Bighorn Trail Run is an

ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...

trail running event held annually in the

Bighorn National Forest The Bighorn National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northern Wyoming, United States and consists of over 1.1 million acres (4,500 km2). Created as a US Forest reserve, Forest Reserve in 1897, it is one of the oldest government- ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. Founded in 1993, it has several distances including , , , and .

Race course and description

Bighorn is an out-and-back course. The 100 begins and ends near

Dayton, Wyoming Dayton is a town in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 822 at the 2020 census. History Dayton was named after Joe Dayton Thorn (1861-1942) in 1882 because he was one of the founding fathers of the city. Wyoming's firs ...

, and then passes through the

Bighorn Mountains The Bighorn Mountains ( or ) are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a northwest-trending spur from the Rocky Mountains extending approximately northward on the Great Plains. They are separa ...

. The 52 mile race begins at the turnaround point for the 100. The 100 mile distance is considered one of the most difficult

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

ultras in the United States, and is a qualifier for both the

Western States Endurance Run The Western States Endurance Run, known commonly as the Western States 100 or Western States, is a 100.2-mile (161 km) ultramarathon that takes place on California's Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada Mountains trails each year on the last ...

and

Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run The Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run is an ultramarathon in length, with of climb at an average elevation of over . The race is held on a loop course on 4WD roads, dirt trails, and cross country in Southern Colorado's San Juan Range, US. T ...

. With of ascent, 100 mile runners face steep and technical terrain, with the race course having been adjusted to account for heavy snow in the past. The race is also notorious for deep, shoe-sucking mud—in one year even a horse was stuck in the mud on course. Encounters with wildlife are not unheard of as well, with two-time winner Karl Meltzer having been chased by a

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

History

The Bighorn Trail Run was founded in 1993, partially as an effort by local trail runners to protect and preserve local river canyons from

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

dams and other development. In 2002, the 100 mile distance was added. The Bighorn 100 is part of the "Rocky Mountain Slam", an informal series of mountain 100 milers which requires a finish at Bighorn as well as the Hardrock 100, Bear 100, and the Wasatch Front 100.

References

External links

* Ultramarathons in the United States Sports competitions in Wyoming 1993 establishments in Wyoming Recurring sporting events established in 1993 June in sports {{Wyoming-sport-stub