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Ultras · US · IL

Tunnel Hill 100

13th Tunnel Hill 100/50/26.2/100km
USATF 50Mi Nat. Champ.
Registration open
As of August 2026, UltraSignup showed 65 entry spots remaining across all distances; registration closes Fri Oct 30, 2026 11:59 PM CT. Marathon and 100km fields are described as "very limited" by the race director because total field size is capped and the race prioritizes the 100 Mile and 50 Mile (USATF Championship) distances.
Race dateNovember 14-15, 2026
Duration2 days
Whenin 66 days
First held2014
Official website Entry Results Notify me if this race changes
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
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Aid stations 0
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The course

Where it goes

The race

What this one is

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.

Getting in

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

Lottery
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Lottery opens
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Lottery draw
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Field cap
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Registration
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Qualifying
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Minimum age
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Transfers
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Deferrals
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Crew access, 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
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Vehicles per runner
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Pacers
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Muling
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Drop bags
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Cupless
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Course marking
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Night running
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Dogs
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Headphones
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Crew rules
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Pacer rules
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Drop bag rules
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Cutoff philosophy
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Same race, other lines

Other distances and other years

What it looks like out there

Somebody has been out there with a camera the tables say the climb is long. these say what long feels like.

Nobody has been out there with a camera or a microphone yet. A gap means nobody has found it, not that it is not out there. Seen a course preview or a film of this one? Send us the link.

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Somebody watches it before it goes anywhere near this page. What we are after is footage of this course, on the ground. If it would be just as true of any other race, it is not this.

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Where this came from. Every fact on this page records its source and when we last checked it: 33 sources for this race. Hover a source link to read the sentence it came from.
0% of what we track for a course is filled in. The rest says "not checked yet" rather than guessing.
See something wrong or out of date? Suggest an edit
Ran this race? Tell the next runner what you know
Got footage of this course? Send us the link
Are you the race director? Get in touch and we'll make it right.
Anything else: [email protected]

Ultras change. We will tell you when this one does.

Cutoffs move, races get postponed, lotteries open and close. We read the race's own sources and record where every fact came from. Put your email in and we will send you what changed, and where we read it.

No account, and nothing to cancel.

What happens to your email. Nothing else. I do not sell it, and I will not send you anything except this race changing. One click gets you out.

I keep this catalog because the information is scattered and hard to trust. Telling you when it moves is the same job.

Ultras change. We will tell you when this one does.

Cutoffs move, races get postponed, lotteries open and close. We read the race's own sources and record where every fact came from. Put your email in and we will send you what changed, and where we read it.

No account, and nothing to cancel.

What happens to your email. Nothing else. I do not sell it, and I will not send you anything except this race changing. One click gets you out.

I keep this catalog because the information is scattered and hard to trust. Telling you when it moves is the same job.
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