Hell Creek Half & 50K

Event details

The Hell Creek Half & 50K is a trail running event at Wilson State Park near Sylvan Grove, Kansas. Two distances are offered:

• 50K (about 32 miles)
• 1/2 Marathon (one 13-ish mile loop)

The 50K course consists of a roughly 19-mile loop followed by the half marathon loop. The half marathon includes an initial 1/3 mile on pavement. Elevation gain and loss is listed as about 3000 ft for the 50K and about 1300 ft for the half marathon. The race cutoff is 5:00 PM.

Course and logistics

All runs take place on the single-track Switchgrass Mountain Bike Trail. The trail is exposed with few wooded areas and runs beside Wilson Lake. The course will be heavily marked with ribbons, flags, and wrong-way signs. There are two staffed aid stations at the start/finish and at "Hell Hill." An unmanned water and Proxima C station is at mile 5, and another unmanned station is near mile 13 on the Hell Creek Loop (50K only). Restrooms are available at the start/finish, porta-potties will be near the other full aid, and hot showers are available year-round at Big Bluestem campground about 3/4 mile from the start/finish. Pacers are not allowed. Crew access is limited to the start/finish; assistance elsewhere may result in disqualification. Minimum age is 16; under-18 runners need a guardian waiver. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.