Striders to host 42nd Annual Arkansas 20K road race Oct. 24 in Benton

The Saline County Striders will host the 42nd Annual Arkansas 20K on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, challenging runners with a 12.4-mile road course through Benton.

The chip-timed race starts and finishes at the Boys & Girls Club of Saline County at the River Center complex. Read more below.

The long-standing autumn event serves as an endurance test for local distance runners and offers a preparation run for athletes training for fall marathons. The race venue is based at the River Center complex, located at 1810 Citizens Drive in Benton.

Organizers have set the official race-day schedule as follows:

• 6:30 a.m. – 7:45 a.m.: Packet pickup and race-day registration
• 7:00 a.m.: Early start for participants requiring additional course time
• 8:00 a.m.: Regular official race start
• 11:00 a.m.: Official course finish cutoff time

The standard 8:00 a.m. start allows a three-hour time limit to complete the course, while the 7:00 a.m. early start extends course access to four hours. Event coordinators strongly encourage participants expecting to take longer than 2.5 hours to select the early start option. Traffic control and official water stations along the route will activate beginning at 8:00 a.m.

Registration entry is $50, plus applicable online processing fees. Online registration closes Thursday, Oct. 22, at 11:59 p.m. Interested runners can find registration and full course details online at runsignup.com/Race/AR/Benton/Arkansas20k or contact organizers via email at [email protected].

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