City of Rocks Ultra - Almo, Idaho - Running

The City of Rocks Ultra is a Running race in Almo, Idaho consisting of a 51 Miles (Ultra) and 32 Mile Trail Run (Ultra) and 27 Miles (Ultra).

The City of Rocks Ultra Marathon offers three distances: Marathon (27 Miles/43.5K distance with 3,556 foot elevation gain/loss), Extra (32.3 miles/52K distance with 4,045 foot elevation gain/loss), and Ultra (51.6 miles/83K distance with 6,241 foot elevation gain/loss).

Join a bunch of other crazy endurance athletes (2 and 4-legged) in City of Rocks National Reserve. Come enjoy the chance to run a fully supported loop through City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park. Test your mettle on courses that climb through the most beautiful terrain in southern Idaho. This is a no-frills event that is run in conjunction with an equine endurance ride. Distance changes are welcome before AND during the race.

The trail will take you past beautiful granite faces and through ancient Shoshone and Bannock tribal hunting grounds. You'll run a portion of the historic California Trail and see the names of emigrants from the 1800s scrawled in axle grease on Camp Rock. The Ultra course includes a loop through Castle Rocks, a cluster of stunning rock formations that date back 2.5 million years. The trail travels through pinyon pine forest and high-desert sage brush but is primarily in direct sun with little shade. Be prepared!

Don't let the name City of Rocks fool you. Most of our trails are crushed granite dust or sand. You will encounter portions of trail with some rock but for the most part the footing is great. Our trails are a mixture of single-track, double-track jeep trails, cow paths, groomed trails, and packed dirt road.

Elevator/De-Elevator
At Base Camp only, runners may decide to drop down in distance or elevate in distance. This can be done by informing the time keeper. For example, if you begin the Marathon and would like to increase your distance to the Extra, awesome! If you are entered in the Ultra but the elevation on the first loop kicks your butt, drop down to the Extra. We want everyone to enjoy their experience.

You MUST clear all changes in distance with the Time Keeper.