The team will be made up of the first 150 applicants we deem of sound enough mind and body to cover the 68 miles with minimum drama. See the Registration page for our basic entrance criteria, which include completion of at least one 50 mile run of similar difficulty in the relatively recent past.   The 100 mile option for 2019 is once again available and we are saving 50 places for qualified runners that have completed one of these 100 mile qualifiers.  If you think you have distinguished yourself at some other gnarly endurance event and you truly believe in your heart you can finish a 100 mile event like this; send an email to the Race Director and we will weigh you in an make a final judgement.

This is a point-to-point run with a maximum 28 hour time limit for the 68 miles and 32 hours for the 100 miles.  Cutoffs will vary for 100 miles and 68 miles but they will be strictly followed and enforced by the aid station captains and race management.  See the Maps page for cutoff times.

Event headquarters are at the La Jolla Canyon group campground in Point Mugu State Park. We’ll be situated mere steps from the base of the famed Ray Miller Trail, which is both the western terminus of the Backbone Trail and the event’s finish line. Following race morning check-ins, players will board shuttle buses from event HQ to the start at Will Rogers State Park.  Current estimated start is 6am at Starting Line, buses depart HQ at 4:30am…

More details than you’ll likely care to know will shortly be available in a 2019 complete Backbone Trail Ultra Playbook which you can download and use to plan your adventure. There’s more than enough detail on this site to give you a sense of how much fun can be packed into one weekend’s worth of running. Aloha, hope to see you on the Backbone!

Church services, Backbone Trail-style.