The Austin Weirdos cross the finish line in the 2024 Running. The Hot Springs Police Department team gets soaked. Photos courtesy Visit Hot Springs.
Believe it or not, nine new five-person teams have signed up to push actual bathtubs full of water down World Famous Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs on June 7 in the 19th edition of the Stueart Pennington World Championship Running of the Tubs bathtub races.
“These newcomers are primed for the races,” said Alexis Hampo, special events manager for Visit Hot Springs. “They’ll join 18 other teams to push for glory in the World’s Wettest Four-wheel Vehicle Competition.”
Teams compete in three divisions: Traditional, for actual cast-iron bathtubs; Modified, for fiberglass tubs; and Stock, for nonprofit organizations that receive tubs supplied by the race organizers.
Each team must consist of five members: a captain, who must ride in the tub; a Bath Towel Attendant, a Bath Mat Attendant, a Soap Attendant, and Loofah Mitt Attendant. The bath towel, bar of soap, loofah mitt, and bath mat must still be in possession of the team members at the finish line.
Added this year is a requirement that each tub must also carry a Hot Springs quartz crystal, a container of Hot Springs water, a stamp from Hot Springs National Park, and some flamingo food. The competing teams’ decorated tubs will be judged in downtown Hot Springs at 6 PM June 6, in the Judging of the Tubs celebration.
The 19th edition of the Stueart Pennington World Championship Running of the Tubs is presented by Bathhouse Soapery and Caldarium, whose owner, Charlene Simon, will start each race with the starter’s pistol. Other sponsors are Wrapped Gift Boutique, Resort TV Cable, the Diamond Lakes Travel Association, Riser Ford, and Bath Planet (obstacle sponsors).
The bathtub races bring thousands of fun-loving spectators to downtown Hot Springs to watch as costumed teams push customized bathtubs on wheels down Bathhouse Row in hopes of winning glory and a big ol’ trophy. Fans soak the racers — and often themselves — with water-soakers as the tubs go past. “The races are free, family-friendly, and the cleanest fun in America,” Hampo said.
The Running of the Tubs, started in 2006, 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.
“If you come to watch the fun, make sure you grab your bathrobes, rubber ducks and water blasters to join in on all the sideline fun,” Hampo said.
The races have drawn national attention as teams dress in wacky costumes to push regulation-sized bathtubs full of water and a driver through the historic downtown district of America’s Spa, which once had as its slogan “We Bathe The World.”
There is also the traditional Battle of the Badge, which pits teams from the Hot Springs Fire Department and the Hot Springs Police Department against each other in a “grudge match.”
For more information, contact Alexis Hampo at 501-321-2027. Follow the event on Facebook: Running of the Tubs.
