General Race Information

The Wasatch Front 100 mile Endurance Run, Inc. starts at 5:00 am sharp on the first Friday after Labor Day. Runners must reach the Finish Line at Soldier Hollow in Midway by 5:00 pm on Saturday to successfully complete the race. The race begins just past the entrance to the East Mountain Wilderness Park (650 North 1600 East) about 1/2 mile east of Highway 89, east of the Davis County Animal Shelter (about 17 miles north of Salt Lake City). The registration period begins December 1st and typically ends in the first week of the following January. Normally the lottery is held the last Saturday in January but the exact date and location will be announced each year.

The Race: The Wasatch Front 100 is one of the most uniquely challenging ultrarunning events in the world. It is a study in contrasts: peaks and valleys; trail and scree; heat and cold; wet and dry; summer and winter; day and night; Desolation Lake and Point Supreme; “I can’t” and “I will!” Dickens could have had the Wasatch in mind when he wrote, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” The primitive and isolated nature of the course is both its beauty and its challenge, for it requires the individual runner to rely primarily on himself or herself rather than the Race’s support systems. Wasatch is not just distance and speed; it is adversity, adaptation and perseverance.

The Course: The Wasatch 100 is a point-to-point run that traverses the heart of the central Wasatch Mountains, one of the most beautiful ranges of the Rocky Mountains. The course begins in Kaysville, Utah, at East Mountain Wilderness Park, running south to the mouth of Bair Canyon at the foot of Francis Peak, and ascends nearly 4,200 feet in 4.4 miles to the ridge line above. The trail then turns south and follows the crest of the Wasatch range past Francis Peak, through Farmington Flats and Arthur’s Fork, along Sessions Ridge, over City Creek Pass, Big Mountain Pass and Bald Mountain, through Parley’s, Lamb’s, and Mill Creek Canyons, then past Desolation Lake and along the Wasatch Crest trail, through Big Cottonwood and American Fork Canyons, and up to Pole Line Pass and Baker Pass. After leaving Baker Pass then goes around Mill Creek Peak through the “Glide” and the “Plunge”, and down to the Pot Hollow Canyon trail head. The course then climbs to join the OHV dirt road known as Cummings Parkway, along the mountain ridge above Heber Valley and heads south to the Cascade Springs Road until reaching the head of Decker Canyon. Runners then descend through Decker Canyon to its mouth at the Deer Creek Reservoir Trail, which leads to the finish at the Pavilion at Soldier Hollow in Wasatch Mountain State Park, Utah.

Along The Trail: The course follows footpaths, game trails and dirt roads, with a few short stretches of pavement, at altitudes from 5,000 to 10,480 feet. While much of the course follows well defined trails, there are stretches of sagebrush, scree, waist-high grass, and fist-sized cobblestones as well. Runners have encountered deer, elk, moose, porcupines, rattlesnakes, bear, mountain lions, sheep and sheepherders.

Provisions At Aid Stations: The daytime aid stations will have water, electrolyte drink, fruit, a salty item and usually soda. The nighttime aid stations will have water, electrolyte drink, typically a salty item and hot drinks as well as perhaps soda. The crossover aid stations will have all of the above items. In addition, most aid stations will have assorted food items that the aid station personnel will bring. Depending on the station such items can include soup, potatoes, sandwiches, sweets, pasta and breakfast items. Food and drink at aid stations is provided for runners and their pacer. We are pleased to be able to continue our partnership with GNARLY Nutrition who provides the electrolyte drink at each of the aid stations. If you have any specialty food or drink needs they should be placed in your drop bags. Please note that we do not have vehicle access to Desolation Lake or Rock Springs. As a result these are hike-in stations and all supplies must be carried in by the aid station volunteers. These locations will have water, electrolyte drink and limited other supplies.

Drop/Supply Bags: Drop bags will be transported to seven of the major aid stations in the race as well as the finish line. Runners wishing to make use of this service must make sure that their bags are securely tied and clearly marked. We do not accept hard sided containers for drop bag use. Please make sure that each drop bag will fit into a 10″x10″x20″ box.

A Note To Crews And Pacers: Welcome! Your participation in the Wasatch Front 100 is appreciated by your runner and the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Race Committee. You may be the difference between your runner having a wonderful experience or an agonizing journey in misery. Seeing you at crew accessible aid stations and knowing you are cheering them on gives runners their biggest boost in morale and confidence. You can truly pull your runner through when the going gets tough. PLEASE NOTE that pacers, like runners, must be at least 18 years old. This age limit does not apply to the section between Top of the Wall (the 4th pacer exchange point) and the Finish Line. Runners can have anyone they wish, including their children, accompany them through that almost 9 mile section..

