Come join the annual Yippee-Ki-Yay 50K, Half Marathon and now 10K races this October in Council Bluffs, IA. All races will take place on the gorgeous Wabash Trace Nature Trail starting and finishing at the Iowa West Foundation Trail Head Park. You will have your choice of running a 10K, …
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Come join the annual Yippee-Ki-Yay 50K, Half Marathon and now 10K races this October in Council Bluffs, IA. All races will take place on the gorgeous Wabash Trace Nature Trail starting and finishing at the Iowa West Foundation Trail Head Park. You will have your choice of running a 10K, Half Marathon or 50K Ultra Marathon.
Unique to the area this Rails to Trail Course will be a great choice for those hoping to add an Ultra Marathon to their race resume or try to run a personal best time one of the fastest avg. finisher 50K course in Midwest Region. With the countryside views of the Heartland our Half Marathon event has become a quick favorite to many that come each year from across the country! After you’ve crossed the finish line wrap up your race day with some great eats and back by popular demand our Country Chicken Noodle Soup!
Reserve your spot today because the field will be limited to just 250 runners and this event will be one that you will absolutely not want to miss!
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Love the Wabash and Ultras
Great race on the Wabash Trace! Incredible beauty this time of year. Great aid stations and event team was excellent. Love running on this trail and good to see an … MORE
Great race on the Wabash Trace! Incredible beauty this time of year. Great aid stations and event team was excellent. Love running on this trail and good to see an ultra on it! I ran an unsupported FKT on it from Missouri to Council Bluffs three years ago and it brought back great memories!
One of my favorite races
I’ve done the 50k, half and 10k, and each distance had great aid stations and crowd support. Snacks at the end were fantastic and the weather has been perfect every … MORE
I’ve done the 50k, half and 10k, and each distance had great aid stations and crowd support. Snacks at the end were fantastic and the weather has been perfect every time.
Treated like a rockstar
Great get-your-feet-wet ultra for anyone wanting to step into that world. The race is extremely affordable. It’s on an out and back trail which is flat and beautiful but not … MORE
Great get-your-feet-wet ultra for anyone wanting to step into that world. The race is extremely affordable. It’s on an out and back trail which is flat and beautiful but not terribly exciting as any out and back on a trail is. But with that said, there are 4 aid stations which were staffed with loving and kind volunteers and everything a runner might need. There were a few supporters at some intersections but unless you’re running with someone, it got pretty lonely at times. The race directors are excellent with communication, I emailed numerous times and heard back almost immediately. The shirts, medals, popcorn and finish line were great. From the day I registered until the end, I was treated like a rockstar. This is low key race and I loved everything about the race experience. If you want to do a race where the directors and volunteers really care about you as an individual and not just another runner, this is that race. Will do it again.
Low key gravel rail trail run
I was in the area and needed the state for a repeat 50 state collection. This is a rail trail run with really, really small field. You have mass start … MORE
I was in the area and needed the state for a repeat 50 state collection. This is a rail trail run with really, really small field. You have mass start (like barely 100 people!) and it’s on a crushed gravel rail trail. I ran in road shoes but wish I would have worn gaiters since I got pebbles in my shoe that drove me nuts. You run through the trees and it’s fall in the midwest (it was warm–shorts weather) and the leaves are falling so it’s pretty and quiet. Literally no one but you and an occasional biker and the birds. Some water stops but I wear a hydration pack which was helpful given how warm it was. Because it’s rail trail, FLAT FLAT FLAT (said by the person who lives in the mountains–someone at the start warned me about the “hill” as you head out. It is “uphill” to the halfway point but that is so gradual you do not notice, and it’s downhill back. The medal was wood which was cool and there was great food (including popcorn kernels from a local farm).
Very nice organizers. Flat course.
Pretty place. Flat course. Nice organizers. Not too crowded. Great weather! Easy drive from Omaha. Not much more to say blah blah blah MORE
Pretty place. Flat course. Nice organizers. Not too crowded. Great weather! Easy drive from Omaha. Not much more to say blah blah blah
I'll run this race every year!
Well organized, great swag and food afterwards. Smaller numbers, not crowded! Perfect for a trail newbie or someone looking for a trail race PR. I have run the 50k and … MORE
Well organized, great swag and food afterwards. Smaller numbers, not crowded! Perfect for a trail newbie or someone looking for a trail race PR. I have run the 50k and the half. This was great race for my first 50k.
Popcorn, Chicken Soup, & Scenic Course
This race took place on October 22, 2022 on the Historic Wabash Trace Nature Trail. The trail is a part of the Rails-to-Trails conservancy Hall of Fame, and is a … MORE
This race took place on October 22, 2022 on the Historic Wabash Trace Nature Trail. The trail is a part of the Rails-to-Trails conservancy Hall of Fame, and is a gorgeous race venue that was hand-selected by our fearless race directors, who are themselves avid trail runners, Graig and Katie Skartvedt. I had the pleasure of meeting Graig and Katie at packet pick-up, and they were as excited to greet each runner as they were inviting and friendly, making us feel like we were part of their family, especially those of us who had traveled from out of town for the race.
