The Goosebumps 6/24 Hour Run/Walk is an exciting, fun, and unique fundraiser put on every year by the Local Lupus Alliance. The organization’s purpose is to help grow awareness and to assist local patients and families affected by the disease. You can walk or run as little or as much as you like in the 6 or 24 hour time frame. This is the perfect opportunity to test yourself; walk one loop, stop and hang out, or run the entire 6 or 24 hours and get in a half, full or ultra marathon distance. You determine your goal! Some brave souls have actively participated for the entire 6 hours putting in over 40 miles and we have runners planning on getting in 100+ miles during the 24 hour event. That is what makes our event different from other races, it’s whatever you feel comfortable with.
This is a gorgeous, scenic, 2.8* mile wooded, cross country trail, on the backwaters of the mighty Mississippi River in La Crosse, WI. This is a family fun event. Something for everyone. (*course distance and route may vary dependent on weather).
There is ONE aid station set up along the course. The Goosebumps 6/24 Hour Run/Walk does not require an entry fee, but donations are welcome. The proceeds from this event stay in our community to support local families and community members in their fight against Lupus. We hope to see you out this year. We look forward to your participation in the fight against Lupus.
Registration opens at midnight (CST) January 1st each year. Only 200 participants will be allowed in the 24 hour and only 100 participants will be allowed in the 6 hour. Once both races are full, there will be a wait list. Each year both races have sold out in a matter of hours, but we never know how quickly it will sell out. SORRY, NO SAME DAY REGISTRATION. Please consider volunteering if you are unable to participate in one of the races.
THE AID STATION is designed for runners, walkers, volunteers. It’s packed with tons of food and race fuel for our participants. Lots to carb load with and quench your thirst. We will have pizza, subs, grilled cheese sandwiches, soup, mashed potatoes, chips, M&M’s, cookies, bars, fruit, V-gels. Even a chef prepared breakfast!
POST RACE GATHERING AND MEAL is meant for all-participants of the races, and friends and family that come cheer you on. Last year someone asked if they could purchase a meal. We cannot legally sell food, if someone wants to make a donation, they most definitely can! We appreciate all donations!
WE WILL HAVE GAMES TO PLAY: Bean bag toss, Yardzee, and volleyball, please let your friends and family know this is available to them. We truly hope that you bring your family along to help us make a day out of it.
Prize give-away for race participants. We are blessed with the world’s best sponsors who always supply us with amazing running gear etc. to keep everyone happy! Please make sure you thank our sponsors!
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Wonderful, family-like atmosphere
This year I was really impressed with the course improvements that were made. There were some stretches in the woods where there were low spots that would puddle water when … MORE
This year I was really impressed with the course improvements that were made. There were some stretches in the woods where there were low spots that would puddle water when it rains and that would get muddy. This year, however, the county that manages the park put down some hard-packed gravel in the problem areas that made it less slippery and easier to run, even in the rain.
The race committee continues to put on a very well-supported event with a lot of food, a generous post-race awards ceremony with a taco bar and a lot of door prizes. Runners that reach an accumulation of 100 miles are still given free sweatshirts and a hundred mile patch, and those who reach 200, 300, or 400 cumulative miles get additional patches. I haven’t sat down and figured out the average mileage for this year, but with the course improvements, I would guess that it was much higher than last year. I don’t know if they had it last year, but they also had chip timing this year as well as volunteers counting laps as a back up.
Full service ultramarathon
This was my third time running this race which was the 10th anniversary edition. The weather forecast sounded almost perfect the day before the race, but 1.5 hours after the … MORE
This was my third time running this race which was the 10th anniversary edition. The weather forecast sounded almost perfect the day before the race, but 1.5 hours after the start, a line of rainclouds moved through the area and dumped what seemed like 0.25 to 0.5 inch of rain which turned the nice smooth dirt trails to a sloppy mess in a few spots. Fortunately, the rain stopped after about an hour and a half, leaving cool but wet conditions for the rest of the night; basically perfect for running.
