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Ultras · US · CO

Run Rabbit Run

14th Annual Run Rabbit Run 100 / 19th Annual Run Rabbit Run 50
Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile · 101.8M
Full
Entry has closed for this year. Both the 100-mile (350 cap, Tortoises+Hares combined per the registration page) and 50-mile (200 cap) fields are full for 2026; UltraSignup waitlists are open for both. Bib numbers/division lock on Sept 7, 2026; UltraSignup registration/waitlist activity closes Sept 15, 2026. Drop-bag pickup and the awards ceremony happen the following morning, Sunday Sept 20, 2026, after the last runner cutoff.
Race dateSeptember 18-19, 2026
Duration2 days
Start9:00am
Whenin 27 days
First held2007
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 101.8M
Climb 20,391 ft
Descent 20,391 ft
High point 10,557 ft
Time limit 36:00:00
Aid stations 17
Started not checked yet
Finished not checked yet
Finish rate not checked yet
The course

Where it goes lollipop · 17 aid stations

Point-to-point-feeling but starts and finishes at the same location: a stem out from the ski area base over Mount Werner and down Fish Creek Falls Trail to Long Lake, then Continental Divide/Buffalo Pass roads to Summit Lake and Billy's Rabbit Hole, descending Spring Creek Trail through downtown Steamboat to Olympian Hall (roughly halfway); a ~12.7 mile loop around Emerald Mountain (Blackmere/Lane of Pain/Ridge Road/Stairway to Heaven) that returns to Olympian Hall; then back up the same stem in reverse (Dry Lake, Billy's Rabbit Hole, Summit Lake, Long Lake via the Wyoming/Continental Divide Trail, Mount Werner) to the finish at the ski area base. Runs as two divisions from the same start/finish: Hares (1 PM start, prize-money division, 30-hour cutoff) and Tortoises (9 AM start, 36-hour cutoff, pacers allowed).

Course structure does not cleanly fit one schema course_type: after the stem out (Start-Olympian Hall, with a Fish Creek Falls out-and-back spur early on), the course runs a genuine ~12.7 mi loop around Emerald Mountain that starts and ends at Olympian Hall (the midpoint, not the far end), then reverses back down the same stem to the finish -- closest fit is 'lollipop' but the loop sits mid-course rather than at the outer end, and distance_miles is NOT stem+loop*1 in the usual sense. About half the course sits at or near 10,000 ft (Continental Divide / Buffalo Pass / Wyoming Trail); the nominal high point, 10,557 ft, is on the Wyoming Trail between Summit Lake and Long Lake on the return leg. The race's own FAQ says GPS devices typically read the course at about 103.5 miles versus the published ~101.8-101.5; the race declines to wheel the course and treats trail-distance precision as beside the point. No headphones are allowed between Spring Creek Trailhead and Olympian Hall (through town, both directions) even though headphones_allowed=true generally. Bears (including sows with cubs) and mountain lions are an explicit hazard on the Emerald Mountain / Blackmere section, run mostly in the dark. The race reports more 100-mile DNFs from unexpected overnight cold than any other cause.

The race

What this one is

Two ultramarathons (50 mile and 100 mile) starting and finishing at the base of the Steamboat Ski Area in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on trails of the Routt National Forest crossing Buffalo Pass and running past Fish Creek Falls, Long Lake and (100 mile only) Emerald Mountain and downtown Steamboat. The 100 mile race runs two divisions from different start times: Hares (competing for prize money, 1 PM start, 30-hour cutoff, no pacers) and Tortoises (9 AM start, 36-hour cutoff, pacers allowed from designated points).

The Run Rabbit Run 50 began in 2007, started by Fred Abramowitz as a charity run benefiting northern Colorado kids and causes; Betsy Kalmeyer designed the original 50 mile course (since changed). Paul Sachs became co-race director in 2008. The 100 mile race, run in Hare/Tortoise divisions and offering the highest purse of any 100-mile trail ultra in the world, began in 2012. Since 2012 the race has donated almost $700,000 to northern Colorado non-profits.

