2021 Race Information

We are fully expecting to hold the race in person in October. We are working with City and County officials to come up with the best plan possible to hold an in-person event and we will be posting all updated information no later than October 1st. Stay tuned and please feel free to reach out directly with any questions via email at hixon50@grandbluffrunning.com

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Sunday October 31, 2021
50K Starts at 7:40am

Packet Pick Up

Saturday October 30th: Pick up your race packet at TBD (1pm-5pm).

Race day: Held on-site at the start/finish area beginning at 6:30am.

Course Information

The 50K course will consist of two 25K loops starting and finishing at the La Crosse weather station on County road FA. There will be 4 aid stations during each loop occurring approximately every 3 miles for a total of 9 aid stations for the race. The course will be lined with pink flags, and all trail intersections will be heavily marked with signs, flags, and arrows.  A course map and elevation profile can be found under the Course map link under the Race Information tab, or by clicking HERE

Course Description

The 25k loop can be divided into 3 key sections:

Upper Hixon: Consists of 6 miles of winding single track with quick turns, tight squeezes between rocks and trees, technical climbs and fast descents. This section is broken up in the middle with a wider prairie loop on top of the bluff leading to and away from Aid Station #1.

Quarry: Leaving Upper Hixon and Aid Station #2, you will find yourself in an old sandstone quarry, which is wide open with the trail meandering through the middle of it. After descending from the top ridge, you will find yourself in a longer, consistent grade climb back to the top of the bluff, slowly working back into the wooded area of the forest. This section ends with a .5 mile ridge crossing on a dead end county asphalt road.

Lower Hixon: In-between the two short road sections, you will hit one of the most scenic lookouts of the entire course, where you will find Aid Station #3. Enjoy the view before wrapping down and around the exposed bluff face, then climbing back out to the road you came in on. Less than .25 mile back out on the asphalt will bring you to the longest downhill of the course to Aid Station #4. Be careful to not overdo the 2.5 mile winding downhill section, because on the other side of it, you will hit rolling single track and eventually a 1 mile climb back to the top of the bluff and eventually to the finish line.

Race Day Schedule

Packet pick up and check in beginning at 6:30 am and concluding at 7:15 am.
Race starts at 7:40 am (sunrise!). 
Race cut off at 5:00 pm. 

Awards

Due to the longer nature of this event, we will not have an awards ceremony, but will instead hand out awards as they are earned. All runner receive a tri blend long sleeve shirt. All finishers will receive a finisher's mug. Awards will be given to the top  finishers overall both male and female, and top finishers male and female for age division. Age divisions will be open (39 and under), Masters (40-49), Grand Masters (50 and over). Top overall finishers will not be included in age division awards. 

Aid Station Break Down

Aid Station
#1. Start

#2. Start/Finish

#3. Quarry 

#4. Miller Bluff

#5. Lower Hixon

#6. Start/Finish

#7. Start/Finish

#8. Quarry

#9. Miller Bluff

#10. Lower Hixon

#11. Start/Finish

Distance from Start
0 miles

3.2 miles

7.2 miles

10.4 miles

13.4 miles

15.5 miles

18. 7 miles

22. 7 miles

25.9 miles

28.9 miles

31.07 miles

Distance to Next Aid Station
3.2 miles

4 miles

3.2 miles

3 miles

2.1 miles

3.2 miles

4 miles

3.2 miles

3 miles

2.1 miles

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