2025 Race Details

Race Day: Sunday, October 26, 2025
Start Time: 7:35 AM (Sunrise!)
Cut-Off Time: 5:00 PM

Packet Pick-Up

  • Saturday, October 25: Smith’s Bike Shop from 12 PM – 4 PM
  • Race Day: Start/Finish area from 6:30 AM – 7:15 AM

Course Overview

The 50K course is two loops of the 25K route, starting and finishing at the La Crosse weather station on County Road FA. Expect 9 well-stocked aid stations, heavy course markings with flags, signs, and arrows, and some of the most scenic—and punishing—terrain in the Midwest.

View Course Map & Elevation Profile →
(Yes, it’s 33 miles—we’ll take the extra miles as a compliment.)

Course Breakdown

Upper Hixon (Miles 0–6, and again on Loop 2):
Technical singletrack with tight turns, rocky squeezes, fast descents, and a prairie loop for a mid-section breather.

Quarry Section (Miles 6–10.5):
Wide-open sandstone quarry followed by a steady grind back uphill. Ends with a ridge crossing on quiet asphalt.

Lower Hixon (Miles 10.5–16.5):
Home to the best views on the course. You’ll twist around an exposed bluff, descend 2.5 miles, then face the final 1-mile climb back to the top.

Then? Do it all again.

Race Day Schedule

  • Packet Pick-Up & Check-In: 6:30 AM – 7:15 AM
  • Race Start: 7:35 AM (catch the sunrise!)
  • Race Cut-Off: 5:00 PM

Awards & Recognition

  • All finishers receive a custom Hixon 50K award
  • Bragging rights for life

Aid Station Breakdown

Aid Station Location Distance Next Station
#1 Start 0.0 mi 2.9 mi
#2 Start/Finish 2.9 mi 4.1 mi
#3 Quarry 7.0 mi 3.5 mi
#4 Miller Bluff 10.5 mi 2.9 mi
#5 Lower Hixon 13.4 mi 3.1 mi
#6 Start/Finish (Loop 1 Complete) 16.5 mi 2.9 mi
#7 Start/Finish 19.4 mi 4.1 mi
#8 Quarry 23.5 mi 3.5 mi
#9 Miller Bluff 27.0 mi 2.9 mi
#10 Lower Hixon 29.9 mi 3.1 mi
#11 Finish Line 33.0 mi —