What’s Up in Ultra This Weekend – Dec. 25

The final weekend of the 2021 UltraRunning Calendar is officially here and unsurprisingly, it doesn’t let up one bit. Despite winter’s official arrival and the holiday season being in full swing, there are still quite a few ultramarathons to choose from on both sides of the country.

Working our way backward toward Christmas, we head to the desert for some warmth at Across the Years in Phoenix, Arizona. Kicking off on Tuesday, December 28, the event features 24, 48 and 72-hour races and both 6-day and 10-day competitions, as well as a last person standing event that will take us well into the New Year.

Jamil Coury is entered into the last person standing race and Michael McKnight, the 2021 Moab 240 champ, is entered in the 24-hour race. Rachel Entrekin, who was the overall winner at both the Hunter S. Thompson Fear & Loathing 50-miler and Plain 100 this year, leads the charge in the 48-hour race. Recently featured URM Ambassador Jacky Hunt-Broersma is entered in the 72-hour race. Pete Kostelnick finished 16th at the Desert Solstice 100/24-hour just two weeks ago and will be the one to watch in the 6-day event, while there are 29 superheroes taking on the 10-day race including ​​Van Phan of Lakewood, Washington, who has finished an astounding 17 ultras in 2021.

Starting on Monday, December 27 is the Charleston 100, a self-supported, non-sanctioned, point-to-point 100-miler in, you guessed it, Charleston, South Carolina. This is a free event, but if you want a sweet finisher belt buckle to commemorate your finish that’ll cost you $60. The route takes runners across the entirety of Charleston County, starting at the Edisto River and finishing at the ​​Santee River.

On Sunday, December 26, The Underground Circus 50 in Atlanta, Georgia, is offering a staggering nine different ultra distance events raising money for ​​the homeless. This flat and fast ultra held at the scenic Washington Park in downtown Atlanta is a perfect opportunity to run for a good cause.

Across the country in sunny San Diego, California, we have the DayDayUp Miramar 24-hour race. This event is a qualifier for Sparthatlon if you can complete ​​14 (women) or 15 (men), 5-mile laps around Lake Miramar the day after Christmas. Finish off 18 or 19 respectively, and you can bypass the lottery for the famed 153-mile race next September in Greece.

What’s Up in Ultra in your community this weekend that we should know about? Drop us a comment below, let us know what we missed, and what’s lighting your end-of-year fire this holiday season.