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
350
Registration
UltraSignup runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Qualifying
No qualifying race or time standard is required to enter. runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Minimum age
not checked yet
Transfers
No runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Deferrals
No runrabbitrunsteamboat.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 runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Vehicles per runner
not checked yet
Pacers
Yes runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Muling
Not allowed runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Drop bags
Yes runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Cupless
not checked yet
Course marking
Fully Marked runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Night running
Yes runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Dogs
not checked yet
Headphones
Allowed runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Crew rules
HARES: crew may aid only at designated crew aid stations, at the top of the gondola, and anywhere between Spring Creek Trailhead and Olympian Hall (through town). TORTOISES and 50 MILERS may receive aid at any designated crew aid station or spectator access point. No crewing or vehicle access above Dry Lake on Buffalo Pass Road, and no driving to the Fish Creek Falls aid station at all (foot or bike only, 4 miles from Olympian Hall) -- violating either is grounds for disqualification. Crew/pacer access by station: Start (crew yes), Mount Werner (no crew), Fish Creek Falls TH (crew via foot/bike only, no parking/driving), Long Lake (no crew), Summit Lake outbound (crew yes, no pacer), Billy's Rabbit Hole (no crew), Dry Lake outbound mi 44.5 (crew and pacer yes, no parking -- drop off and leave), Olympian Hall both visits (crew and pacer yes, ample parking), Lane of Pain minimal aid x2 (no crew), Dry Lake return mi 70.8 (crew and pacer yes, no parking), Summit Lake return mi 80.8 (crew and pacer yes), Mount Werner return (no crew), Finish (crew yes). runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Pacer rules
Pacers for TORTOISES only, at designated exchange points, except: a Tortoise 100-mile runner over 60 (woman over 50) may have a pacer for the entire course. Only one pacer at a time. ALL 100-milers (Tortoises AND Hares) may have a pacer from Spring Creek Trailhead to Olympian Hall, both directions (through downtown Steamboat, for safety crossing Highway 40/Lincoln). ALL 100 and 50 milers may have as many pacers/companions as they like from the top of the gondola building to the finish (the last ~4 miles); a Hare's town pacer must stop at Olympian Hall. Pacers may only meet their runner at crew-access aid stations and must get themselves to/from stations; a single mile figure cannot represent this since the allowed pickup points differ by division and by exchange point (see crew_rules for the station-by-station map). runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Drop bag rules
Two drop bags permitted, transported to Olympian Hall and Summit Lake only; each is accessible up to four times over the race (Olympian Hall x2, Summit Lake x2) plus a bag may be left at the start/finish. Bags are dropped off Thursday (100mi) before the briefing. No hard-sided bags, coolers or tubs -- 'we will not deliver them.' Drop bags returned to Olympian Hall; last pickup is noon Sunday, Sept 20 -- bags are NOT shipped and unclaimed contents are donated to charity or discarded at noon. runrabbitrunsteamboat.com
Cutoff philosophy
The 100-mile cutoffs are described as generous but strictly enforced. Because Hares start 4 hours after Tortoises but share the same wall-clock station cutoffs for most of the course, the race explicitly warns Tortoises that the early cutoffs are really sized for Hares, and a Tortoise running close to them is unlikely to finish. A runner who checks out of an aid station and returns after its cutoff is considered to have abandoned the run; the race asks runners not to argue with aid station staff and to 'come back next year and prove us wrong.' runrabbitrunsteamboat.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 Start (Ski Area Base)
6,886 ft
? · ? 5.40
5.40 Mount Werner
10,372 ft
3:30pm · · · ? 12.30
17.70 Fish Creek Falls Trailhead
6,952 ft
6:00pm · · ? 6.60
24.30 Long Lake
9,850 ft
? · · · ? 5.80
30.10 Summit Lake
10,316 ft
? · ? 4.20
34.30 Billy's Rabbit Hole
10,040 ft
? · · · ? 10.20
44.50 Dry Lake
8,272 ft
? · ? 6.70
51.20 Olympian Hall
6,669 ft
2:30am ? 3.20
54.40 Lane of Pain
8,180 ft
? · · · ? 3.70
58.10 Lane of Pain
8,180 ft
? · · · ? 5.80
63.90 Olympian Hall
6,669 ft
7:45am ? 6.90
70.80 Dry Lake
8,272 ft
10:00am · ? 5.80
76.60 Billy's Rabbit Hole
10,040 ft
? · · · ? 4.20
80.80 Summit Lake
10,316 ft
3:00pm ? 8.20
89.00 Long Lake
9,850 ft
6:30pm · · · ? 6.80
95.80 Mount Werner
10,372 ft
8:00pm · · · ? 6.00
101.80 Finish (Ski Area Base)
6,886 ft
9:00pm ? ?
Same race, other lines

Other distances and other years

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