The Hot Springs Fire Department entry nears the finish line in the 2025 Running of the Tubs. — Courtesy Visit Hot Springs
The lineup is complete for the 2026 Stueart Pennington World Championship Running of the Tubs bathtub races through historic downtown Hot Springs. The race starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 6. “We’ve got 26 tubs entered, and that’s about as many as we can squeeze in,” Visit Hot Springs Special Events Manager Alexis Hampo said.
This year’s lineup:
Traditional:
Visit Hot Springs – Hot Springs Bathers
Oaklawn – Oaklawn Elite
National Park College – The NPPC Do Gooders and Be Gooders
National Park Medical Center – Yabba Dabba Doo for Nat’l Park Med Center
Pafford Medical Service – Pafford Bathbulance Peeps
Riser Ford – Riser Ford
The Waters Hotel – Sandlot Squad
Arkansas Spa Pacers – Arkansas Spa Pacers
Modified:
Hot Springs Fire Department
Hot Springs Police Department
National Park College – Molten Mayhem (NPC Welding Students)
Hollywood Feed – Delivery Dogs
U.S. Army Recruiting – ARMY
PRIDE Hot Springs – Flamin’ Olympians
Hamstra Party of 5 – The Quack Pack
Oaklawn – Oaklawn Elite
Bath Fitter – Tubby and the Permafits
R.E.A.s and a C.E. – This Ain’t Rocket Science
Garland County Sheriff’s Office – Garland County Sheriff’s Office
Reynolds Consumer Products – Rolling with Reynolds
CGI (Consultants to Government Industry) Fed – AR Passport Center – SS Passport
Elevation Physical Therapy – Elevation Physical Therapy
Hot Springs National Park Employees – Founding Bathers
The Mountain Valley Spring Water – The Spring Water Sprinters
Stock
Sun Bum / NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) – Sun
Bum’s Smells Like Summer Tub
Oaklawn Chapel – Oaklawn Elite
The races feature costumed competitors pushing regulation bathtubs on wheels the length of World-Famous Bathhouse Row in the historic downtown district of America’s Spa. The competing tubs will be judged the evening of June 5 at 6 p.m. in the downtown area.
The Running of the Tubs is named in honor of the late Hot Springs businessman Stueart Pennington, who advocated tirelessly for the establishment of bathtub races to emphasize Hot Springs’ reputation as a thermal bathing mecca.
For information, contact Alexis Hampo at 501-321-2027.
