What’s Up in Ultra This Weekend — November 22, 2025

The weekend before Thanksgiving features 29 North American ultramarathons on the UltraRunning Magazine race calendar. In this week’s What’s Up in Ultra, we highlight events in Colorado, Indiana, Maryland and Vermont. If you’re a race director and would like your event to be featured in the calendar, register here.

Featured: Colorado Cold Rush Ultra (Colorado Springs, CO)

Dubbed “the coolest winter running event,” the fourth annual Colorado Cold Rush Ultra kicks off this weekend in Colorado Springs. The 50k out-and-back course starts and finishes at Bear Creek Regional Park, taking runners along historic High Drive and through tunnels carved during Colorado’s gold rush era. The race begins above 6,000 feet, climbs to more than 9,000 feet at the turnaround, and then sends runners barreling back down with quad-pounding descents over the final 15 miles. Along with the thin air, participants will face 5,500 feet of elevation gain and loss, plus the possibility of snow and ice. Check out more in this 2023 race video.

Other West Events:

Pacific

• Captain’s Winter Solstice Runaround (Modesto, CA)
• Darrington Single Track Trail Challenge (Pilot Hill, CA)
• Operation OCALI (Malibu, CA)

Mountain

• Fire Fest Ultra (Logandale, NV)

Featured: The Stuffed Turkey Endurance Races (Granger, IA)

The 7th running of the Stuffed Turkey Endurance Races takes place Saturday, November 22, at Jester Park in Granger, Iowa. This year’s event includes 100-mile, 50-mile and 50k ultramarathons, along with a 10-mile race. All distances follow a 10.1-mile loop made up entirely of trails, with 455 feet of elevation gain per lap. Runners will encounter a mix of rolling hills and flat stretches as the course winds through forests and open prairie. Participants in the 100-mile race have 30 hours to complete 10 loops and earn their Stuffed Turkey buckles. Read more about the race here.

Other Midwest Events:

• • Regal Beagle Ultra (Bath, OH)

Featured: JFK 50 Mile (Boonsboro, MD)

America’s oldest continuously run ultramarathon, and one of UltraRunning Magazine’s “Old School Ultras,” the JFK 50 Mile returns for its 63rd edition. Founded in 1963 as part of President John F. Kennedy’s national physical fitness challenge, this iconic point-to-point race begins in Boonsboro and finishes in Williamsport, Maryland. Along the way, runners tackle three distinct sections: the technical singletrack trails of the Appalachian Trail, a marathon-length stretch of flat crushed gravel on the C&O Canal Towpath and finally, rolling paved roads leading into the finish. Participants have 13 hours to complete the course, with cash prizes awarded to the top 10 male and female finishers, plus a $3,000 bonus for a new men’s or women’s course record. Last year, David Sinclair and Rachel Drake both established new course times to beat. Can anyone run faster this year? Follow the live results here to find out.

Other South Events:

Southwest

• Fat Ox (Buckeye, AZ)
• Dinosaur Valley Endurance Run (Glen Rose, TX)
• Summit Backyard Ultra (Marble Falls, TX)

Southeast

• Death by 5k Oak Mountain (Pelham, AL)
• Saint Lucie Skeeter Skoot (Fort Pierce, FL)
• Colt 45 Trail Run (Dade City, FL)
• The Legacy Trail Ultra (Sarasota, FL)
• Last of the Felascans (Alachau, FL)
• Freed to Run Challenge (Jacksonville, FL)
• Duncan Ridge Trail (Blairsville, GA)
• Circle Endurance Event 6, 12, 24 Hour (Ringgold, GA)
• MOST 24 Hour Challenge (Fairburn, GA)
• Oakwood 24 (Raleigh, NC)
• The 16 Hour Lock-In (Carolina Beach, NC)
• Lake Haigler 12-Hour (Fort Mill, SC)
• Fall Creek 100 (Spencer, TN)

Featured: Mount Ascutney Vertical Backyard (Brownsville, VT)

A unique twist on the traditional last-person-standing format, the Mt. Ascutney Vertical Backyard Ultra challenges runners to climb and descend 1,209 vertical feet every hour on the hour until only one runner remains. The race begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the base of Mount Ascutney in Brownsville, Vermont. Participants can choose between two options each hour: three laps up and down the t-bar path, totaling 403 feet of gain and loss per lap, or a single ascent and descent on the hiking trail for the full 1,209 feet. Runners who continue for 24 hours will have accumulated the equivalent elevation gain of Mount Everest from sea level (29,032 feet). Learn more.

Other Northeast Events:

• CT Trailmixers Fall Fling 400 (Southington, CT)
• Valley Stream Runs (Valley Stream, NY)

No events this weekend.

Email corys@ultrarunning with questions about adding your event to the UltraRunning Magazine calendar.