This very rugged, remote and challenging 50K+ course is run almost entirely on single-track trails, circumnavigating Mt St Helens. All but 4.5 miles are run on the Loowit Trail. Racers travel over lava and pumice fields, cross rivers, run through the blast zone as well as through dense forest. In all, the course involves ~7400 ft of elevation gain and loss.

This is the original Mt. St. Helen's race and one that will have your camera out more than in a pocket. So many spectacular views as you navigate all the way around this active volcano. 

It is a tough course. The finish times are more like a 50-miler than a 50K. Racers are required to have completed a previous 50K before race day.

A 25K course on Sunday gives runners a way to experience racing on Mt. St. Helens without having to go all the way around it. The 25K route includes the Loowit trail and boulder fields, plus some forested trails that are not a part of the longer race. There is 3,200 feet of gain and loss.