Crews are allowed at Big Mountain, Lamb’s Canyon, Brighton and the Finish Line. In addition, pacer exchange points are Big Mountain, Lamb’s, Brighton and Top Of The Wall. The Big Mountain and Lamb’s Canyon aid stations get extremely crowded. Please take only one car to these spots. Use Washington Park as a staging area for both Big Mountain and Lamb’s Canyon. For Big Mountain, you will be issued the parking pass when the runner look-up software predicts your runner will arrive in 1 hour. For Lamb’s Canyon, you will be issued the parking pass as soon as your runner leaves the Alexander aid station. Thus, you will need to be at Washington Park to obtain a pass for either of these locations. Please leave these two aid stations as soon as your runner starts for the next aid station in order to make room for others. Communications volunteers at the aid stations and at Washington Park can help you predict when your runner will arrive at Big Mountain and can see when your runner has left Alexander. In addition, you will be able to access that information yourself if you wish using your smartphone. A link to the tracking search engine will be available on the homepage of our website throughout the race. There is ample parking at the Brighton aid station. To avoid overcrowding, we ask that crews not enter the aid station itself unless their runner is there.

Car pacing is not allowed. Do not follow along side your runner. This is dangerous and can cause too much dust and make breathing difficult for the runners behind you. In addition, pacers should not act as pack mules for their runner. Pacers are not meant to be mobile supply stations. If a runner becomes injured or somehow in jeopardy, however, the pacer can do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of their runner.

Runners are checked IN and OUT OF the aid stations electronically. If the decision to drop out becomes necessary, please be aware dropping out must be done at an aid station whenever possible, race officials must be notified AND THE PAPERWORK COMPLETED BEFORE LEAVING THE COURSE! Runners can be held financially responsible for Search and Rescue attempts caused by improperly dropping out.

The most important function of any crew or pacer is to insure the safety of their runner. Know your runner’s strong and weak points. Pacers are very helpful to their runners if they learn the course they will be pacing and the approximate distances to various landmarks. Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of dehydration, hypothermia and altitude sickness. Ultrarunners frequently brag about “being dead and buried” at various times during the race and yet somehow continue on to finish the race. There is a very fine line between discomfort and real distress. There is difficulty balancing the need for runners to face and overcome adversity and the need to avoid serious injury. Most runners will experience mild symptoms, but will be able to keep running or at least walking. Don’t unnecessarily discourage your runner, but watch out for potentially serious problems. Participants will often feel better by just leaving the aid station and getting moving again. Runners will all have highs and lows and the lows usually get lower later in the race.

Good luck with the pep talks!

Runners Receiving An Early DNF For Time: Any runner who receives a DNF for time at either the Bountiful “B” or Big Mountain aid station will need to enter and successfully complete a 100 mile run in order to enter Wasatch in any future year. This qualifying run will need to be completed after the race where the runner had the early DNF with documentation of completion and finishing time being submitted prior to the Wasatch 100 lottery.

Transportation To The Start And After The Race: We have been instructed not to leave cars at the start after the race starts. There will be buses to transport runners in need of a ride to the start from downtown Salt Lake City. There is no additional charge to ride the bus. Runners who ride the bus and wish to leave items at the start may bring a drop bag on the bus and leave it with race officials at the start line. These drop bags may be picked up at the finish with the other drop bags. We do not have bus service back to Salt Lake after the race. We do have two mini-vans that can carry 5 to 6 runners each. Depending on availability they will take runners back to downtown Salt Lake City throughout and after the race. In addition there will be any number of runners able to give someone a ride back to town. It is probably best to use the mini-vans as Plan B due to the limited space.

Weather: Temperatures during the race have typically ranged from 25 to 90 F. Often there is mild perfect-running weather, however, one year fresh snow fell on Catherine’s Pass with a wind chill measured below zero, and another had trail temperatures at sometimes over 100 F. Another year was rainy and muddy both days with low clouds limiting visibility. Humidity in Utah is often very low and may contribute to severe dehydration without the proper fluid intake.

Be Prepared: This event is extremely demanding, and should only be undertaken by athletes in excellent physical condition. All entrants should be familiar with basic first-aid, and know the symptoms and treatment for heat exhaustion, hypothermia, frostbite, and altitude sickness. Some course sections between aid stations exceed nine miles. Runners should be well-equipped to care for themselves. Only runners who can demonstrate successful ultrarunning experience or its equivalent will be considered for entry.

Training Runs: The Race Committee highly recommends that you run as much of the course as possible before race day. For information about informal training runs please watch our Facebook page.

