barbeque kept 100% of the participants there for hours after the race ended. The liveliness of the scene on that block that afternoon gave hints of what had been and could be again in Helena.

Achieving that vibrancy and highlighting the culture and natural beauty of the town and surrounding areas is very much the intention of the organizers of the Delta Dash run and accompanying Delta Grind ride. The events are organized primarily by the nonprofit StudioDrift, which aims to revitalize the Delta through placemaking and adventure tourism."  Read the rest of Brian Hurley's recap here: www.irunfar.com/recovery-run-running-as-revitalization-in-the-arkansas-delta

"The perfect mash-up of fun and folly, all to support the creation of the Crowley’s Ridge Gravel Trail," said Ammen Jordan, Director of studioDRIFT. "Helena is the perfect basecamp for a weekend of adventure."

Cupless event. BYO bottle/hydration pack recommended. Water jugs on course.

Delta Grind is a family-friendly event that is open to the public.