The Loud Thunder 50 is presented by the Quad Cities Trail & Ultra Runners & Sun Trail Running! Please join for a 50 mile, 50K and half marathon trail races on the rugged, beautiful and challenging trails at Loud Thunder Forest Preserve along the mighty Mississippi River. The hope is …
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The Loud Thunder 50 is presented by the Quad Cities Trail & Ultra Runners & Sun Trail Running! Please join for a 50 mile, 50K and half marathon trail races on the rugged, beautiful and challenging trails at Loud Thunder Forest Preserve along the mighty Mississippi River.
The hope is to showcase this amazing park all while providing a low-key trail race experience for those looking for a challenging but rewarding late spring ultra. Our commitment is to provide the highest value event possible by keeping the cost low and the focus on the runner, the trails and this great outdoor community. Your registration fee covers all the race basics as well as custom swag, fully stocked aid stations, custom finisher awards, post-race food and drink and a guaranteed donation back to the park to help ensure future maintenance and conservation efforts.
Camping is available right at the start/finish (Horse Corral Campground) and throughout the park at a number of campgrounds. One of those campgrounds is located along the course right near the primary on-course aid station (Riverview). Reservations can be made beginning March 1st through the park at: Loud Thunder Forest Preserve Camping.
Course
As you can expect with races of this nature, distances won’t be exact but will be pretty close to advertised. Trust us; you’ll get your money’s worth! The race course is 13.3 miles and is primarily a loop format with a few short stretches of 2-way traffic. These 2-way sections will be a great opportunity to encourage and commiserate with your fellow runners! 50mi runners will start by heading south and run the full route 3x before finishing with a shortened 4th loop. 50k runners will start by heading north and run the full route 2x and finish with a shortened north loop. Half marathon runners will start by heading south and run a single loop of the race course.
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Challenging course with lots of hills!
There's a 50 miler, 50k, and a half marathon... but none of these are for beginners! This is a challenging course with lots of hills, rutted equestrian trails, and even … MORE
There’s a 50 miler, 50k, and a half marathon… but none of these are for beginners! This is a challenging course with lots of hills, rutted equestrian trails, and even a spillway climb. It may not match the mountainous courses in some states, but it’s still one of the most challenging courses in the area.
Sun Trail Racing always puts on a GREAT race at an affordable cost, and this is no exception. There are two aid stations – one at the start/finish and one at the halfway point (it’s a half marathon course done multiple times by the longer distance runners). The trails are mostly equestrian with lots of ruts and muddy sections with creek crossings. There are some hills with very steep gradients, but also a few flowy runnable sections. The course is comprised of “Sac Fox South”, which is a loop of around 5 miles, a connector trail of less than 3 miles, and then a “Hauberg” section along the Rock River that is another 5 or so miles. The scenery isn’t fantastic, but it’s definitely not boring terrain.
It was my first time racing the course and I got 5th place overall, so not too shabby!