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We close out 2024 and welcome in 2025 with 18 races on the UltraRunning Magazine race calendar. In this week’s What’s Up in Ultra, we journey to Arizona, Texas, Tennessee and Alabama. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2025 filled with lots of PRs and shiny new buckles.
Across the Years
We kick things off in Peoria, Arizona, at Across the Years, the original fixed-time multi-day running event to ring in the New Year. The six-day celebration kicks off on Saturday, December 28, at the Peoria Sports Complex, and doesn’t end until Friday, January 3. Fixed timed events include 6, 12, 24, 48, 72-hour and 6-day races, while fixed ultra distances include 100-mile and 200-mile events. The 2024-25 Across the Years event will also include a last person standing competition. All participants will run on the same 1.42-mile looped course within the state-of-the-art Peoria Sports Complex, the spring training baseball home to the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres. Each loop consists of approximately 23 feet of elevation gain on a combination of dirt and asphalt paths. Live tracking for the 2024-25 Across the Years can be found here.
Snowdrop Ultra
Our second stop takes us to Missouri City, Texas, for the 12th annual Snowdrop Ultra (55-hour race and relay). Taking place in Buffalo Run Park, this wonderful charity event benefits the Snowdrop Foundation, which “provides scholarships for college-bound pediatric cancer patients and childhood cancer survivors while raising awareness and funding for continued research to cure childhood cancer.” During the race, runners will navigate a USATF certified 0.69045-mile loop of crushed granite and pavement. Every lap completed during the 55-hour window will go to the final results, with special buckles awarded to runners who reach 100, 150, 200 and 250 miles. Read about the inspiration behind the 55-hour event here.
Moccasin 24
Heading east, we travel to Memphis, Tennessee, for the inaugural Moccasin 24. Starting at 3 p.m. on Friday, runners will attempt to complete as many 4-mile loops in the Wolf Run Trail System as they can within 24 hours. Race highlights include Christmas lights and decorations illuminating the trails at night, hidden presents on the trail and clues on how to find them, and a bonfire for runners to hang out, eat s’mores and tell stories. All runners who finish 52 miles and 100 miles will receive a buckle for the distance they completed, with a special buckle awarded to anyone who runs 100 miles in under 24 hours.
Wildcard: Recover from the Holidays 50k
In this week’s Wildcard Race, where we feature an event you may not be familiar with, we journey to Huntsville, Alabama, for the Recover from the Holidays 50k. This race caught my attention because of its old-school vibe and because after a jar of my friend Jim’s homemade eggnog, I know I’ll be searching for a way to recover from the holidays. First run in 1995, this popular race, hosted by the Huntsville Track Club, takes place on New Year’s Eve at John Hunt Cross Country Running Park, a 10-meter wide, manicured grass running course over rolling hills. Participants will first run a one-mile out-and-back and then a 3-mile loop 10 times. Each 3-mile loop features two big climbs with the total race elevation gain adding up to 3,500 feet. Runners have 8 hours to complete the race and earn their Santa hoodie finisher’s prize.
Other events this weekend include: Tuscobia Winter Ultra (Park Falls, WI), Charleston 100 (Charleston, SC), Jupiter Ridge Sand Spur (Jupiter, FL), Revenuer’s Run (New Carlisle, OH), Boyer’s Furnace (Luray, VA), New Year’s One Day (San Jose, CA), Round the Bay Relay and Ultra (Fort Walton Beach, FL), Run Undead Ultra Trail Party (Pelham, AL), and Red Eye 50k (Triangle, VA).
Good luck to everyone racing and Happy New Year!