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We hit the halfway mark in February with 27 North American ultramarathons on the UltraRunning Magazine race calendar. In this week’s What’s Up in Ultra, we explore races in California, Arizona and Oklahoma. If you’re a race director and would like your event to be featured in the calendar, register here.
Featured: The Ranch 50K (Escondido, CA)
The seventh running of the Ranch 50K kicks off Saturday, February 14, at Daley Ranch in Escondido, California. Participants will complete a 25k loop twice, starting and finishing at the Dixon Lake Picnic Area. Each loop features classic SoCal terrain with open trails and fire roads, plenty of long climbs and quad-pounding descents, totaling 3,159 feet of elevation gain per loop. Runners will have 4 hours and 45 minutes to complete the first loop and 9 hours and 30 minutes to finish the entire race. Race organizers, Second Wind Trail Running, partner with the Wounded Warrior Project. Read more about the race here.
Other West Events:
Pacific
- Little Su 50k (Big Lake, AK)
- Susitna 100 (Big Lake, AK)
- Elevate 12 Hour Race (Santa Maria, CA)
- Giro di Fremont (Fremont, CA)
- Hagg Lake Mud Runs (Forest Grove, OR)
- Woolley Trail Runs (Sedro-Woolley, WA)
- Run Forest Run (Montesano, WA)
Mountain
- Flat Top Mesa Endurance Run (Mesquite, NV)
Featured: Outlaw 100 (Quinton, OK)
Established in 2019, the Outlaw 100 Oklahoma features three ultramarathons (135-mile, 100-mile and 50-mile) as well as ruck races, relays and several sub-ultra distance options. All ultra-distance events take place at Twin Mountains in Kinta, on a challenging 13-mile loop course (broken into a 9-mile and 4-mile section) that tests runners with technical and rocky sections, steep powerline climbs, water crossings and over 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss. The 135-mile participants have 48 hours to navigate eight 13-mile loops, followed by eight 4-mile loops. Check out the course highlight video here and read more about the Outlaw 100 Oklahoma on the official race website.
Other Midwest events:
- Iron Heart (St. James, MO)
- Rocks and Roots Trail Series #2 (Alum Creek State Park, OH)
Featured: Black Canyon Ultras (Mayer, AZ)
This weekend’s marquee event, Black Canyon Ultras (100k and 50k), returns to the Sonoran Desert for its 13th running. This year’s 100k race, a Hoka Golden Ticket event, will award automatic entries into the 2026 Western States Endurance Run to the top three male and female finishers, and features an exceptionally deep field of elite ultrarunners from around the globe. Participants in the 100k will set off on Saturday in a point-to-point event that starts at Mayer High School in Spring Valley, Arizona, and finishes at the Emery Henderson Trailhead in Phoenix. Along the way, they will travel south on the Black Canyon National Recreation Trail over fast, flowy desert single track. The net-downhill course features 5,219 feet of elevation gain and 7,337 feet of loss, and runners have 20 hours to finish. The 50k event kicks off on Sunday, and competitors will have 11 hours to make it from Spring Valley to the finish line in Black Canyon City, Arizona. Follow all the race action here on the livestream.
Other South Events:
Southwest
- La Jornada de las Quebradas (Socorro, NM)
- Rocky 50 (Huntsville, TX)
- Dalmatian Run Fest (Bedford, TX)
Southeast
- Sylamore Trail (Allison, AR)
- Angela Ivory Memorial Runs (Felton, DE)
- Whispering Pines Endurance Race (Inverness, FL)
- Skunk Ape’s Revenge (Dade City, FL)
- Death by 5k Coldwater Creek (Milton, FL)
- Sombrero Ultra Running Festival ( SURF ) (middleburg, FL)
- Fort Yargo Thrill In The Hills (Winder, GA)
- Run Oak Island (Oak Island, NC)
- Groundhog’s Lap Race (Greensboro, NC)
- Nature Park Trail Race (Chattanooga, TN)
- Holiday Lake (Appomattox, VA)
No events this weekend.
No events this weekend.
Email corys@ultrarunning with questions about adding your event to the UltraRunning Magazine calendar.