Highlights on the North American UltraRunning Calendar this weekend include a 120-mile race in British Columbia, the notorious Eastern States 100 in Pennsylvania, a point-to-point 200-miler in Washington and a whole lot more.
North of the border, starting in beautiful Manning Park, British Columbia, is the Fat Dog 120 starting on Friday, August 11. This race is seriously scenic, but also ridiculously hard, gaining 28,454 feet. The majority of the course is run on remote and technical single track. Stunning alpine views, meadows of wildflowers and well-stocked aid stations will keep you distracted from the arduous task at hand. There are also accompanying 40-mile, 50-mile and 100k races.
Six weeks after its West Coast counterpart takes place, the Eastern States 100 in Waterville, Pennsylvania, goes down on Saturday, August 12. The course is a 103-mile single loop on 98% single and double-track trails with equal elevation gain and loss at approximately 20,000 feet. Read Veronica Leeds: Training For a Win at Eastern States by Jared Beasley.
In Washington, the Bigfoot 200 Endurance Run is our XXL race of the weekend beginning on Friday, August 11. Boasting 46,000 feet of ascent and an actual course distance of 209.5 miles, the Bigfoot 200 starts at Mount St. Helens in the Cascade Mountain Range of Washington, and finishes in Randle, Washington, traversing point-to-point through the Cascade Mountains. Racers have until Tuesday, August 15, to finish their journeys. There is also an accompanying 40-mile race. Check out live tracking here.
Also on tap for Friday is the Anchor Down Ultra 6/12/24-hour in Bristol, Rhode Island. On Saturday, scope out the Capes 100-mile (and 47/88k) in Mabou, Nova Scotia, the Kesugi Ridge Traverse Trail Run 30-miler in Denali State Park, Alaska, the Habanero Hundred (and 50/100k) in Cat Spring, Texas, the Elephant Rock Trail Run 26.8-mile/50k in Bountiful, Utah, and the Bluegrass Reaper Challenge 50k Berea, Kentucky. On Sunday, don’t miss the Marlette 50k in Spooner Lake, Nevada.
What events are you attending this weekend or next weekend? Be sure to let us know so we can follow along in the coming days, and if you’re planning something big for later in the month, keep us posted on that as well.