One distance, 50 km, from Fairhaven Park. Out 10k south on the Interurban Trail, up Fragrance Lake Trail and Cleator Road onto the Chuckanut Mountain Ridge, round the ridge loop and over Chinscraper at mile 20.3, back down to the Interurban and 10k home to the same park. Five aid stations, at 6.8, 10.2, 13, 20.3 and 25 miles. About 5,000 feet of climbing, almost all of it in the middle 30k.
The race calls itself a mountain ultra with technical terrain and variable weather. The two 10k stretches on the Interurban Trail are crushed rock and close to flat. Between them the course climbs Cleator Road, a long gravel road climb, then runs the ridge on singletrack with roots, rocks and mud before the Chinscraper climb at mile 20.3. Conditions on the ridge and along Lost Lake are usually colder and windier than at the start, and in 2025 several runners came off the course hypothermic. Falling trees are a normal March hazard here: on race morning 2026 the race warned runners they might have to climb over or under new deadfall while the course crew worked to clear it.
The Chuckanut 50k runs a lollipop out of Fairhaven Park in Bellingham, Washington, on the third Saturday of March. The first 10k and the last 10k are flat, fast, crushed rock on the Interurban Trail. The 30k in the middle is what the race is known for: about 5,000 feet of climbing up Cleator Road and around the Chuckanut Mountain Ridge, over Chinscraper, on trails that are usually wet and often technical, with Mount Baker and the San Juans out there if the clouds allow. It is the oldest trail ultra in Washington, and it is cup free, so bring something to drink from.
Doug McKeever and Richard West invited their ultrarunning friends to a favorite training run around Chuckanut Mountain in 1993. About twenty people came. The original course was roughly 33 miles with sections of highway and private property, and they settled on the 50 km route in 1995. The two of them ran it for ten years. Krissy Moehl ran the Chuckanut 50k as her first ultra in 2000, and when Doug and Richard stepped back in 2002 she took over as race director from 2003. Runner Girl Races, LLC was founded in 2010. The race is dedicated to Dave Terry, who died in 2009. After a few years of thinking about changing the course, Krissy committed to the one Doug and Richard had designed, because Dave had written to Doug that it was a classic and should never be changed. The 2020 edition was canceled for COVID-19 and a virtual version was held in 2021. A Visually Impaired Division was added in 2019 and a Non-Binary category, with equal cash and awards, in 2023. Every runner now completes four hours of trail work or an equivalent donation as a condition of entry.
| Mile | Station | Cutoff | Crew access | Bag | Pacer | Med | To next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | Fairhaven Park upper pavilion | ? | ● | ? | ? | ? | 6.80 |
| 6.80 | Lost Lake Parking Lot | ? | ● | ? | ? | ? | 3.40 |
| 10.20 | Two Dollar Trailhead on Cleator Road | ? | · | ? | ? | ? | 2.80 |
| 13.00 | Ridge Trail entrance near the top of Cleator Road | ? | · | ? | ? | ? | 7.30 |
| 20.30 | Bottom of Chinscraper | 2:30pm | · | ? | ? | ? | 4.70 |
| 25.00 | Where Fragrance Lake Trail meets the Interurban Trail | 3:00pm | ● | ? | ? | ? | 6.10 |
| 31.10 | Fairhaven Park upper parking lot | 4:00pm | ● | ? | ? | ? | ? |
From the race start at Fairhaven Park, head south on Chuckanut Drive for approximately 6 miles. Larrabee State Park will be on the right, and the aid station will be on the left (east) side of Chuckanut Drive, just past the entrance to Larrabee in the Lost Lake Parking Lot. The best parking is available on the right in Larrabee State Park. Carefully cross Chuckanut Drive and hike up the trails to the Interurban Trail. Walk south on the Interurban Trail a little less than a mile to enter the Lost Lake Parking Lot / Aid Station #1.
Parking. The best parking is available on the right in Larrabee State Park. Parking is limited and crews must have a Discover Pass.
chuckanut50krace.comParking. Crew park in the Lost Lake Parking Lot area, the same place they park for Aid #1. Parking is limited and crews must have a Discover Pass.
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