Exceptional Medical Intervention: It is not unusual for runners to take oral pain and stomach medication as part of long distance runs. However, the Wasatch Front 100 Race Committee feels that the use of intravenous feeding, hypodermic injections, and prescription medication administered for the purpose of performance enhancement are contrary to the spirit and ethics of Wasatch. Runners desiring such exceptional intervention should seriously consider their motivation for participating in the run.

COURSE RULES EXPLANATION

The following is an explanation of course rules that the have been established to provide a safe and “equal playing field” for all runners, to comply with multiple permit requirements and to be good stewards of the environment.

Dogs And Other Pets: Because of watershed rules, sanitation issues, and disturbance, dogs and other pets are prohibited from all venues of the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run including the pre-race check-in, the start, aid stations, and the finish. It is the responsibility of the runner to inform pacers, crews, friends, family, etc., of this policy.
Litter: Being good environmental stewards means carrying all food, gel packages and torn tops, energy bar wrappers, candy wrappers or bags and any other trash to the aid station garbage sacks. Littering is not permitted.
Accidental Short Cutting Of The Course Or Missing An Aid Station: Accidentally short-cutting the course or missing an aid station is acceptably corrected by returning (on foot only) back to the point of accidental departure and then proceeding forward on the correct course. Of course, deliberately short-cutting of the course or deliberately missing an aid station is forbidden.
Meeting Crew/Family/Friends At Authorized Locations Only: Being met by crew/family/friends along the route is only permitted at Big Mountain, Lambs, and Brighton aid stations, and at the Top of the Wall at Mile 92. Please note that Top of the Wall is a pacer exchange point only. Notice the wording of this policy refers to “meeting”, which includes meeting, greeting, aiding, encouraging, supporting, etc., a runner.
Being In A Moving Vehicle: Participants are not allowed in a moving vehicle.
Necessity Of Remaining At An Aid Station When Requested: A situation might exist where the aid station personnel may request that a runner remain at an aid station and not proceed. This is most likely to occur when the aid station personnel are in contact with the race committee to discuss a situation with this runner.
Courtesy Is Expected: A runner is expected to be courteous, civil and respectful of aid station, Forest Service and law enforcement personnel, as well as other runners and pacers.
Bandit Running: Running the course as a bandit as well as pacing or crewing a bandit is not permitted.
Proper Disposal Of Human Waste: Some of the aid stations have established toilets, others will have portable toilets. In the event of having to “go #2” in the wilderness, dig a small hole 6 to 8 inches deep, cover the hole with topsoil and camouflage the area. Relieving one’s self in public, urinating in the trail, or leaving human waste without proper disposal is strictly forbidden.
Requirement To Leave The Course After DNFing: A runner may not proceed along the course after DNFing and must vacate the course as soon as is practical. Proceeding along the course after DNFing creates tracking and safety issues for the runner and the race, and is not permitted.
Pacing: The role of the pacer is to provide encouragement and support. Pacers are allowed for all runners from the Big Mountain aid station (31.9 miles) to the finish. Runners age 60 and over may have a pacer from the start of the race to the finish. Pacer insertion/exchange points are limited to Big Mountain, Lamb’s Canyon, Brighton and Top Of The Wall pacer exchange point only. However, a runner may pick up additional (casual) pacers at any location between the Top of the Wall pacer exchange point (mile 92) and the finish line. Please be aware, the Decker Canyon aid station is only able to provide aid to a single pacer and the runner.

INFRACTIONS RESULTING IN DISQUALIFICATION FOR THE CURRENT YEAR:

Short-cutting of the course
Missing an aid station
Getting in a moving vehicle
Not remaining at an aid station when requested
Littering

INFRACTIONS RESULTING IN DISQUALIFICATION AND DENIAL OF FUTURE ENTRY

Running as a bandit
Being met by crew/pacers/family/friends at an unauthorized location along the route
Failing to properly dispose of human waste
Mistreating aid station personnel, runners or pacers
Failure to leave the course when required by a race official

Top Ten Ways To DNF At Wasatch:

10) Wear new shoes.
9) Wear old socks.
8) Waste energy getting mad at little things.
7) Try for that terrific 36 hour “SUNTAN”. Would you stick your head in a microwave?
6) Forget to plan for difficult weather: wind, rain, cold, heat.
5) Wasatch only goes up to 10,500 feet elevation. No one ever has altitude problems, right?
4) Forget to consume calories.
3) Think you are staying hydrated by drinking at aid stations only.
2) Rely totally on ribbons to guide your way. Does the word “lost” have meaning to you?
1) Not making friends with Mr. SALT and Mz. ELECTROLYTE.