The Soky Circuit was born from a desire to explore, whether near or far. In June 2020, Brent Sanford and I set out from West Memphis Arkansas in the first (and last) annual Heart of the South Road Race. A disastrous introduction to journey racing ending in a DNF for me only opened my eyes to what a transformative experience such an event provides. Brent journeyed on about 240 miles more to finish the 340 mile race in about 5 days. His experience, often alone on the road a hundred miles or more, had a similar effect.

In the week following the race as I licked my wounds Brent reached out to me about the potential of doing our own journey race challenge to raise money for the Family Enrichment Center in Bowling Green, KY, a wonderful organization with many services to help prevent child abuse (DONATE HERE!!). As we talked, the excitement of a new challenge became palpable. We looked at maps of our Old Kentucky Home and postulated various courses. But in the end, we wanted to keep it local and keep the logistics reasonable while also spending time traversing the areas that the Family Enrichment Center serves. And so the Soky Circuit was born.

The inaugural running of the challenge will begin on Tuesday October 13th, 2020 with a finish scheduled for Saturday October 17th. To meet this finish we will need to cover approximately 52 miles per day. The run is fully unsupported with no outside aid so we will be limited to only the food and amenities that are along the course. Most of the legs between the various small towns are between 20 and 30 miles with several stretches through the countryside with very limited services and amenities.

The route will take us through the farmland and rolling hills of Southern Kentucky, along Barren River Lake and to the Green River valley where it passes Civil War battlefields, before entering cave country and the roadside oddities of the I-65 corridor. Approximately 26 miles are run along the trails and roads in Mammoth Cave National Park. The main tourist attractions and many historical sites in South Central Kentucky are along the route.

So wish us luck and if you live in the area and want to come join us for a section of the run, please do so! We’d love the company.