It’s finally starting to feel like fall in many places around the country and on our UltraRunning Calendar, with a welcome relief from late summer heat and some much-needed precipitation to help big wildfires out West. Leading our calendar is a Colorado ultra with the biggest ultrarunning prize purse in the world, a qualifying race for next year’s Barkley Marathons and the state of Georgia’s longest-standing 100-miler.
The Run Rabbit Run 50 and 100 Mile Endurance Runs based out of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, are again offering $75,000 worth of prize money starting on Friday, September 16. However, new this year is the Run, Rabbit, Run Team Challenge where elite teams of one man and one woman (both must be registered in the Hares division), can win an additional $5,000 ($2,500 per runner). The 100-miler delivers an extremely challenging course, with elevation gain in excess of 20,000 feet at an average elevation of close to 10,000 feet. Both #3 2021 UltraRunners of the Year, Annie Hughes and Arlen Glick, are expected to lead the pack in pursuit of the $15,000 delivered to the winners of the race. The 50-mile race begins on Saturday, September 17, and is an out-and-back course with nearly 10,000 feet of gain. Live tracking and results can be found here.
In the Southeast, The Georgia Jewel 100-miler is going down in Dalton at noon on Friday, September 16. The Jewel is purportedly Georgia’s longest-standing 100-mile trail race and is run on the beautiful Pinhoti Trail, with 99% single track and 1% being a ridiculous road climb near the finish. Otherwise, the course features ridgeline running, Blue Ridge Mountains views and challenging rock gardens. Accompanying point-to-point 50 and 35-milers start on Saturday, September 17, too. Read: Georgia Jewel Closes the Gender Gap by co-race director Jenny Baker.
Scottsdale, Arizona, is playing host to Aravaipa’s Javelina Jangover Night Runs 50k and 75k races on Saturday. Both are multiple-loop courses at the McDowell Mountain Regional Park with rolling hills and the typical fun desert vibes Aravaipa is known for. The 75k starts at 5 p.m. and the 50k kicks off 15 minutes later.
The 500,000 acre Pisgah National Forest is home to the Table Rock Ultras 50k on Saturday. The lollipop-shaped course takes runners up to the aptly named summit of Table Rock Mountain, 3,940 feet above the Linville Gorge, and provides plenty of noteworthy footing, creek crossings, big views and relentless up and down running.
Finally, in Wartburg, Tennessee, is a glimpse of the Barkley Marathons at the Barkley Fall Classic on Saturday. Race director and UltraRunning contributor Gary Cantrell puts this race on to give participants a taste of the Barkley Marathons, which takes place each spring. Runners can expect to explore the beautiful trails of the rugged Brushy Mountains, new course elements each year, as well as a course map that won’t be revealed until the night before the race. Winners get an automatic entry into Barkley. Read: Barkley Falls Classic 2015 “50k” – It Gets Worse by Nick Yeates.
Visit our UltraRunning Calendar to find more races happening this weekend and also check out the Grindstone 100 in Swoop, Virginia, on Friday, the Noble Canyon 50k in Pine Valley, California, the Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line 55k/100m and the Beaver Flat 50k in Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park, Canada, all on Saturday, September 17.
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.