Running festival set for today

Registration for today’s Spa Running Festival has surpassed last year’s numbers, and organizers said in an email Friday that they hope for more on-site registrations at the event.

Formerly known as the Spa 10K/5K, the festival will feature races for all ages and levels of experience. According to the release, online registration closed with 1,439 total runners, exceeding last year’s total of 1,314, and 75 to 100 more are expected to sign up today.

A total of 343 runners will take on the Summit2 Challenge Half Mara-

thon, during which competitors will take two trips to the West Mountain summit in Hot Springs National Park. According to the festival website, runners must maintain a 16-minute-per-mile pace to make the course deadline of 10:30 a.m.

Over 500 will run in the Spa 10K, which will begin on Convention Boulevard and lead runners through downtown Hot Springs, over West Mountain, down to the Quapaw Historic District and back to Convention Boulevard.

A total of 493 are signed up for the 5K Run/Walk, which will begin on Convention Boulevard and take participants through downtown Hot Springs to Whittington Park.

Junior and senior high school students from Lakeside, Lake Hamilton, and Malvern schools are set to compete in this year’s XC2 5K Cross City Championship. The winning school’s running club will receive a trophy and “bragging rights as the Fastest Team on Pavement,” the website said.

Ninety children between the ages of 2-10 are preregistered for the 1K Spa Squirt Race, set to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Convention Boulevard. Parents may walk/run with their children. All children will receive a finishing medal.

Street closings

Various streets in the downtown area will be closed today during the festival, including Convention Boulevard. from 5:30-11 a.m.

Closings for the half marathon will begin at 7 a.m. and continue through 10:30 a.m., including portions of Malvern, Central, Whittington, Prospect and Quapaw avenues, Spring, Woodfin, Pecan, Fern, Market, Broadway and Laurel streets, and West Mountain Drive and the Summit Drive Loop.

Closings for the 10K will begin at 8 a.m. and continue through 9:15 a.m., including portions of Malvern, Spring, Central, Whittington, West Mountain, Prospect, Pecan, Flint, Quapaw, Market, Broadway, Convention and Palm Street.

Closings for the 5K will begin at 8 a.m. and continue through 9:15 a.m., including portions of Malvern, Spring, Central, Court Street, Exchange Street, Prospect, Convention and Beech Street.

The 1K Kids Fun Run will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Convention at Palm Street with street closings from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m.