Saturday, March 20, 2027 · Fairhaven Park
Race info
Schedule, packet pickup, parking, runner requirements, safety and awards — everything for race weekend in one place.
Race weekend
Schedule
Start and finish: Fairhaven Park, 107 N Chuckanut Drive, Bellingham WA 98225.
Friday
- All week until 1:00 PMEarly packet pickup
Fairhaven Runners & Walkers, starting the Sunday before the race.
- 4:00 – 7:00 PMPacket pickup & sponsor night
Backcountry Essentials — bibs, shirts, sponsor booths, samples and swag.
Saturday — race day
- 6:00 – 7:45 AMShuttles from WWU Lot C
Last-chance bib pickup at check-in.
- 7:00 AM50k early start
- 8:00 AM50k mass start
- 10:00 – 10:30 AMKids’ Race
½-mile loops in Fairhaven Park for 30 minutes. Details
- 12:00 – 4:00 PMFinish line food trucks
- 4:00 PMCourse closes
- 4:00 – 9:00 PMPost-race party at Wander Brewing
Times reflect the 2026 race weekend. We confirm details for 2027 in race updates as race day approaches.
Bibs & shirts
Packet pickup
No compliance, no bib. Runners will not be issued a bib unless they are marked Compliant on the EnduranceHQ tracker. Check your status ahead of time and make sure you’ve met the trail work / donation requirement.
Fairhaven Runners
Sunday before the race (from noon) until 1:00 PM Friday
Pick up your bib and shirt (if you ordered one) early at our longtime partner’s shop.
Backcountry Essentials
Friday, 4:00 – 7:00 PM
Bib, shirt and a visit with our sponsors and partners — which means swag handouts and samples. Parking is mainly on the street; there’s a garage at 1300 Commercial, about a 7-minute walk.
Race morning
Saturday at check-in
Last chance! Bibs and shirts are available at check-in in Fairhaven Park.
Bring with you
- Photo ID
- Proof of your trail work / donation compliance (pull up your EnduranceHQ link)
- A bag to take home the goods
Race shirts — Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily long sleeves — are ordered at registration. A limited number of extras are sold at packet pickup and at the finish line.
Getting to the start
Parking & shuttles
There is no race parking at the start/finish. Fairhaven Park is a lovely park, but parking for 600+ does not exist.
Western Washington University grants us permission to park in WWU Lot C, and we hire Bellair Shuttles to loop between the lot and Fairhaven Park all day — about a 10-minute ride.
- Two large shuttles loop 6:00 – 7:45 AM to get runners to the start.
- After that, one 40-person shuttle cycles between the two locations all day.
- A portable toilet is placed at Lot C for those with a longer drive.
- Crews: build in a little time to make it back to the finish before your runner.
Thank you for using the shuttle and reducing our parking impact around Fairhaven on race day.
Before you toe the line
Runner requirements
Trail work or donation
Every runner gives back to the trails before race day, by doing trail work or donating to one of the organizations we recommend. Your status is tracked in the EnduranceHQ app, which sends reminders and makes reporting easy — and you must be marked compliant to receive your bib.
Local? We team up with Washington Trails Association for trail work days in the Chuckanuts before the race — imagine running over a section of trail you helped improve. Watch race updates for dates.
Weather gear
If it is 47°F or cooler in Fairhaven Park at the start, every runner must carry a waterproof (running) jacket or plastic poncho, gloves and a beanie — ideally an insulation layer too.
Packs are randomly checked at the start and again at Aid 3. No gear means we take your bib number and turn you around. Runners with crew at Aid 5 may leave gear with their crew for the final section only — not with aid station volunteers.
Why? Conditions on the ridge and along Lost Lake are usually colder and windier. In 2025 multiple hypothermic runners were taken out of the race. Rule number one of trail running: carry what you need to safely exist in the mountains.
Start times & cutoff
The mass start is at 8:00 AM with a cutoff of 8 hours — the course closes at 4:00 PM. An early start is offered at 7:00 AM.
To be eligible for awards you must start at 8:00 AM and finish before 4:00 PM.
Refunds & transfers
Can’t make it? Let the race director know by the refund deadline — about one month before race day (February 21 in 2026) — to receive your entry refund less $25. Pre-ordered shirts can be mailed to you or donated back to the race.
We do not allow entry roll-overs or transfers, and can’t issue refunds after the deadline.
Leave No Trace
Please follow Leave No Trace practices on every run — racing or training. That includes bathroom breaks: where to go on course.
Be a good trail neighbor
Alert runners from behind when you want to pass and give them time and space to move aside. Follow aid station volunteers’ instructions for flow through the aid stations.
