Well, it ain’t easy. It will have some gnarly, rocky sections, but most of it is pretty nice and runnable. For a better description see the 100 Mile Course Description page and the 50 Mile Course Description page.
Registration is online only, through Ultrasignup.com. Before you register please be sure you’ve read about our refund, deferral and transfer policy on the registration page.
Need 2026 Runners Manual
100 Mile Aid Station, Mileage and Cutoffs (pdf).
50 Mile Aid Station, Mileage and Cutoffs (pdf).
All major aid stations will be fully stocked with at least water, soft drinks, Tailwind electrolyte replacement drink, sweet and salty objects, sliders, sandwiches , the full array of terrific Honey Stinger products and tampons. Most will have a whole lot more. We will try and have hot things at night, things like bacon, egg and sausage. Carrots and green leafy vegetables will also be available. Tortoises and Hares live on that stuff, you know.
Yup, we’re going to have prize money. We’re now at $100,000. Depending on entries and sponsors, the cost of putting this darn thing on – and we promise a first-class event, for everyone – and the charities we love, we hope to keep raising it.
Right now we’re looking at going seven deep, men and women if you’re a Hare, but as the prize money goes up, we’re going to go deeper. See Awards page for more info
One has fur and silly ears, and the other has a shell and a serious forlorn look. One is pretty quick, and the other perseveres. Over 100 miles one may not be faster than the other. We’ll see. But you can be whatever you want to be. Can you run the course in under 30 hours? We’re not sure, but if you’re asking this question, you’re probably a Tortoise. Most people are.
BUT, if you want to be a Hare and you want to run for the purse, by signing up you agree:
- To run without a pacer. You’re on your own!
- That your crew will only help you at and within the designated aid stations, and that you will really read all the rules in the Runners Manual.
- That you will not use hiking or trekking poles.
- That you will strictly abide by the cutoffs, which will be much tougher than for the Tortoises, no matter what, and not raise a fuss if we tell you your race is over.
- That if you really think you have a chance at winning some money, you won’t throw your name in the hat for any of our pre-race drawings, which will all be left to the Tortoises and the slower Hares.
- That if you cut the course in some way, on purpose or by accident, or cheat in some way, or do something bad, like litter, or use headphones in the middle of town where you might get hit by a car, or otherwise violate any of our rules and the race committee determines you did it, that you’ll agree to forfeit whatever you might have won, and not raise a fuss about it.
- That you, and your crew, will be courteous to everyone, including all Tortoises and volunteers. And especially Harvey.
- That no matter how fast you run, you’re not eligible for any Tortoise awards.
- That if you win money, you’ll stay for the awards ceremony, and maybe make a nice little speech. But you can brag to the whole world if you want.
Yes. We will also have fancier buckles if you break 24 or 30 hours too. All finishers will also receive a nice tee shirt, some form commemorative that we haven’t yet decided on, and just like in our 50 mile, we will have a great post race party.
Tortoises start at 9 AM on Friday. Hares at 1 PM. 50 milers start at 6 am on Saturday. We will let male runners over 60 and female runners over 50 have another 2 hour head start in the 100 mile Tortoise race so they can start at 7 AM. We will let male runners over 60 and female runners over 50 have a 1 hour head start in the 50 Mile race on Saturday so they can start at 5 AM. Awards ceremony on Sunday at Olympian Hall at 10:30 AM.
Tortoises deserve a head start and we want the Hares to finish in the daytime, or close to it. With a head start, and with the few out and backs the course has, Tortoises will be able to see the Hares race and we think – at least for some of you – that that will be fun. Plus we’d like to have everyone finish as close together as possible and enjoy the party together.
Bunnies and Turtles, we’ve had all sorts of people with their little GPSs say, ”Hey, your course is (107.5 .. 105.2 .. 103.5 .. whatever) miles. It’s way long.” No, Bunnies and Turtles, it’s not.
First, ALL GPSs measure long. The reasons are varied and complicated. Some of it involves some pretty complex mathematics. But if you want to know why, do a Google search (e.g., “Why Every GPS Overestimates Distance Traveled.”) There’s lots of information on this. While how much your GPS will overestimate the distance varies with the time of day, from day to day, and from device to device, and also depends on the course it’s measuring (the more turns, the more the course will be overestimated) most of the time a GPS will overshoot by between two and seven percent, and that’s not even considering that – Second- no one runs in a straight line. Runners with high end GPSs typically say they measure our course at about 103.5 miles so, while we haven’t wheeled our course, we think the distance we’ve listed is pretty darn close.
Well, we could tell you that we’re doing it because we love the sport and love the community of Steamboat and that would be true. But we’re also doing it for the same reason you’re entering this race. We’ve got a couple of screws loose.
