Races will take part in the beautiful J.T. Nickel Preserve. The largest privately protected conservation area in the Ozark, the Nickel Preserve is a 17,000-acre remote area northeast of Tahlequah, Ok, and runs alongside the scenic Illinois River. The preserve was formed in 2000 as the result of a land gift from the John Nickel Family. This 17,000-acre landscape rests in eastern Oklahoma's rolling Cookson Hills and has many spring-fed creeks amid a rugged topography of steep slopes and narrow valleys. The surrounding areas are characterized by steep canyons and narrow ridges, harboring a mosaic of oak-hickory forest, lofty pine woodland, and a diverse mix of savanna, shrubland, and prairie.

The course consists of gravel country roads with a few nice climbs. It is home to grassy prairies, oaks and pines, and an extensive system of tributaries feeding the Illinois River to the south. The tree covered trail will be bursting with yellows, and reds and browns as the trees are just beginning to turn colors and show off their magnificent fall foliage. We simply believe that we have found a little slice of heaven in our otherwise mad world.