Fall is in the air at many events on our UltraRunning Calendar. Leading the list are the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic (NACAC) 50k championships, a 100-miler in Colorado with a big prize purse, another 100-miler in Georgia and a laundry list of others.
Let’s start the weekend off in Canada at the Beaver Flat 50k in the Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park, a race that is serving as the first-ever NACAC Mountain & Trail Running Championships on Saturday, September 16. The course features a continuous up-and-down profile through rugged terrain in the scenic river valley near Lake Diefenbaker. With 7,500 feet of vertical gain, runners from Canada, the United States, Mexico, El Salvador and the US Virgin Islands will have their work cut out for them. Check out more about Team USA via the American Trail Running Association.
The Run Rabbit Run 50 and 100 Mile Endurance Runs based out of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, are again offering $75K of prize money to the 100-mile “hares” starting on Friday, September 15. An additional $5K will be awarded to the fastest combined female and male times in the Team Challenge. The race delivers an extremely challenging course, with elevation gain and loss in excess of 20,000 feet, at an average elevation of close to 10,000 feet. The field is deep with two dozen runners expected to compete for the podium. A few athletes expected to lead the pack in pursuit of the $15K winner’s share include 2021 champion Dave Stevens from Canada, 2022 runner-up Arlen Glick of Ohio and 2021 Bear champion Adam Loomis out of Utah. In the women’s race, keep your eyes on 2022 runner-up Tara Dower of Virginia, course record holder Michele Yates from Colorado and 2022 50-mile champion, Georgia Porter, out of Arizona. The 50-mile race begins on Saturday, September 16, and is an out-and-back course with nearly 10,000 feet of gain and loss. Live tracking and results can be found here, and the live stream, here.
In the southeast, starting on Friday is the Georgia Jewel 100-miler in Dalton. The Jewel is reportedly Georgia’s longest-standing 100-mile trail race and is run on the beautiful Pinhoti Trail, with 99% single track and 1% of the race on a very steep road climb near the finish. Other course features include ridgeline running, expansive Blue Ridge Mountain views and a collection of challenging rock gardens. The accompanying point-to-point 50 and 35-miler ultras start on Saturday, September 16. Read: Georgia Jewel Closes the Gender Gap by co-race director Jenny Baker.
Visit our UltraRunning Calendar to find more races happening this weekend, and also check out the Pisgah Mountain Trail Races 50k in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, the Noble Canyon 50k in Pine Valley, California, the Idaho Mountain Trail Ultra Festival (IMTUF) in McCall, Idaho, The Barkley Fall Classic 50k in Wartburg, Tennessee, the Mountain Lakes 100 in Olallie Lake, Oregon, the Rut Mountain Runs 50k in Big Sky, Montana, and the Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line 100-mile/55k in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Each week there are just too many ultras to include them all. Be sure to let us know What’s Up In Ultra in your world this weekend by writing a comment and leaving a link below so we can follow along