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Ultras · US · WA

Plain Endurance Runs

2026 Plain Endurance Runs
Plain 100K
Cancelled
This year's race is not being run. Everything below describes the race as it was planned. Cancelled roughly five weeks before race day. The Little Giant Fire, started by lightning northwest of the course, burned southeast onto the route; the Forest Service issued a closure order covering many of the course trails and checkpoint access roads, in place "until the snow flies," ruling out even a modified race for 2026. Registered runners were offered a rollover discount toward the 2027 event.
Race dateSeptember 19-20, 2026
Duration2 days
Start5:00am
First held1997
Free, and always will be. NavRun makes money from race-day planning for runners who want it, never from this. Ultras change constantly, sometimes the morning of. Always confirm with the race director and the official website before you rely on anything here.
Distance not checked yet
Climb not checked yet
Descent not checked yet
High point 6,834 ft
Time limit 22:00:00
Aid stations 7
Started not checked yet
Finished not checked yet
Finish rate not checked yet
The course

Where it goes loop · 7 aid stations · rust marks a stop your crew can reach

Course line from the race's own GPX. Source file.

One loop from and back to Deep Creek, identical to Loop 1 of the Plain 100 Mile: via Maverick Saddle, Mad Lake/Hi Yu/Lost Lake/Blue Creek trails, a Klone Peak out-and-back spur, North Tommy, Lake Creek/South Tommy, and the hard climb to Tyee, then back through Maverick Saddle to Deep Creek. Added in 2014. No aid stations, no course markings, no pacers.

Distance is left null: the race markets this course only as "the 100K" and states it is "just the first loop of the Plain 100 mile race," but no separate official mileage for that loop alone is published anywhere found; the only measured figure available (102.08 mi via CalTopo) is for the closed FULL two-loop 100-Mile track, not this course, so it is not reused here. Elevation is likewise not separately published for this course; the combined "roughly 21,000 feet" figure found is described as covering the Plain races generally and was not confidently attributable to the 100K alone, so published_gain/published_loss are left null here (unlike the 100 Mile course, where the same figure was used as the whole-course total).

The race

What this one is

A 100+ mile (100 Mile) and 100K self-supported ultramarathon on U.S. Forest Service trails and roads in the Cascade Mountains near Plain and Leavenworth, Washington. There are no aid stations, no course markings and no pacers; runners navigate by written directions and a paper map, filter their own water from streams, and check in with Search and Rescue volunteers at staffed checkpoints using a bib number and password. The 100 Mile is two laps of the same Deep Creek start/finish, each lap a different route; the 100K, added in 2014, is the first lap only.

Founded in 1997 by Tom Ripley and Christina Ralph of the Cascade Running Club (which also directed the Ron Herzog 50K, White River 50 Miler and Bridle Trails Twilight 8 Hour) as Washington's first 100-mile trail race, three weeks apart from Cascade Crest 100 the same year. Six runners started the first race; a snowstorm above 6,500 feet ended it early with no finishers. The first finishers were Tim Stroh and Randy Gerke in 1998; Liz McGroff became the first woman finisher in 2002. The original start/finish was Thousand Trails Lodge; in 2011 it moved to Deep Creek, with an added out-and-back spur to Thousand Trails to keep the distance the same, and the race course has not changed since. A 100K (the first loop only) was added in 2014. Wildfires cancelled the race in 2003 and 2015; in 2014 a wildfire forced a course modification that dropped the Tommy and Tyee checkpoints and added a foot-access-only Whistling Pig Meadow checkpoint; 2020 was cancelled for COVID-19; 2018, 2022 and 2026 were cancelled for wildfire. Tom Ripley and Christina Ralph retired as race directors in 2015, handing the race to long-time participant and SAR Support Team Commander Tim Stroh together with Tim Dehnhoff.

Getting in

Getting in Entry, lottery and what the race asks of you before race day.

Lottery
No
Lottery opens
not checked yet
Lottery draw
not checked yet
Field cap
75 docs.google.com
Registration
UltraSignup ultrasignup.com
Qualifying
No qualification is required, but the race cautions: "don't take this event/distance for granted. A challenging 50 miler would be a minimum level of ability." ultrasignup.com
Minimum age
not checked yet
Transfers
not checked yet
Deferrals
Yes plain100.com
Crew, pacers and drop bags

The rules that shape your day Anything marked "not checked yet" is a gap in what we hold, never a no from the race.

Crew allowed
Yes docs.google.com
Vehicles per runner
not checked yet
Pacers
No plain100.com
Muling
Not allowed plain100.com
Drop bags
Yes docs.google.com
Cupless
not checked yet
Course marking
Unmarked plain100.com
Night running
Yes docs.google.com
Dogs
Not allowed plain100.com
Headphones
not checked yet
Crew rules
Crew access is allowed ONLY at Deep Creek (both start and finish), and nowhere else on the course. No photography of runners by crew on the course. docs.google.com
Pacer rules
not checked yet
Drop bag rules
Only Deep Creek accepts drop bags, deliverable at Lake Wenatchee Rec Club on Friday or at Deep Creek on race morning. plain100.com
Cutoff philosophy
Same intermediate cutoffs as the shared first loop of the 100 Mile (Tommy 9.5 hr, Tyee 17 hr), with the 100K's own finish at Deep Creek matching the 100 Mile's 22-hour Loop-1 cutoff (3:00 a.m.). docs.google.com
Aid stations

Every stop, and what you get there ● yes   · no   ? nobody has checked

Mile Station Cutoff Crew Bag Pacer Med To next
0.00 Deep Creek ? · ? ?
? Maverick Saddle ? · · · ? ?
? North Tommy 2:30pm · · · ? ?
? Lake Creek ? · · · ? ?
? Tyee 10:00pm · · · ? ?
? Maverick Saddle ? · · · ? ?
? Deep Creek 3:00am · ? ?
Driving your crew

Getting your people there 1 stop with directions the race published.

Deep Creek mile 0.00

From Lake Wenatchee Rec Club (race headquarters): turn left on Chiwawa Loop Rd, at 4 miles turn left onto Lower Chiwawa Loop Rd (FS 6100), at 9.6 miles turn right at the 'T' intersection, arrive at Deep Creek after 100 feet on the right side of the road. About 15 minutes travel time from LWRC. Only park on one side of the road to leave room for other vehicles.

Parking. Limited parking along the road; park on one side only. Sleeping in vehicles and motor homes are both allowed. Stay off the adjacent airfield.

sites.google.com
Same race, other lines

Other distances and other years

Other distances
Plain 100 Mile (105M)
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