100 miler

For those who love the challenge and are tough enough to endure! 

Date: Friday, March 22 - Saturday, March 23, 2024.  Race starts at 7:00 AM Friday.
Course closes at 3:30 PM Saturday (32.5 hours).

Registration will open on December 2, 2023. Click here to register.
"Late" registration is March 11 - 18. 
There is no opportunity to register after March 18.

Entry: The entry fee includes entry for one entrant into the running of the Badger Mountain Challenge 100-Mile Endurance Run, a tech fabric shirt, a 100-miler hoodie sweatshirt, one goody bag with an assortment of swag from event sponsors (while supplies last), access to fully stocked aid stations, drop bag transport, lots of high-fives & hugs, and a custom Badger belt buckle for all finishers!, some post-race grub, and access to free race photos.  Late registration is $15 more.  There is no opportunity to sign up after 3/18.  Pick the size of your t-shirt and hoodie during registration. 

Packet pick up: Runner's Soul at 5020 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick on Thursday, March 21, from 12pm-7pm. 
Any packets that were not picked up Thursday will be at the race start Friday morning.  Please come early if you can't get your packet on Thursday.

Friday morning schedule:
Check in / Drop bag drop-off: 5:30-6:30 AM at the Badger Mtn. Trailhead Park lower parking lot located at the corner of Queensgate Drive and White Bluffs St. (1294 White Bluffs St., Richland, WA) or (46.238506, -119.306361)
Pre-race Briefing: 6:40-7:00 AM (shut up and listen!)
Race Start time: 7:00 AM. 
Early start time: 6:00 AM (let us know in advance if you need an early start)

The course: The course consists of single track trails, rocky and rolling jeep trails, dirt roads, and short stretches of pavement on and around Badger and Candy Mountains, and the scenic Horse Heaven Hills.
The 100-mile course is the same as the 50-mile course but done twice, and the 50-milers start at the same time as you.  
The route has some rough jeep roads and also some nice single track trail, and also some steep, challenging climbs. There are a few short paved road sections but good aid station (A/S) and crew access.  The entire 100-mile course has approximately 15 total miles of pavement, but the rest is on dirt or rock. There are several steep 800'-1000' climbs with the lowest elevation around 500' and the highest at 2000'. This region is unique in that there are very few native trees so a person can see for miles in all directions, but that also means that it can also be very windy on the ridges. Several sustained climbs make the cumulative elevation gain near 8,000' per loop, or 16,000' for the 100 miler (since it's an out & back course there's also 16,000' of elevation loss for a total of 32,000' of elevation change). The course will be well marked with flagging and reflective tape at night.

Aid Stations: Located every 3-7 miles and stocked with electrolyte drink, warm food, and all the goodies you'll need. They have all the supplies that you need to keep you on the trail. If there is anything specific that you will need let me know and I will try to make sure we have it. You can also have a drop bag waiting for you.
To see the updated chart with detailed info about each aid station, please click HERE.

Drop Bags: There are two drop bag locations available for the 100 miler, but you will pass by these locations 5 times:
  • The "Start/finish" area (which is also the 50-mile turnaround), 
  • And "McBee Parking" (which you will access 4 times at miles 18, 31, 68 and 80). 
There will be a drop bag drop-off area at the start line on race morning, and they will be transported to the designated A/S for the runner. Please make sure that the runners name, bib number and aid station name is clearly written on each drop bag ("McBee Parking" or "Start/Finish").
We will do our best to get drop bags back to the finish line ASAP but we can't guarantee how long it will take.  If you drop to the 50-mile race you may have to wait a while for your bag to come back from McBee.

Cut-off: the 100-mile race will end at 3:30 pm on Saturday (a 32.5-hour cut-off).  Cut-off times will be adhered to. See the aid station chart for updated cut-off times.
This is definitely not an easy course and is frequently underestimated.  It is strongly recommended that those who enter the 100-miler have completed at least one difficult, mountainous 50-miler and have trained properly for the hills and weather, or they will have a hard time and likely not finish.  
There is no qualifying race for BMC so please be prepared. 
When a runner gets to an A/S and feels that going further is not an option it is best to just sit down, eat, and drink.  Having a pacer that runs the second half of the race with you may help you complete the race. As a last resort a runner always has the option to DNF and can catch a ride back to the finish from an A/S volunteer but you will likely regret it.  If a runner does end up dropping from the race it is extremely important that the runner informs the A/S captain or RD.

