Wild Wild West Marathon and Ultra

As the United States’ oldest trail marathon, the Wild Wild West features a challenging loop course starting and finishing in Lone Pine, California (220 miles east of Los Angeles) and traversing the eastern Sierra foothills. A favorite among ultrarunners, the route includes several steady climbs and moderate declines at altitudes between 3700 and 8600 feet. Despite the hills, elevation, and typical heat (90° by high noon), the spectacular scenery may be worth the discomfort. Striking vistas, the snow-capped eastern Sierra, and the expansive Owens Valley are just a few of the sights along the way. In fact, the area should look familiar to you. This is the site for many Western movies from Roy Rogers in the 1930s to James Garner and Mel Gibson (Maverick) in the 1990s. Iron Man, Lone Ranger and Django Unchained in the 2000s. The race enjoys a cult-like following as most of the nearing 300 (whether looking good, bad, or ugly at the finish), return the following year.

Course Description
The 10 Mile race starts at Horseshoe Meadows Road and includes plenty of up and down and a few creek crossings. The first third of the course runs mostly uphill on fairly steep jeep roads and trails contouring below the mighty Sierra Nevada Mountains, including Mt. Whitney. 50 Mile, 50k and Marathon runners start and finish in Lone Pine at Spainhower Park. These courses include additional climbing below Whitney Portal, a steady 9-mile descent on a wide graded dirt road leads to the north end of the famed Alabama Hills and the winding and rolling Movie Flat Road takes runners southbound through this unique geological formation of huge rounded oblong rocks. The marathoners and 50k runners split at roughly mile 22 and 28 respectively from the 50-mile course and head downhill to the finish in Lone Pine. The 50-mile race continues onward for 18 more miles before returning to this point and descending to the finish. Many wildflowers, including Indian paintbrush, lupine and Mojave asters, and desert dandelions, bloom along the course. Also, don’t be surprised if you see bear, Tule elk, deer, badger, raccoons, coyotes, skunks, numerous native birds, or rattlesnakes.