Runners traverse the C&O Canal 100-miler course in Maryland. Photo Gary Dudney

What’s Up in Ultra This Weekend — April 26

Drew Dinan
Drew Dinan

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The last weekend of April features 64 races on the UltraRunning Magazine race calendar. In this week’s What’s Up in Ultra, we travel to California, Wisconsin, Maryland, Massachusetts and British Columbia. If you’re a race director and would like your event to be featured on the calendar, register here.

Featured: The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB® (Auburn, California)

The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB® offers elite ultrarunners a final chance to run their way into the 2025 Western States Endurance Run (WSER). Male and female participants in the 100k event can punch their Golden Tickets and earn an automatic entry into this summer’s WSER with a top-three finish. In addition to the 100k, The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB® also features 100-mile and 50k ultra-distance races. All events take place in historic Auburn, California, and run sections of the famous WSER course. The 100-mile runners will have 35 hours to navigate 18,000 feet of climbing and 22,000 feet of descent to earn their buckles and 2026 WSER qualifier. The 100k competitors have 20 hours to complete a course featuring 13,000 feet of vert and 17,000 feet of loss, while the 50k runners will have 10 hours to finish their race with over 5,500 feet of climbing. Read more.

Other West Events:

Pacific

Mountain

Featured: Chippewa Trail Races  (New Auburn, Wisconsin)

The 18th running of the Chippewa Trail Races 50k kicks off Saturday at the David R. Obey (Chippewa Moraine) Ice Age Interpretive Center in New Auburn, Wisconsin. Participants will tackle an out-and-back course beginning and ending on the Circle Trail with the middle miles run on the popular Ice Age Trail. Along the way, they’ll have to navigate more rolling hills than you can count, a few rocks and roots, and close to 4,500 feet of elevation gain and descent. Runners will have 9 hours to complete the course and earn a beautiful full-color Chippewa Trail Races print. Read more.

Other Midwest Events:

Featured: C&O Canal 100 (Knoxville, Maryland)

First run in 2013, the C&O Canal 100 takes place on the historic Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, starting and finishing at Camp Manidokan near Knoxville, Maryland. In operation from 1831 to 1924, the C&O Canal was primarily used to transport coal along the Potomac River between Washington D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland. Today, the C&O features a 184.5-mile-long dirt and stone path where visitors can walk, run, or bike. The C&O Canal 100 is run on a stretch of the towpath from Shepherdstown Bridge in the north, to Brunswick, Maryland, in the south. Participants can expect a flat and fast course with well-stocked aid stations and great volunteers along the way. Runners have 30 hours to complete the three out-and-back loops to earn their 2026 WSER qualifiers. Read more.

Other South Events:

Southwest

Southeast

Featured: TARC Spring Classic (Weston, Massachusetts)

Established in 2011, the TARC Spring Classic, hosted by the Trail Animals Running Club (the largest trail and ultrarunning group in the Northeast U. S.), takes place in Jericho Town Forest in Weston, Massachusetts. The 50k ultra distance starts at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and features a 10k maze of flat and smooth twisting trails that runners must complete five times before 4 p.m. The TARC Spring Classic is a low-cost event ($25) that aims to give everyone the opportunity to experience the local trails and community. The race is a Trail Sisters-approved event and Pride on Foot partner, with event profits benefiting land conservation and trusts in support of local trail running. Learn more.

Other Northeast Events:

Featured: BC Backyard Ultra (Sicamous, British Columbia)

The BC Backyard Ultra returns to Sicamous Public Beach Park in Sicamous, British Columbia, for its fourth edition. The BC Backyard Ultra is an approved Backyard Ultra Silver Ticket event, with the winner earning a cash prize and the opportunity to compete at the 2025 World Backyard Championship at Big Dog’s Backyard. Approximately 100 athletes will toe the line this year using the standard backyard ultra format. Runners will run a 6,706-meter (4.167-mile) loop every hour on the hour until only one runner remains. The BC Backyard Ultra is hosted by Lewiston Ultra Events, whose mission is to “create trail races that are accessible, connect communities, push boundaries and give back.” Read more.

Other Events in Canada and Mexico:

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

Drew Dinan traded the tropics of the Florida Keys for the trails of Bend, OR. Once living the Jimmy Buffett lifestyle, working on fishing boats and owning only a single pair of flip flops, he now has way too many running shoes in his closet and never hears the end of it from his loving wife. He is on a constant quest to find the best happy hours, likes to complain when it’s cold outside, and one day hopes to travel the country writing reviews on chicken wings.

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