Follows the same fast, flat Tunnel Hill State Trail south out of Vienna City Park to a 13.1-mile turnaround at the Wetland Center, then back to Vienna for a certified marathon finish. Runs on Saturday with all other distances, starting at 7:00 AM; no early start. The course does not reach the tunnel, which sits 9.3 miles north of the start, so it does not include the race's signature feature. Only one road crossing on course.
Should be an excellent Boston Qualifying course: flat, smooth crushed limestone with only one road crossing to be concerned about. Very limited number of entry slots (the race caps total participation and prioritizes the longer distances); drop-downs from longer distances are allowed and receive an official marathon finish and medal. Does not pass through the tunnel. USATF certification #IL25002MN; World Athletics certification USA2025-304.
A double out-and-back ultramarathon on the Tunnel Hill State Trail, a flat, crushed-limestone rail-trail through the Shawnee National Forest in Vienna, Illinois, built specifically for speed: fast times, qualifying standards, and 100-mile debuts, with a maximum grade of about 2% and no technical footing. Runners pass through the trail's signature 543-foot limestone tunnel, 9.3 miles north of the Vienna City Park start/finish. Offers 100 Mile, 100 km, 50 Mile (2026 USATF 50 Mile Road Championships) and Marathon distances, all starting and finishing together at 7:00 AM. Five world records and multiple American and off-road world's-best marks have been set on the course since 2014, and it is dual-certified as both a USATF/World Athletics Road course and an ITRA/American Trail Running Association Trail course.
Founded in 2014 by Steve Durbin, a six-time Barkley Marathons competitor who wanted a course built for pure speed rather than vertical gain, after he ran his first 100-miler in 2004 and grew fascinated with the Tunnel Hill State Trail's old rail tunnel near his home in Paducah, KY. Traci Falbo's 14:45 debut in the inaugural 2014 race set an American Record for a trail 100-mile; Camille Herron broke the women's 100-mile world record here in 2017 (12:42:40); Zach Bitter ran the fastest off-road 100 in 2018 (12:08:36); Charlie Lawrence set the men's 50-mile world record in 2023 (4:48:21); Courtney Olsen broke the women's 50-mile world record in 2024 (5:31:56); and in 2025 Anne Flower set a new 50-mile world record (5:18:57) and Caitriona Jennings set a new women's 100-mile world record (12:37:04) at the same event, the same year the race added a 100km distance and Courtney Olsen set a 100km American Record. Assistant Race Director Jason Claunch has partnered with Durbin since the first running.
| Mile | Station | Cutoff | Crew | Bag | Pacer | Med | To next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | Vienna Park (Start) | ? | ● | ● | ? | ? | 5.20 |
| 5.20 | Heron Pond Lake | ? | ● | · | ? | ? | 5.30 |
| 10.50 |
Karnak
340 ft
|
? | ● | ● | ? | ? | 2.60 |
| 13.10 | Wetland Center (Turn) | ? | ● | · | ? | ? | 2.60 |
| 15.70 |
Karnak
340 ft
|
? | ● | ● | ? | ? | 5.30 |
| 21.00 | Heron Pond Lake | ? | ● | · | ? | ? | 5.20 |
| 26.20 | Vienna Park (Finish) | 7:00pm | ● | ● | ? | ? | ? |
Nobody sees it until we have read it. No account, no sign-in.
This changes nothing on the page on its own. Somebody checks it against the race first.
We want the address of the file the race publishes, not the file. We download it from there so the page can say where the line came from.
We read every one of these and we write back. Every fact here carries the source it came from, and the way a wrong one gets fixed is a person checking it against what you tell us.
NavRun builds your pacing from your own training, then turns it into a plan your crew can follow: when to leave and where to park.
Start free