The Never Summer 100km & 60km will take place almost entirely within the boundaries of State Forest State Park and run between the Never Summer Mountains on the northern border of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and the Medicine Bow Mountains to the north of Cameron Pass.
The first 20 miles of each race will offer a tour of the peaks and alpine lakes of the northern Never Summer Mountains, before the route crosses below Cameron Pass and heads north into the southern Medicine Bow Mountains for more peaks and lakes over the final miles.
Cameron Pass sits at the top of the iconic Poudre Canyon and near the headwaters of the Cache La Poudre River, almost exactly halfway between Fort Collins and Steamboat Springs (1.5 hours either way), an hour south of Laramie, WY, and 2.5 – 3 hours from Denver.
This is a mountain race in the truest sense of the term, with extended periods of high alpine ridge running, two alpine peaks, and five alpine lakes visited along the way. When above timberline, you will enjoy huge views of the northern Never Summer Mountains to the south, the stunning peaks of RMNP to the southeast, expansive vistas across North Park to the Park Range above Steamboat Springs to the west, and even north out to Wyoming’s Snowy Range.
The race covers a huge variety of terrain, from cross country, to jeep and logging roads, to bomber alpine trail, and pretty much everything in between. There are some sections of the course that have seen very little foot traffic in recent years and are rough and overgrown as a consequence; this only adds to the ‘charm’ of the race. You’ll cross meadows and streams, you’ll wade through mud up to your shins, you’ll negotiate rocks, and perhaps negotiate a snowfield or two. There is quite literally something new around every corner on this course. Expect to see moose, elk and maybe some bighorn sheep through the course of your run.
Our aim with this race is to offer a challenging ultra-distance mountain-running experience in a wild and beautiful setting. With a cut-off of 24 hours for the 100km, we believe that anybody with adequate training and the requisite mental fortitude can complete this run, but please also be aware that this is a true mountain wilderness experience in challenging terrain, much of it between 10,000ft and 12,000ft.
Come prepared!