What’s Up in Ultra This Weekend — April 25, 2026

The final weekend of April features 63 North American ultramarathons on the UltraRunning Magazine race calendar. In this week’s What’s Up in Ultra, we highlight events in California, Wisconsin, Virginia, Connecticut and Tecate, Mexico. If you’re a race director and would like your event to be featured in the calendar, register here.

Featured: Canyons Endurance Runs (Auburn, CA)

The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB® will feature three ultramarathon distances this weekend, including 100 miles, 100k and 50k. All races take place in the historic mining town of Auburn, California, aka the “Endurance Capital of the World,” and will take runners on a tour of the Sierra Nevada foothills and sections of the historic Western States Trail.

This year’s 100k race will once again be a Golden Ticket event and give runners one last chance to race their way into the 2026 Western States Endurance Run, with the top three male and female finishers earning automatic entries. Click here to follow the live action and see who earns their Golden Tickets.

Other West Events:

Pacific

• Machete Trail Madness 100k & 50k (Perris, CA)
• Las Virgenes Canyon Trail Races (Los Angeles (West Hills), CA)
• SoCal Redwood Race (Brea, CA)
• Banana Slug Backyard Ultra (St. Paul, OR)
• Twilight 12 Hour (Cle Elum, WA)
• FORGED 48 – 4X4X48 (SPOKANE, WA)

Mountain

• Cheyenne Mountain Trail Race (Colorado Springs, CO)
• Falcon 50 (Colorado Springs, CO)
• Runs With Scissors Races – CO (Brighton, CO)
• Royal Gorge Groove (Cañon City, CO)
• Weiser River Trail (Boise, ID)
• Bonneville Backyard Ultra (Provo, UT)
• Thelma and Louise Marathon and Half (Moab, UT)
• Sunrise Scramble (Glendo, WY)

Featured: Chippewa 50k (New Auburn, WI)

Over 150 endurance athletes will line up Saturday at the 18th annual Chippewa 50k in New Auburn, Wisconsin. The race starts at the David R. Obey (Chippewa Moraine) Ice Age Interpretive Center, and runners will have 9 hours to complete an out-and-back course on mostly single-track trails along sections of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and the Circle Trail from the center.

On course, runners will travel dirt trails that wind through forests and around lakes, roll across countless hills, tackle one final climb near the finish line and accumulate just under 4,500 feet of elevation gain. Read more about the Chippewa 50k.

Other Midwest Events:

• Childish Nonsense (Palatine, IL)
• Glacial Esker (Albion, IN)
• I Double Ogg Dare You! (Shawnee, KS)
• Mile 0 Flint Hills Trail Race (Osawatomie, KS)
• Earth Day Buckle Mania (Abilene, KS)
• The Trail Marathon (Pinckney, MI)
• Thumb Coast Ultra 50 Mile and 50 Kilometer (Caseville, MI)
• Elm Creek Backyard Ultra (Maple Grove, MN)
• Frisco Railroad Run (Willard, MO)
• No Bull Around (Meadow Grove, NE)
• 1 Day for the K.I.A. (Columbus, OH)
• Coast To Coaster (Sandusky, OH)
• Caesar Creek Trail Races (Waynesville, OH)
• Tour de Dodge (Dodgeville, WI)

Featured: Promise Land (Lynchburg, VA)

Established in 2001, the Promise Land 50K++ is one of the most popular ultramarathons on the East Coast, with close to 300 finishers each year. The race begins and ends at the Promise Land Youth Camp in the heart of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and challenges participants with technical single track, steep climbs and descents and close to 8,000 feet of elevation gain and loss.

Race highlights include an extremely scenic course, an old-school and welcoming vibe, free pizza on Friday for all runners and Patagonia running shorts for anyone who completes the course in under 10 hours. Read more on the Promise Land 50K race website.

Other South Events:

Southwest

• Sinister Night Runs (Queen Creek, AZ)
• Hells Dells (Prescott, AZ)
• Pandora’s Box of Rox (Burnet, TX)
• Monkey Butt Mayhem (Gordonville, TX)
• Desert Wolf (Johnson City, TX)
• BIG BAD RUCK (Gilmer, TX)

Southeast

• Rockin Choccolocco (Pinhoti, AL)
• GHO Endurance Challenge (Jonesboro, AR)
• The Dunes 50K (Hobe Sound, FL)
• Skunk Ape 100 Mile Endurance Run (Ocala, FL)
• Great Southern Endurance Run (Kennesaw, GA)
• Bronze Dragonfly 30 Hour Ultra (Savannah, GA)
• Loop The Hooch 50K (Suwanee, GA)
• Feral Mtn 100M/50M (Ellijay, GA)
• The Firefly Trail Run (Hendersonville, NC)
• Appalachian 100 mile (Robbinsville, NC)
• Locomotion 6/12/24 Hour (East Ridge, TN)
• Virginia Run for Cancer (Hampton, VA)
• Long Creek 60k (Virginia Beach, VA)
• Troublesome Hollow 50K (Bristol, VA)
• Coopers Rock 50 km and Half Marathon Trail Run (Morgantown, WV)
• Falling Water Ultras (New River Gorge National Park, WV)

Featured: Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultra Races (New Preston, CT)

First run in 1974, the Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultra Races feature the oldest 100k in the United States, along with 50-mile and 50k options. This classic New England ultra takes place on a mostly paved, rolling road course around beautiful Lake Waramaug in Kent, Connecticut.

All runners begin with a short 2.2-mile out-and-back section, followed by multiple 7.6-mile loops around the lake (three for the 50k, six for the 50-mile and seven for the 100k), with an additional out-and-back segment to finish, depending on race distance. The 50k runners have 12 hours to complete the course, while 50-mile and 100k participants have 13 hours. Read more.

Other Northeast Events:

• TARC Spring Classic (Weston, MA)
• Wawayanda Trail Race (Hewitt, NJ)
• Sybil Ludington (Carmel, NY)
• Schuylkill River Relay 50k (Phoenixville, PA)
• On the Dam Trail: Quemahoning Relay Race (Hooversville, PA)
• South Mountain ThrowDown Lite* (Reinholds, PA)
• C&O Canal 100 (Knoxville, MD)

Featured: The Last One Won (Tecate, Tijuana Baja California)

The Last One Won backyard ultra returns to Tecate, Baja California, Mexico, near the US border east of Tijuana, for its fifth season. Runners will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, and complete as many 4.167-mile (6.706k) loops as they can every hour on the hour until only one runner remains. The 2026 Last One Won is a Big’s Backyard Silver Ticket race. Last year’s winner covered 275 miles. Will anyone log more miles this year? Keep an eye on the UltraRunning Magazine results page to find out. Read more about the race here.

Other Events in Canada & Mexico:

• Pick Your Poison Trail Run (Barrie, ON)

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