Salt Flats 100 Mile Endurance Run
Join Salt Flats 100 Mile Endurance Run
The Salt Flats 50km Endurance Run is a premier 50km event, exposing the runner to the mind-bending terrain and extreme environment of the Salt Flats, Island Mountains, and Mud-Flats surrounding the Bonneville Speedway. The weather at this time of year can be everything from sunny and low 80’s to blowing snow and low 20’s. Part of the experience of running this course is encountering and conquering the unpredictable weather.
The 50K starts at the same time as the other events and follows the 50/100 mile course for the first 16 miles. At the second Aid Station the runners will reverse the course back to near the start for a 31.1 mile 50K. The cutoff is a generous 8 hours accommodating runners of all abilities, and all finishers within that 8 hr span will receive the "mini buckle" medal!
As a general description; you’ll be running on the salt and compacted salt-sands for roughly 16 miles, then reversing the course. This is one of the flattest "trail" courses in existence. The course starts and finishes at the same location, so runners won’t have to worry about shuttling vehicles or themselves.
Course highlights
The course begins at the end of the Bonneville Speedway access road on the staging area for the Speedway. Once the gun goes off, head north following the flagging along the Speedway for 10 miles, passing Honey-Bucket portable toilets at mile 3 and 7, to Aid Station 1 at 10 miles.
You’ll be running on nearly 6 feet of solid salt for this entire section!
The surface is generally quite hard, similar to hard-pack dirt. However, if there’s been any moisture, it can be very sticky and you can accumulate some salt cakes on the bottom of your shoes… just keep running and it’ll fall off eventually.
From Aid 1 (Salt Flats), head north following the same flagging for almost three more miles, and then turn east following the same flagging and then pin-flags for about another 3 miles where you’ll reach Aid Station 2 (Lone Post), at 16 miles. You’ll have transitioned off the salt and will now be on the classic firm sand of the salt basin. It’s a little like running on the beach near the water line. The big post stuck in the salt here is a mysterious relic from the past and serves as a great marker for the aid station.
From Lone Post, you will reverse course and run back the way you came grabbing some water at Aid 1, and then making the long trek back to where you began the run a few hours earlier. An unmanned water station will be placed at 28 miles to ensure you can wash all that salt down.
For 2016, we've encountered "Lake Bonneville", where the salt flats themselves have collected rain water and are under 3" of water. Under this circumstance, we'll be running an alternate course, which proceeds as follows: Leave the start, and run west along the shoulder of the access road following the green flagging. At the Y with Levy Pass Road (mile 3.83), continue to head west for 0.71 mile to the “scenic byway” of east Silver Island Road (and an unmanned water stop). Follow the flagging north for 5 miles to Aid 1. Leave Aid 1 north and continue for 3.33 miles to Aid 2. Leave Aid 2 and head north to a turn-around at 15.5 miles, and then return back south to Aid 2, 1, and then to the Start/Finish area.
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The race information has been found on the official website of the event or through publicly available sources. Always refer to the official website the latest race information. Please let us know if any data is wrong or missing, by emailing us.
