The sixth edition of the Dark Divide Trail Races set off from the Cispus Learning Center near Randle, Washington, at 5am on Friday, with the 100-mile flagship leading a weekend of 42 North American ultramarathons on the UltraRunning Magazine calendar. The course tours the Dark Divide Roadless Area of Gifford Pinchot National Forest, with 26,565 feet of climbing, more than three quarters of the distance on singletrack and a 48-hour cut-off. The race has been added to the Hardrock 100 qualifier list this year, giving it new weight for runners chasing an entry to the Silverton lottery.
The event has grown into three ultra distances, with 100km and 50km races alongside the 100-miler, and directs a share of its proceeds to Silver Star Search and Rescue, the All Play Elementary Facilitation Program and the White Pass Scenic Byway. Finishers inside the cut-off earn the Dark Divide buckle, and the technical terrain means that even the shorter distances tend to reward mountain experience over pure speed.
In Minnesota, the inaugural SISU Backyard Ultra takes place on Saturday at Lake Rebecca Park Reserve in Rockford. The format is the standard one popularised by Lazarus Lake: a 4.167-mile loop, or yard, every hour on the hour until one runner remains. The loop mixes gravel park roads, asphalt bike paths, dirt, grass and double-track with just 164 feet of gain, and anyone completing 24 yards, the 100-mile mark, earns a buckle. In keeping with the Finnish concept the race is named after, a sauna and a swim await finished runners.
New England's contribution is the 14th TARC Fall Classic at Great Brook Farm State Park in Carlisle, Massachusetts, also on Saturday. The 50-mile race is five ten-mile loops and the 50km three loops plus a mile around the start field, with both distances starting at 6am under a 13-hour cut-off. The Trail Animals Running Club keeps entry fees low and donates profits to land conservancies and trusts, which has made the event a popular first ultra as well as a fixture for veterans.
Across the border, the 11th La Chute du Diable runs point-to-point through the Mauricie region of Quebec on Saturday, with the 75km gaining around 2,600 metres and the 50km roughly 1,550 metres over trails around Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc and the Mastigouche wildlife reserve. Elsewhere, A Race for the Ages continues in Manchester, Tennessee, until Monday, the Grand Traverse Mountain Run leaves Crested Butte, and the Burning Man Ultra takes place in Black Rock City. A week after UTMB, the domestic season is getting its second wind.