The second running of the WOOF will be Saturday at Ouabache State Park near Bluffton. Race director Mac McAvoy says simply, “The first race is already the stuff of legend.”

Last year 125 runners showed up along with 40-mph winds, driving rain and temperatures in the low 30s. Think “The Perfect Storm” meets “Chariots of Fire.” Still, McAvoy said there were zero complaints before, during and after the event.

“It was a testament to the people who showed up,” McAvoy said. “They just wanted a challenge, some food and a good time. I think we succeeded.”

McAvoy knows he succeeded because in recent months more runners have told him they hope for the same inclement weather this year. It makes for better memories, they tell him.

Well, the weather forecast of sunny and mid-40s may disappoint, but that will be the only downer. Back by popular demand will be the same crazy 5.3- mile (or is it 5.4) course, the option of running over stacked hay bales, lots of mud and, last but not least, bison burgers.

WOOF stands for Wells Outrageous Ouabache Fifteen and gives runners three choices on the rugged trails: a one- loop fun run, a three-loop, three-person relay, or the signature event, a three-loop run, hence the name 15. Except it's not really 15 miles, but more like 16 (or is it 15.9?).

Afterward will be the party: a large indoor gathering with plenty of food (bison burgers and vegetable stew) by a roaring fire.

If this all sounds familiar, well, it is.

“This is really a tribute to the HUFF (Huntington Ultra Frigid Fifty),” McAvoy said of the late-December trail race at the Roush Reservoir. “We stole all the great things about the HUFF.”

McAvoy is the brains and the brawn behind the ultra-successful Parade Run held in downtown Fort Wayne during the Three Rivers Festival. But as a lifelong resident of Wells County, he and his Ouabache River Runners club wanted to draw people to his home park.

“We want to show off our park and start something down here in Wells County,” McAvoy said. “We've got the bison here in the park, some great trails and nice facilities.”

The race begins at Ouabache State Park Campground at 10 a.m., with limited race-day registration available. There is a cap on entrants (25 teams, 125 one-loopers and 200 three-loopers). For more information or to register online, visit www.runrace.net.