Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival
Johnson, United States • 2-3 Oct 2026
Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival
The Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival brings together three Northwest Arkansas cross-country races under a single event. It was created to combine those races and now organizes college, high school, and community competitions at the University of Arkansas cross country course.
In a typical year the festival hosts more than 80 college teams and about 120 high school teams competing for Chile Pepper awards. Open community participation usually includes around 500 individuals across the event’s community races and a Friday evening mile dash. The festival also offers team information, race maps, parking guidance, awards, medical resources, merchandise, and volunteer and sponsor support.
Live coverage of the races is provided through a livecast link with support from HOKA. The event lists multiple sponsor levels and maintains news, history, and press materials about past editions and charitable giving. The festival publishes schedules, box assignments for teams, and result archives for previous years.
Distances featured in the community program include:
- 1 Mile Tom Lewis Pepper Dash
- 4K Godpepper community race
- 8K Godpepper community race
The festival edition referenced is the 38th annual event, dated October 2-3, 2026. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.