This race is a fundraiser for a Local Lupus Alliance, and the community support is phenomenal. The race director’s family cooks a full breakfast of eggs, homestyle hashbrowns, and bacon cooked in maple syrup. They also had two types of homemade soup late at night, grilled cheese sandwiches, and pizza, along with the usual snack foods. For hydration, they had two different flavors of VFuel hydration mix, coffee, cola, and other sodas.
The course seemed a little wider than I remember from the first two times I ran this race, so it was easy to pass other runners, even when they were running in small groups. The only time it got congested was when we were trying to weave around muddy places in the trail. There were plenty of porta potties, and a lot of room for participants to set up tents and running camps. Laps were counted with a chip timing system for the first time this year, but they still had volunteers counting laps as a backup system.
I ended up with a 24 hour PR of 56 miles after suffering from Achille’s heel problems in my last 24 hour race. It really didn’t bother me much while I was running, but it is pretty sore today. My mind was arguing with me about continuing beyond 31 miles, but fortunately, I didn’t have a tent set up nor reservations in town, so I had no choice but to continue. I ended up finishing 2nd in my age group of 60-69 out of 8 runners, and around 29th out of 145 overall. There were no finisher’s awards, except for the top 3 male and female finishers, but we were given a t-shirt, free craft brews, and a huge number of door prizes for those who stayed for the after-race awards ceremony. They served a taco bar after the race under a huge tent, and presented runners who finished a cumulative number of 100 miles with a sweatshirt and 100 mile patch, no matter how many times they had to run the race to reach this milestone. They also presented patches for 200, 300, 400, or 500 cumulative miles to put on their 100 mile sweatshirt. It’s no wonder that this race fills up within hours after the opening of registration. If you would like to run this race, I’d advise you to be ready on your computer when the clock strikes midnight of the day of registration, because it does fill up quickly. If you miss out, don’t worry, they do have a waitlist and many people who are waitlisted do get in eventually.
Family atmosphere through and through
This was my second time at the Goose Bumps 24 hour run. This time we ran on a shortened 1.85 mile course as a result of high water. The course … MORE
This was my second time at the Goose Bumps 24 hour run. This time we ran on a shortened 1.85 mile course as a result of high water. The course wasn’t as interesting as the longer one that I ran on two years ago, but it was long enough that I didn’t feel like I had to run a zillion laps to hit my mileage goal. I ended up staying for the awards ceremony, which gave me a new perspective on the race. They started out with a door prize drawing, which lasted over an hour. They then presented cumulative mileage awards, which amounted to hoodies for those with over 100 miles cumulative mileage, and patches that could be added to the jacket for 200, 300, and up to 500 miles. They also served a catered taco bar and had a beer pod with four different craft beers (which they ran out of incidentally). The part that I liked the best about this race is all of the families that participated, both running and volunteering. There were people running with dogs, baby strollers, and whole families running together. It was really a refreshing change from the big race scene. If you like laid back races, this one is for you.
Huge party disguised as a running event
This event is obviously a labor of love for race director Richard Chrz. Richard has been putting this on for several years as a fundraiser for the Local Lupus Alliance. … MORE
This event is obviously a labor of love for race director Richard Chrz. Richard has been putting this on for several years as a fundraiser for the Local Lupus Alliance. He is also afflicted by Lupus himself, so puts on this race so that others can run when he can’t. Based on the amount of volunteers, food, and course markings, it appears that Richard spends almost the whole year in planning this event. He left nothing to chance, from the glow sticks that were placed every 5 feet on both sides of the entire length of the course, to the broad range of full meals offered at the aid station, to the multiple lap counters. I wasn’t able to stay for the full 24 hours, but I was amazed at the breakfast that was laid out for the runners. I ate thick-sliced pepper bacon cooked in maple syrup, rosemary seasoned roasted potatoes, and a cheesy egg bake. Participants who completed a cumulative total of over 100 miles or 200 miles over the years that they participated in this event were given a hoodie and a patch. All of this was for a free-will donation. This truly is a labor of love, and seems more like an extended family reunion than a race. I foresee that this event (it’s not just a race) will continue to grow in the future. Hopefully, it won’t outgrow the close-knit family feel and warmth that I saw at this year’s race.