What’s Up in Ultra This Weekend — March 23

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Ultra season is back in full swing with several great races taking place during this first official weekend of spring. We can’t feature them all, so please check the Ultrarunning Magazine calendar for an extensive list of upcoming races across North America.

In this week’s What’s Up in Ultra, we head to the prairies of eastern Kansas, race uphill to an old mining town in Arizona, search for badgers in Washington state and check to see who will be the last runner standing in Ohio.

Kansas Spirit

We start in Ottawa, Kansas, for the 11^th running of the Prairie Spirit Trail races. Taking place on the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Line, now a recreational trail, the event includes four ultra distances (100-mile, 100k, 50-mile and 50k). Participants will run out-and-back races through quaint rural towns and the picturesque Kansas countryside. This is a flat course with easy crew access, making it an ideal event for first timers as well as experienced ultra runners looking to set a PR.

Kings & Queens

Starting at Lake Pleasant Regional Park in Morrison, Arizona, and finishing 50 kilometers later in the historic mining town of Crown King, Arizona, the Crown King Scramble is a classic ultra (first run in 1987) that offers a little bit of everything—including a finish line outside of an old saloon. The uphill race starts at an elevation of 1,700 feet and climbs to 6,250 feet at mile 28.7, before descending 600 feet to the finish. The course journeys through multiple climate zones, beginning in the Sonoran Desert and ending in the ponderosa pines of the Bradshaw Mountain Range. This race has always piqued my interest for its rich history and fun atmosphere. Plus, I’d really like to finish at an old-timey saloon!

Washington Challenge

The Badger Mountain Challenge is a popular spring event for runners looking to test their winter endurance training. Taking place in Richland, Washington, the race kicks off Friday with the traditional 100-mile and 50-mile races, and a newly added 100k distance. The 100-mile runners will run the 50-mile out-and-back course twice, while 100k runners will add an extra summit on Candy Mountain. All distances feature several climbs of 600 to 900 feet, with the toughest challenge arguably being the steep ascent of McBee Hill. On Saturday, runners in the 55k will run on a combination of single-track and rugged jeep trails, with a cumulative elevation gain of 4,100 feet.

Wildcard

For this week’s Wildcard Race (where we feature an event you may not be familiar with), we head to Lucasville, Ohio, for Ohio’s Backyard Ultra, a Silver Ticket Race with the last runner standing earning an invite into Laz’s Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra (this is how Harvey Lewis originally qualified for Big’s in 2021). Ohio’s Backyard Ultra course starts at McChesney Ridge and measures 4.1667 miles. The day course consists of 450 to 475 feet of elevation gain and is run on gravel, grass and dirt double-track trails, while the night course has around 150 feet of gain and is run mostly on pavement. Runners will run the loop every hour on the hour until only one remains. Who will earn their ticket to Big’s in October?

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!