From a near-death experience to race director
By Henry Howard
Stephanie Turner doesn’t have the experience as previous race directors in this monthly series that honors RDs who shine a light on the trail and ultra running community. But her inspiring story is the embodiment of race directors who prioritize their running community.
I was truly taken by Turner’s story, her transformation from a near-death experience to race director of the Hare Mountain 100. And it’s an honor to include her in this series.
In January 2024, I kicked off this monthly feature to pay tribute to the trail and ultra race directors who make the sport great. To see previous RDs featured, they are all available here. If you have any nominations, feel free to email me here.
Meet Stephanie Turner, Hare Mountain race director
Question: Why did you get into race directing?
Answer: I got into race directing in 2023. There were a few reasons why. There were no races on the Ozark Highlands Trail-Boston Mountains segment. There had been one attempt by someone from Colorado. They were out and back routes near the Western terminus. Those races were dissolved after a few years with low turnout. Since I grew up on the trail, I wanted to bring runners a race that allowed them to see most of the trail. I'm a fan of point-to-point (or loop) courses. I'm a fan of the ruggedness of this segment. So, I thought about the race for several years, starting in 2019, before I actually took the leap. The big push was a life-threatening mountain bike wreck November 2020. I was minutes away from not being here and all I could think about was my, at the time, 6-year-old daughter, leaving her motherless. The race was something I could build that was positive for the running community, in a beautiful place that is sacred to me and something I could pass on to my little girl if something happened to me.
It has been a lot of work. Fortunately I have great friends/connections in RD positions across the country (Cascade Crest 100, Ouray 100, OT 100) that have helped me navigate the negative and focus on the positives. Patience is the key with a new 100, especially a point-to-point in difficult terrain. They all had a rough go the first two to three years. Live satellite GPS tracking will solve lots of worry for 2025.
Question: How did you get your start as an RD?
Answer: I started the Hare Mountain 100 on the Ozark Highand's Trail in northwestern Arkansas. I started the race for a few reasons. 1. After a life-threatening mountain biking accident in November 2020, I wanted to build something to pass down to my daughter in case anything happened to me. 2. I grew up running on the OHT so the trail means a lot to me. Maintaining it and preserving it means a lot as well. 3. There were no races on the trail. One had been started by a guy from Colorado that utilized just a bit of the western end from Lake Fort Smith to White Rock but it ended after a couple of years or so. My races use most of the trail and the 200 coming soon will use all but one wilderness area on the eastern end.
Question: What's the most interesting thing you've learned about yourself since you became an RD?
Answer: I ran ultras, having no clue what I was doing, in the early 2000s. Before that I competed in adventure races, mountain bike races, college basketball and track. I got burned out on any type of racing and spent the next 12 years on solo running or mountaineering adventures in the mountains out West. I came back to ultra racing in 2018 (age 45) as a personal test after having my kiddo.
I was in compete mode against others for over half my life. Race directing has taught me that I have more fun providing something enjoyable for other people to compete at (or approach in a leisurely fashion). It has taught me that I'm more patient and chill than I thought I was. It has taught me that when you put yourself out there, take on a difficult challenge — you have to develop a thick skin. It's so much harder to direct a race like the Hare Mountain 100, than to run one.
Question: What's your best piece of advice for someone who wants to become an RD?
Answer: Get plenty of volunteers. If you are short there, it's going to be painful.
Question: What's your favorite race to direct?
Answer: Hare Mountain 100
Question: What's your favorite race to run?
Answer: High Lonesome 100.
Question: Tell me about a funny experience as an RD and what you learned from it.
Answer: Get the handmade porta potty before the flood does. We had a handmade porta potty that was pretty amazing. It started flooding right after the race in 2024. Washing out bridges, closing roads, etc. We could not get to the porta potty at an aid station that was on the Mulberry River and it took the potty. It was actually kinda sad.
Question: If a runner can only do one of your races ever, it would be ...
Answer: The Hare Mountain 100. It's hard. It has over 20,000 feet of elevation gain. It's remote. It's
beautiful. It's more like 100s were in the 1990s.
Question: What exciting project do you have in the works (new race, updated race, etc.)?:
Answer: Hare Mountain 200.
Question: Where can runners find out more about your races?
Answer: https://www.haremountain100.com
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