About The Race

The famous Monkey Butt Hill is a steep hill with 100 feet of climbing in only 1/10 of a mile (20% grade) and is located only a tenth of a mile from the Juniper Point West trailhead on the Cross Timbers Hiking Trail. The hill allegedly got its name many years ago when a boy scout troop was out hiking the trail along the shoreline and after a long hike, as they were getting close to the trail, there was only the one big hill left to climb. One of the boy scouts exclaimed, "I would rather kiss a monkey's butt than climb that hill!"

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This event originated from a 2021 fun spin we did on our annual Cross Timbers Trail Run! And that spin came up because back in 2017, the Race Director was training for a race but wouldn't have time for a long run the weekend of producing Cross Timbers. In response, her coach told her to go run the hill at the start of the Cross Timbers race course 10 times throughout the race day. Each loop was only a 1/3 of a mile and would take her away for only a couple minutes each time. BUT the famous Monkey Butt Hill was on the loop which is a tenth of a mile and 100 feet of climbing (20% grade hill). The Race Director declared the goal beforehand on social media, and participants all day were checking on how many loops she had completed to keep her accountable. At the end of the day, between working all day plus the loops, it was a great workout. 1,000 feet of gain in a 5K? Awesome!

 

For this event, we offer two timed options of hill repeats on Monkey Butt Hill: 3 hours and 6 hours. The course record for the 6 Hour event is 73 repeats (by Markdavid Basco). That's 24 miles and 7,300 feet of elevation gain! For those wanting less hills, we offer a 5-mile out-and-back route on single track trail along the shore of Lake Texoma. Beautiful and challenging, and you see more of the trails than the hill repeat course.

 

Enjoy a day amongst your fellow members of the trail community! With the opportunity to have a crewing setup you see every 1/3-mile, you can try out different things and have everything you need right there, and your family can spectate and enjoy being setup just 100 feet from the water's edge.

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Distances: Choose Distance or Choose Time. “3 Hours of Monkey Butt”, “6 Hours of Monkey Butt”, or “5 Miler”.

• 3 or 6 Hours of Monkey Butt – Monkey Butt Hill is a short, incredibly steep hill of just about 0.1 miles long BUT climbs 100 feet and has roots and boulders to maneuver in that climb. It’s part of a 1/3 mile loop from our start line. So the race will be a timed format of how many loops can you get done in the time of either 3 Hours or 6 Hours. The race will be run going counter-clockwise which means you will only be going UP Monkey Butt Hill and then the descent of 100 feet is much more gradual and less technicality.

• 5 Miler – this is the same 5 mile course we traditionally have at Cross Timbers Trail Run. Some rocks, some roots, some steep hills, and you get to climb the infamous Monkey Butt Hill once right before you finish.

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Participant Limit: 60 People -- REGISTER EARLY TO SECURE A SPOT!!! Register here. (The total number of spots might be changed a bit depending on the split of signups between the distance course versus timed options)

Those who register earliest get their name or a chosen nickname printed on their bib, they get the lowest entry fees, and they get to request their favorite number for their race number!

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Schedule: SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2024

• 7:00 am – Packet Pickup Begins.

• 8:00 am – All Races Start.

• 11:00 am – 3 Hour Race Ends. Any loops completed after this time will not count.

• 2:00 pm – 6 Hour Race Ends. Any loops completed after this time will not count.

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Location, Parking, and Directions:

The race takes place at Juniper Point West Campground on the Texas side of Lake Texoma. With rolling hills, the trails offer up some pretty views of the wooded areas on the shore of the lake and also of the lake itself.

We are here by permission from the Army Corps of Engineers, so please, no littering and no smoking at any time on the premises.

For GPS, use the address 32843 U.S. 377, Gordonville, TX 76245 to map to get to the parking area.

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Course: The course will be well-marked with pink ground and tree flagging and arrow signs at major turns. Do not cross caution tape which is used to prevent you from going off course. There will be no typical aid stations provided by the race along the route. 5 Milers are recommended to carry water on them. The 3 Hour and 6 Hour format can setup a crew area at the start/finish area with a chair, pop-up tent, supplies, food, beverages, and ice in a cooler – all accessible every 1/3 of a mile.

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Cookie-Only Aid Station!!! For those in the 3 Hour and 6 Hour, we will have a COOKIE aid station available for you each time you come through the loop. We will stock many different types of cookies!!

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TREKKING POLES ARE ALLOWED. Of course, with the disclaimer that if you are found to be purposely or inadvertently smacking people with them or using them to block people from passing you, you'll be disqualified. I'm sure I won't have to ever disqualify someone, but if I don't say it, that will be the time it happens!

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If you find you inadvertently go off course or take a wrong turn, you must return to where you left the course before continuing. If you cut a loop short and realize it, immediately notify volunteers to go find the race officials so a determination can be made as to how to help you complete the full distance.

Those not following the course will risk disqualification.

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Shirts: A race shirt (that includes a monkey's butt!) will be in your race packet.

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Bibs: Custom race bib with your name on it if registered by March 25. Remember that at all our trail races, we allow you to request your 3 favorite bib numbers, and we’ll try to give you one of your requested numbers! The Race Director actuals reviews those requests in the order people register in and manually assigns bib numbers - a personal touch that we think adds to the race (and one you can find at all The Active Joe trail races).

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Medals/Awards: 

For 3 hour and 6 hour participants, only completed laps before the end of the race time will be counted. If award-eligible participants finish the same number of loops, then the first to finish that last loop will be the winner.

In each distance:

• 1st place overall male / female / non-binary * (Non-Binary entrants after April 1 will have any podium awards they earn mailed to them after the race)

• First place male and female in the following age groups: 00-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-99. We may go deeper if we have lots of signups!

* See The Active Joe Non-binary Athlete Entrant Policy for more information.

There is no prize money.

Every finisher receives a gorgeous finisher medal.

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Packet Pickup

Race morning packet pickup can be done quickly and easily before your race start. 

What am I picking up? The following things:

• Your bib  - Write medical concerns we should know about on the back as well as emergency contact numbers.

• Safety pins - Pin your bib wherever you want as long as it's on the front of you AND my volunteers can clearly read it at each aid station.

• Your entrant shirt - we likely can't switch sizes because it's such a small race but you can ask. Otherwise, we can definitely swap after your race from those shirts for people who didn't make it.

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Medical: Each runner is responsible for their own actions. You need to be prepared both physically and mentally for all of the various stresses of the race. Our hope is to not have to call 911 for any of you. But in the event we have to in a medical emergency, medical expenses incurred are the responsibility of the participants receiving medical attention. Some parts of this trail are very remote to road access, and there may be a substantial amount of time that passes before medical personnel can arrive to provide aid.

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Runners must understand all risks associated with undertaking this event. These physical and mental stresses include, but are not limited to, dehydration, hyponatremia, hypothermia, heat exhaustion, renal failure, seizures, hypoglycemia, disorientation, falls resulting in physical injury, complete physical and mental exhaustion, etc. Every participant is expected to monitor his or herself continually with an understanding of their own personal limitations. YOU, the individual participant, are absolutely responsible for your well being during and after the race.