In 2004, a wild idea was hatched: an ultra trail race in Big Bend. It had never been done. The logistics were impossible. The Big Bend National and State Parks are huge: over 300,000 acres and several hours from San Antonio. Water is scarce. Fuel is scarce. Transportation is scarce. …
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In 2004, a wild idea was hatched: an ultra trail race in Big Bend. It had never been done. The logistics were impossible. The Big Bend National and State Parks are huge: over 300,000 acres and several hours from San Antonio. Water is scarce. Fuel is scarce. Transportation is scarce. The isolation also means it has the lowest light pollution of any park in the lower 48 states, making it a fantastic place for stargazing. Expect zero cell service on the course! This was the beginning of a truly great event that has been held annually ever since. If you’re looking to truly get disconnected on some epic trails, this race is for you.
In order to improve our experience for runners and volunteers, new routes have been created for the 30K & 50K which are now 35 & 55K races. Both routes are new this year, but the 55k is significantly different offering more single track and climbing than in previous years. Due to the inability to access the route by vehicle, the 10k is slightly different as well and is an out and back (with no aid station). And there is now a brand new 100k single loop race. Due to the remoteness of the race, we are limiting the field of the 100k to 100 participants. In addition, this is the first year hosting a 100k race in Big Bend, and to make sure we have the support from the volunteers and staff we will have a strict 20 hour cut-off. The hope is to be able to increase the cut-off in future years as the race grows. 100K finishers will receive a buckle.
All runners share the start and finish at the Barton Warnock Visitor Center at Big Bend Ranch State Park.
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Beautiful, poorly marked
This was an epic race in the most beautiful part of Texas. I'd totally recommend it. Pros: 11/10 scenery. Beautiful weather. Great swag (love the shirt and the "medal" is … MORE
This was an epic race in the most beautiful part of Texas. I’d totally recommend it.
Pros: 11/10 scenery. Beautiful weather. Great swag (love the shirt and the “medal” is hand-made and beautiful). Nice, helpful people.
Cons: pasta dinner the night before seemed like it was going to be a social event, but it was not at all. Just a bar that was hard to get a seat at with an option to pay for some basic pasta – not an actual “event”. Other big con was that it was poorly marked. I know with trail races that you have to “be alert”, but I was running the 30k and a volunteer at an aid station/fork told me to follow the wrong road, so I ran an extra six miles along the 50k route (until the next aid station). Many other 30k runners had this exact problem, which was very frustrating.
All in all, would totally run this again, and the scenery and friendly folks made it an excellent race.