11/21/2025
Twas the night before race day and all through the place,
Folks were preparing to to cross country race.
I'm sorry, I couldn't think of a good way to start an update that simply provides some last minute information about tomorrow's Furrow Euro Cross Country Run. So here's the information:
1. YES! We have race day registration. We currently have 278 registered and would love to get 22 more tomorrow morning to make it an even 300. We are moving race day registration to the stage this year to make more room for bib and shirt pickup in the barn. We will have a few extra shirts in the Swap Box for those who register on race day (as long as supplies last).
2. Bib and shirt pickup will be in the barn. Bib pickup for the 278 pre-registered runners will be in THREE separate lines this year: Last Name A through G will be in line one, Last name H through Q will be in line two, and Last name R through Z will be in line three. At all three lines, you will your race shirt in the size you ordered. We have both gray and black shirts, so you will have an option on which one you want as long as they last.
3. If you decide you want a different size shirt than the one you signed up for, you can head to our fifth line-- the Swap Box! The Swap Box allows you to exchange your race shirt for any item in the Swap Box. The Swap Box not only has extra shirts of various sizes from this year's shirt, but also has many shirts from previous years as well (there are even a few of last year's Ugly Sweaters in there). You can even purchase extra shirts out of the Swap Box.
4. We are posting paper results to check for accuracy prior to our awards ceremony this year.
5. We hand out a bunch of awards: Top Eight Overall men, Top Eight Overall women, Top Eight Youth Boys (age 14 and under), Top Eight Youth Girls (age 14 and under), Top Eight High School Boys (age 15 to 18), Top Eight High School Girls (age 15 to 18), Top Three Adult Men (age 19 to 39), Top Three Adult Women (age 19 to 39), Top Three Masters Men (age 40 and over), Top Three Masters Women (age 40 and over). As well as some random awards. Awards will start as soon as the last finisher crosses and we will not mail awards. Awards this year are custom golden soup bowls!
6. SOUP! will open once the first finisher crosses the line. Soup is also available even for those who don't race (we do ask you chip in a donation to help offset rising food costs).
7. Directions and parking:
The course is located at beautiful Furrow Farm, 1149 State Route 251, El Paso, IL 61738.
From the intersection of Route 24 and IL 251 head north out of El Paso for 1.25 miles, our driveway is on the west (left when heading north) side of the road, just south (before) the Panther Creek Bridge. We are the first driveway north of the green and white Morton-building church. Parking is all the way in the back of the gravel drive, by the tan machine sheds. We also have additional parking in the pasture.
8. We have a large banner-sized race map available on the garage door, and a limited number of paper maps for those who want to pre-run the course to plan their strategy for domination.
9. Pro-tip: bring a dry pair of socks and shoes to change into post-race so you can linger and mingle at the post-race party more comfortably.
10. Weather looks to be quite awesome.
11. Since this is the only fundraiser for our EPGXC program, we truly appreciate each and every one of you who help provide enhancements for the EPGXC program. Just this year our middle school boys brought home the 2nd place trophy at the IESA State Championships and our high school girls took 3rd in the IHSA State Finals!
Please be careful when arriving and departing the course as there will be hundreds of runners around.
We look forward to hosting everyone again this year! The course is in great shape, even greener than when we hosted our middle school and high school invitationals in September. I was able to mow it again last night, and will finish setting up flags, tape, and paint this afternoon to make sure everyone can find their way to the finish line. Just a heads up, I plan on starting the race with the micro-cannon again, so if you are afraid of loud booms, you may want to bring some ear plugs.
Enjoy this video of my son working at Half Hazard Press, making this year's custom Furrow Euro race shirt. Go get 'em, Tiger!
Half Hazard Press
