Back in 1978, Frank Ford of Arrowhead Mills saw an eight-year-old dream become a reality with the first running of the Natural Foods Championship 20k run that his firm sponsored. “The event seemed perfect for us,” Ford explains. “After all, we think proper aerobic exercise is as important to health as is a good diet.”
The race has grown, in the three years that it’s been held, to the point where it now attracts both great numbers of competitors (some 750 entered the 1980 run) and the attention of long distance running enthusiasts all over the world. And the fans should pay attention, because the runners who join in the annual event include such Olympic-class athletes as Jeff Wells (who won the 1978 race) and Dallas’ Kyle Heffner … whose 1980 winning time of 1:01:33 set a new record, despite the fact that Kyle lost between 30 and 45 seconds by getting temporarily off course!
The beautiful 20 kilometer course winds through the scenery surrounding Dallas’s White Rock Lake.