2027 plan
Health & safety
Weather is fickle in the PNW. We’ve raced through high winds, snow and ice, beautiful sunny 60°F days and — what RD Krissy thinks is the worst — low 40s and rain. Runners must prepare for conditions and carry or wear clothing appropriate for the day.
Medical by Prime Sports Institute
Prime Sports Institute — founded by Kerry Gustafson, LMT, LAT — leads medical planning and coordination for everyone associated with the event. As a runner heading into the mountains, it is paramount that you prepare in training and stay aware of your health and safety on race day. Pay attention to the local weather and be ready for sudden changes.
Minor injuries
Sprains, strains, lacerations, blisters and dehydration.
Moderate injuries
Non-displaced fractures, knee injuries, dislocations, head injuries.
Severe / life-threatening
EMS is activated and our medical staff stabilize until EMS arrives: compound fractures, internal trauma, unconsciousness. AED at the finish line.
No IVs, no suturing, no oxygen.
- Don’t attend if you have symptoms of illness — fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, loss of taste or smell. Use the hand-washing stations provided.
- A licensed athletic trainer is on course to respond to emergencies, and every aid station has an Emergency Action Plan and protocol card.
- If a runner is injured or unconscious on the trail, call the emergency number printed on your bib and send someone to the next aid station with the runner’s condition and bib number.
- We notify Skagit Valley Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Bellingham Fire Department of our race date and field size.
This is a living plan that evolves with guidance from the CDC, Prime Sports Institute and local municipalities. It is each runner’s responsibility to know our current requirements for participation.
Finisher awards, prize purse & age groups
Awards & prizes
The race directors have fun dreaming up swag for runners and volunteers.
Past finisher prizes have included scarves, insulated mugs, silipints, stainless steel pints, running gloves and beanies. Our most recent finishers took home custom corduroy hats — let your finish line greeter know which color you’d like.
Bellingham Flower Farm provides fresh bouquets for our overall and masters winners.
Course records
Prize purse — $4,000
Our Run the Ridge and Interurban Sprint sponsors contribute to the prize purse. Runner Girl Races, LLC adds a $200 course record bonus in each category, regardless of the number of participants.
2026 cash prize distribution:
- Current categories are Nonbinary, Female and Male.
- A category needs 5 participants to be eligible for cash prizes.
- Masters can’t double dip in both open and masters.
- Category winners can’t double dip in age group awards.
Age group awards
Check in at the finish! We award 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each age division with at least 5 participants:
- Under 20
- 20–29
- 30–39
- 40–49
- 50–59
- 60–69
- 70+
To receive an award you must start at 8:00 AM and finish before 4:00 PM. No double dipping — if the overall or masters winners are in your age group, you’ll be bumped up!
We no longer host an awards ceremony; we prefer to celebrate each finisher as they arrive and announce age group winners as we hand out prizes. Please claim yours at the finish line — we can’t ship after the race. Pickup can be arranged in the following two weeks at Prime Sports Institute, or shipping at the recipient’s expense.
Products
Our Run the Ridge sponsors Patagonia and KEEN, along with our Interurban Sprint sponsors and supporting companies, contribute incredible products to our awards, shared with runners and volunteers. Visit their booths Friday night at packet pickup and Saturday afternoon at the finish line. Meet our partners
After the miles, we celebrate
Finish line & post-race party
At the finish
- Food trucks, 12:00 – 4:00 PM. Your meal voucher (attached to your bib) gets you a meal.
- Post-race NA beers from Patagonia Provisions + Deschutes Brewery, handed out by Wander Brewing.
- Sponsors & supporters with free samples and giveaways.
- A big white tent to get out of the weather — rest, eat, socialize and cheer runners in.
Post-race party at Wander Brewing
Saturday, 4:00 – 9:00 PM
Food trucks, $1 off pints for runners and volunteers, and the first round on KEEN (pick up a voucher at the KEEN tent). Look for the special-release Chinscraper IPA. Race meal vouchers aren’t valid at Wander.
Race staff usually arrive around 7:30 PM after finish line cleanup — stick around so we can hear your race stories!
Get ready
Training & coaching
Preparing to run an ultra is fun and totally doable. Race Director Krissy Moehl offers personalized coaching and wrote a book that lets you follow and tailor your own training plan.
Self coaching
Running Your First Ultra — a one-stop manual from one of the sport’s top female ultrarunners, with twenty-plus years of racing around the world.
Personalized coaching
“My passion, enthusiasm, organizational skills, accountability and commitment to the sport are my primary focus as your coach.” Start with a meeting to see if you’re a good match, then build your training and racing schedule together.
Run the Middle 18. The 18-mile ridge loop is Bellingham’s go-to training run, and groups meet a couple of weeks before race day for a last long run. Get the GPX