What’s Up in Ultra This Weekend — June 21, 2025

In the summer solstice edition of What’s Up in Ultra, we feature ultramarathons in Wyoming, Wisconsin, Maryland, Pennsylvania and British Columbia. You can view all 57 of this weekend’s races in the UltraRunning Magazine race calendar. If you’re a race director and would like your event to be featured on the calendar, register here. Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. We hope you get to enjoy the first weekend of summer out on some of your favorite trails.

Featured: Bighorn Trail Runs (Dayton, WY)

The Bighorn Trail Runs (100-mile, 52-mile and 32-mile ultra distances) kick off this weekend in Dayton, Wyoming. The classic 100-miler is a true mountain running test that takes participants on a journey through the Little Bighorn and Tongue River areas of the Bighorn National Forest, where they’ll face the famous Bighorn mud, the potential for extreme mountain weather conditions and perhaps cross paths with black bears, moose, mountain lions or rattlesnakes. The out-and-back 100-mile course has 20,500 feet of climbing and 20,750 feet of descent on 75% technical single-track trails. Participants have 34 hours to finish the race and earn their 2026 Hardrock 100 qualifier. The 52-mile and 32-mile races feature point-to-point net downhill courses. The 52-miler has 8,000 feet of climbing and 13,000 feet of descent and the 32-miler has 4,000 feet of gain with 8,000 feet of loss. Read more.

Other West Events:

Pacific

• Denali 135, 100k & 50k (Paxson, AK)
• Orange Curtain (Cerritos, CA)
• Headwaters Trail Runs (Mount Shasta, CA)
• Broken Arrow Skyrace (Olympic Valley, CA)
• Black Mountain 50k (San Diego, CA)
• Golden State 50K (Salinas, CA)
• Burney Mountain 100 (Burney, CA)
• Hawaii 1-20-12 Endurance Challenge (Keaau, HI)
• Alpine Solstice (Bend, OR)
• Wild Woman Trail Marathon (Trout Lake, WA)
• Strawberry Fields Forever (North Bonneville, WA)
• Run For SOWF (Nine Mile Falls, WA)

Mountain

• San Juan Solstice (Lake City, CO)
• Ring the Springs (Colorado Springs, CO)
• Trail Rail Run (St. Regis, MT)
• Moonlight on Mt Ascension Trail Run (Helena, MT)
• Bob Marshall Trail 50K (Seeley Lake, MT)
• Bears Ears Ultra (Monticello, UT)
• White Pine Solstice Runs (Tooele, UT)

Featured: Six Days In the Dome-WI (Milwaukee, WI)

The 2025 Six Days in the Dome will run from June 19- 29 at Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The unique, fixed-timed event takes place on a climate-controlled (50-55 degrees with 30-35% humidity) USATF-certified 443.445-meter indoor oval track that provides an ideal environment for runners to chase world, national and age group records. This year’s Six Days in the Dome leads off with the start of the 10-day race on Thursday, followed by 6-day, 72-hour, 48-hour, 24-hour and 12-hour competitions. Follow the action on the live stream here. Read more.

Other Midwest Events:

• • Two Hearted Trail Run (Paradise, MI)
  • Wicked Worm (Grand Rapids, MI)
  • Dark 2 Dawn Night Trail Run – 9 Hours / 6 Hours / 10K (St. Louis, MO)
  • The Dizzy GOAT (Gretna, NE)
  • Whitewater Trail Challenge (Whitewater, WI)
  • The Strawberry Solstice Run (Prairie du Chien, WI)

Featured: Catoctin (Frederick, MD)

The Catoctin 50k (33 miles) features an out-and-back course that begins in Cunningham State Park, just outside of Frederick, Maryland, and travels south on the Catoctin Blue Trail to the High Knob Area before turning around. The popular race averages well over 100 finishers each year and has become a local favorite since the first running in 1994. On trail, runners will have to tackle rocky and rooty sections, punchy climbs, steep descents, and over 5,700 feet of elevation gain. Participants have 9.5 hours to complete the race. Race donations benefit the “The Friends of Gambrill and Cunningham State Parks,” a non-profit that supports Gambrill and Cunningham Falls State Parks, and the City of Frederick for trail maintenance. Read more.

Other South Events:

Southwest

• Flagstaff Extreme Big Pine Trail Runs (Flagstaff, AZ)
• Summer Solstice Trail Run (Abilene, TX)

Southeast

• Dewey Beach 100 miler & 24hrs (Dewey Beach, DE)
• Badder Marsh Night Ultra (Richmond Hill, GA)
• The Night Owl- Vertical Challenge (Blairsville, GA)
• The Inferno Endurance Run (Monroe, NC)
• Froggy Mountain 100 (Galax, VA)
• New River Gorge Trail Festival (Fayetteville, WV)

Featured: Rachel Carson Trail Challenge (Pittsburgh, PA)

The 28^th annual Rachel Carson Trail Challenge is a one-day, sunrise-to-sunset endurance hiking event that challenges participants to endure, overcome and finish the 37-mile course before the sun goes down. Participants will begin at sunrise in Harrison Hills Park in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and must reach North Park by 8:54 p.m. or under 15 hours and 4 minutes (whichever comes first). Along the way, they’ll travel along the primitive Rachel Carson Trail (named after Rachel Carson, often referred to as the “mother of modern environmentalism”), where they’ll pass by several parks, farms, woods, and fields and traverse varied terrain including steep hills and stream crossings. To assist them on their journey, participants will have access to four aid stations offering drinks, snacks and basic first aid. Race proceeds help benefit the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy. Read more.

• Free to Run Trail Races (Pittsfield, MA)
• Edge Hill Trail Race (Ashfield, MA)
• Flat Rock Trail Race (Dunstable, MA)
• 6 at the Springs (Poland, ME)
• Reckless Red Eye Endurance Run (Columbus, NJ)
• Great New York Running Exposition (New York, NY)
• Manitou’s Revenge (Windham, NY)
• Ruck Around the Lake Weighted Race (Valley Cottage, NY)
• Coventry Woods Trail Running Festival (Pottstown, PA)
• Ghost Town Trail Challenge (Blairsville, PA)
• Last Human Standing – RI (West Greenwich, RI)
• Catamount Ultra (Stowe, VT)
• 4x4x48 Challenge – Vermont (Burlington, VT)

Other Northeast Events:

• Ansonia Six Hour Trail Run (Ansonia, CT)
• Table Rock Trail Challenge (Jamesville, NY)

Featured: Slay the Dragon (Vernon, BC)

The Slay the Dragon trail running event is held at Silver Star Mountain Resort, just a short drive up the mountain from Vernon, British Columbia. The 50k ultramarathon travels high and low on the resort’s scenic trail system, taking runners down through lush B.C. forests and up to 1,884 meters above sea level where they’ll have panoramic views of Silver Star Provincial Park and the Monashee Mountains. The loop course features a combination of technical terrain and flowing single-track with rugged climbs, fast descents, and over 1,600 meters (6,180 feet) of vertical gain and loss. In addition to the 50k race, Slay the Dragon also hosts 13.6k and 25k sub-ultra distance events, a 2.7-kilometer kids’ race and a vertical kilometer (VK) competition. Read more.

Other Events in Canada and Mexico:

• Tenderfoot Boogie (Squamish, BC)
• Sasquatch Ultra – 24hr (Agassiz, BC)
• Niagara Ultra (Niagara On The Lake, ON)
• Sunburn Solstice Run (Mount Hope, ON)
• Boomerang Trail Run (Batawa, ON)
• FitFarm Little Loop Ultra (Strathory, ON)

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