Pacers: Pacers don't have to register. They can get their bib at Runners Soul during packet pick-up the day before, or they can get one at the start/finish after the race has started. 
Each runner can have one pacer at a time to help them complete the run. Pacers can enter the race only after their runner has reached the 50-mile turnaround at Trailhead Park. They may also join their runner at any of the crew-accessible aid stations after 50-miles (Candy Mtn. or McBee Parking).  It is important to let the aid station volunteers know where the pacer is meeting the runner and for how long the pacer will be with the runner so we can keep track of all of those on the course.  Pacers may eat from the aid stations, but remember it's not a free buffet, the food is there for the paid entrants.  Please plan on bringing some of your own food too!

Click HERE for updated driving directions to the crew accessible aid stations.

Dogs?  Yes, dogs are allowed to accompany 100-mile runners provided the runner takes responsibility for their dogs actions, and the dog is well-mannered and does not interfere with other runners or other dogs.  Please be aware that it's the policy of the "Friends of Badger Mountain" that all dogs on Badger Mtn. be on leashes.  Please also be aware that there are sections of the course where cars are present.

Weather:  Suffice it to say, the weather during the Badger Mtn. Challenge is anything but predictable.  It's true that the course is quite hilly with rugged sections, but the weather is the main cause of our high DNF rate (in 2014 our finish rate was 56%, in 2015, 2016 and 2017 it was just 34%).  It can range from a beautiful sunny and 75 degrees, then plunge to 35 degrees at night with 40 mph winds, rain, hail, and white-out fog conditions.  It's VERY important that you come prepared with proper clothing and attitude.  It's not uncommon for runners to experience hypothermia during this event, especially up on McBee ridge.

Awards: Special awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd male and female finishers and a custom belt buckle for all sub 24-hour finishers to help signify their hard work, athleticism, and ability to endure. There is a custom 5-year buckle for those who are up for the challenge.  All finishers will receive a custom 100-mile belt buckle.

Course Map: The race is 2 trips on a 50-mile course.  A link to the overall map of the 100 mile course that can be zoomed in on or downloaded is here:

Profile of the 50-mile route is below (remember, you're doing this TWICE).  For a downloadable copy click here:
For a copy of the 50-mile course .gpx file, click here

sub 24-hour buckle photo courtesy of Matt Hagen
Photo of each year's buckle courtesy of Brian Meyers. Yes he earned each!
(5-year buckle in the center)


Accommodations: Click here for a list of hotels in the area. The closest airport is in Pasco (PSC).

Inspiration:  
"For those of you who do make it, you will cross that finish line as a different person.  You will be forever changed by the experience.  You will learn more about yourself in the next day than you have previously known in an entire lifetime."

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one"  -Bruce Lee

"Perhaps the genius of ultrarunning is its supreme lack of utility. It makes no sense in a world of spaceships and supercomputers to run vast distances on foot. There is no money in it and no fame, frequently not even the approval of peers. But as poets, apostles and philosophers have insisted from the dawn of time, there is more to life than logic and common sense. Ultrarunners know this instinctively. And they know something else that is lost on the sedentary. They understand, perhaps better than anyone, that the doors to the spirit will swing open with physical effort. In running such long and taxing distances they answer a call from the deepest realms of their being -- a call that asks who they are ..." -David Blaikie

"Courage isn't the absence of fear — it's knowing that you are afraid and doing it anyway. Don't spend your days avoiding risk, being fearful. Act. Live your life on your own terms. Life is precious; spend it without regrets in your own precious voice."

"The adventure doesn't start until everything has gone wrong."
- Yvon Chouinard

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man, true nobility is being superior to your former self" - E. Hemingway

"You're not puking and nothing's broken, so get going." - B. Lott

"There will come a day when you can no longer do this. Today is not that day." - J. Reathaford

                                    

Train harder. Go further.