Each of the three Yippee-Ki-Yay events — organized by Happy Trailz Running and Run Nebraska —were an out and back route on the Wabash Trace Nature Trail. Although this race was only in its third year, it was spectacularly well organized, from pre-race communication to race day execution, and it was obvious to me that this event is something that has been bringing the local running community in the Omaha area together and will continue to grow and become even better with each year.
According to my weather app, it was 48° F at the start of the race, with an expected high of 70° F, and 6 MPH wind, absolutely ideal race conditions. The 2022 Participant Guide emailed to each of us from Race Co-Director Katie outlined the course and race day expectations, explaining that the course began with a “gentle uphill” for approximately the first 6 miles of the half marathon, and finished with a gradual downhill for the remainder of the course, which was expected to set runners up for a very “enjoyable downhill finish” for the last half of the race. Some of us joked that the course was actually “uphill both ways” because the downhill was so imperceptible, while the uphill felt obvious. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful race through an endless canopy of fall foliage, beloved by every runner, and touted the past three years as Iowa’s number one fastest average 50K finisher course.
The course started at the Iowa West Foundation Trail Head in Council Bluffs, stretched just beyond the town of Silver City, Iowa, and then doubled back to the start/finish line in Council Bluffs. Most of the walnuts that had fallen on the ground prior to race day had been collected by volunteers as they prepared the course — however, that did not preclude walnuts from falling from the trees during the race, and I narrowly avoided being pelted by a sudden deluge of walnuts falling from the canopy of trees while I was completing mile 9. Because the field of runners was fairly small — 180 runners for all three events — it was a very uncrowded course, and there were periods during the race where I was alone on the trail without another runner in sight for miles. This made for a very laid-back, almost meditative atmosphere.
There was a generous 9 hour time limit for all of the races, with all events concluding at 5 P.M. The course surface consisted of a very fine crushed limestone, and knowing this in advance, I opted to wear my road shoes, which were recommended. The turn-around point was at the 6.58 mile mark, where a photographer and course monitors waited for us.
After taking a look at the Athlete Guide, I had asked the race organizers for a bit of clarification on the aid stations, so I could determine what hydration system and how much additional fluid I would need to bring. I ended up bringing my Camelbak hydration system, filled with 0.5 liters of water on race morning, and that seemed to be just enough coupled with the fluid I got at the aid stations.
When we crossed the finish line, a generous array of snacks, food, and beverages were waiting for us at the shelter across the street, including delicious homemade chicken soup that many runners enjoyed. My stomach was still doing somersaults which began somewhere between mile 10 and 11, so although I opted to forego the chicken soup, everyone who partook in it said it was delicious and just the right thing for a chilly October morning. I snacked on potato chips and began rehydrating with water and Gatorade while admiring my unique wooden finisher medal, which was very “Iowa.”
In the months leading up to the race, Yippee-Ki-Yay Races announced that they would be entering military veteran participants into a special drawing for an awesome race kit bundle if registrants selected that they were a military veteran during registration. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I was drawn as the Military Veteran Bundle Winner. Included in my special bundle was a free pair of OOFOS recovery sandals from Fleet Feet, BOCO Gear hat with the race logo, large BOCO Gear bag, Keiser Farms tumbler, BOCO Gear headband, a pair of athletic socks, and a large fleece with the race logo. All in all, a successful race weekend.
Flat and fast course
This race's course reminded me a lot of the Prairie Spirit Trail Ultra in Kansas, but only better. The trail was more scenic, a little more rural, and had a … MORE
This race’s course reminded me a lot of the Prairie Spirit Trail Ultra in Kansas, but only better. The trail was more scenic, a little more rural, and had a lot of history. It also had slightly more incline, but only ever so slight. So little in fact, that you hardly knew you were going uphill. The trail this year was rock hard though, even the unpaved portions that were covered with crushed limestone. The limestone seemed to set up like concrete. I wore my trail shoes, but wished I had wore my road shoes. There was absolutely no way you could get lost on this trail. It was just a 15.5 mile out and 15.5 mile back course. The trail was well marked with sign posts every 1/4 mile. The aid stations were great with Honey Stinger products, bottles of Gaterade, water, and much more. We received a long-sleeved technical shirt at the packet pickup, and a wooden finisher’s award, a coffee mug, a 50K car magnet sticker, and a boxed lunch at the finish. The organizers of this race went all out, and I never would have guessed that it was an inaugural race. They started us in three waves, and had us stand on circles at the start to make sure we maintained social distance due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The runners also wore masks at the start. My favorite sight on the course was a pair of old rail cars that had derailed into a creek bottom near the small town of Mineola, IA. One rail car had a couple of trees growing through it, but I was never able to find out how long ago the derailment occurred. All in all it was a delightful fall run with black squirrels along the trail, Northern Cardinals, and leaves falling all around.