The final quarter of the year is here, and it’s definitely starting to feel like fall. Per popular reader request, What’s Up In Ultra is coming to you a day earlier so some of you might have a better chance lining up last minute at one of the races highlighted on our North American UltraRunning Calendar. This weekend we have a historic 100-miler in the Land of Opportunity, a flat and fast point-to-point trifecta of ultras a couple hours west of the Windy City, a premier 50k in the Scenic City and a ton more.
Let’s kick off the weekend’s festivities at the 31st Annual Arkansas Traveller 100 in Perryville on Saturday, October 1. While not a particularly fast or slow hundred, the AT100 is still known as a great first 100-miler as much as it is a place to see where you stack up against the annals of time. Enjoy the scenic Ouachita National Forest trails, vivacious volunteers, honest hills that remain sneaky-hard and a “good time running” says race director Stacey Shaver. Get an in-depth look at this race by reading Seventeen Crazy Hours in the Arkansas Mountains by Zach Freeman. The race appears to be full as online race registration is closed.
Next, we head north to highlight The Hennepin Hundred 50k/50m/100m in Sterling, Illinois, on October 1. These point-to-point courses on the Hennepin Canal State Trail, Illinois’ longest multi-use trail, are perfect for chasing personal records to kick off your fall racing calendar. It’s a true adventure along the Rock River ending in Colona, Illinois, near the mighty Mississippi River. Registration is closed with more than 500 participants gearing up for Saturday’s races.
Chattanooga, Tennessee, is home to the 21st Annual Rock/Creek Stump Jump 50k on Saturday, October 1. The Stump Jump takes place on a 90% single-track course atop Signal Mountain and Walden Ridge. With gorgeous, jaw-dropping views of the Tennessee River Gorge, and lush coves of cascading streams, hemlock and rhododendron, these sandstone-strewn trails offer some of the most spectacular scenery in the Cumberland Plateau region. Act quick, there are just 7 spots left in this ultra. Read: A Broken Hand and a Bite in the Butt 2018 race report by William Ansick.
The UltraRunning Calendar for the first weekend of October also includes the Whitefish Trail Legacy Run 50k in Whitefish, Montana, the Baker Lake Ultra Trail Runs 50k in Baker Lake, Washington, the Castle Rock Trail Festival 50k in Castle Rock, Colorado, the Bohemian Alps 50k Endurance Run in Brainard, Nebraska, the John Holmes Trail Run 50k in Brooksfield, Florida, and the Mt. Taylor 50k in Grants, New Mexico, all on Saturday, October 1.
Don’t forget to check out our first Ultra Weekend Recap if you missed it, highlighting last weekend’s North American ultrarunning results and be on the lookout for results from the above races and more on Sunday. Subscribe to our Thursday morning newsletter to read even more from UltraRunning and around the web. What’d we miss this week? Let us know by dropping a comment below.