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The Hennepin Hundred

location_on

calendar_today 03 Oct, 2026 – 04 Oct, 2026

directions_run Running

language Official Website

sell $160.00 – $550.00

About the Event

We always sell out before race day- Waitlist options

We will let people in off the waitlist in the order they signup. Exceptions - OMR Slam runners are guaranteed a spot - OMR Coached athletes are guaranteed a spot 8 weeks before race: We have found that the final 8 weeks before the race, most people do not open email when being invited into the race. If they do, they turn down the invite. If you are late on waitlist, and wanting to run, please reach out to us. We will do our best to get you in.

Bus schedule to start line

This is for anyone parking at finish lines, and taking a bus to the start line. 5:10 am sharp for 100 mile and 50 mile bus pickup- This will be at the 100 mile, or 50 mile finish line. See website for directions. 50k bus pickup: 4:00 pm from 50k finish line- see website for directions.

Early bird Pricing until January 1st

100 mile- $315.00 50 mile- $155.00 50k- $110.00 5 person relay (you can run smaller teams if you want)- $425.00

Volunteer Incentives

Aid station captains: Get a $200.00 credit towards signing up for an Ornery Mule Racing event. We can also send an early invite to register for races that fill up quick. We know many stations will want two captains and we are cool with that. Volunteers: Get a $10.00 credit for every volunteer spot towards an Ornery Mule Racing event PLUS!!!! Love from the runners Race swag gift at event! Invite to our annual VIP Volunteer party Signup to secure your aid station or spot. We like to give previous aid station captains first chance to run their aid station again. Filling out the volunteer information helps us get your credit to you.

100 mile runners get a BUCKLE and Hennepin Finisher Flannel!

See pictures and learn more on our website

WESTERN STATES 100 QUALIFYING RACE

Our race cut off time is 30 hours. To have Hennepin Hundred be a Western States qualifying race you need to finish our event in that time frame. We have listed the times of runners that were over the cut off. These runners did not earn a Western States qualifier.

RACE SWAG!

100 mile finishers receive -rabbit finisher flannel -belt buckle -1st time 100 mile runners earn an "Ultra Virgin No more" cherry pop shirt -race shirt -race bag & various small gifts Qualify for the "Run my Ass off belt buckle" 50 mile finishers receive -race shirt -finisher medal -1st time 50 mile runners earn an "Ultra Virgin No more" cherry pop shirt -race bag & various small gifts Qualify for the "Run my Ass off belt buckle" 50k finishers receive -race shirt -finisher medal -1st time 50k runners earn an "Ultra Virgin No more" cherry pop shirt -race bag & various small gifts Qualify for the "Run my Ass off belt buckle" AWARDS: Beautifully design 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall Male and Female in all distances Artistic Age group awards. 10 year Age group spans Race day photography by Jenny Thorsen, photos are free to download for social media Fully stocked aid stations and well cared for volunteers

Communications

We use the email address that you registered under for all our important correspondences. If you want to get updates, rollover invites, special instructions from us you need to make sure we do not get marked as spam. We also keep our website updated on correspondences on the front page.

Rollover policy.

REFUND & ROLLOVER POLICY We have created a generous rollover policy to allow options for runners, allow us to properly prepare for race, and keep our registration prices low.. We have no cost options all the way to the day before race with an 8 hour volunteer option. This is listed at "check out" when you register for the race. NO COST ROLLOVER IF YOU LET US KNOW BY 70 DAYS BEFORE EVENT. ***Do this on your ultrasignup registration history. 50% OMR EVENT CREDIT (GOOD FOR TWO YEARS) AVAILABLE UNTIL 25 DAYS BEFORE EVENT. ***Do this on the your registration history page.. IF YOU NEED TO WITHDRAW FROM THE RACE, YOU CAN DO THIS ON ULTRASIGNUP AND IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY EITHER ROLL YOU OVER OR GIVE YOU THE 50% CREDIT. DEPENDING ON WHEN YOU CHOOSE. *********************************** ONCE THE ROLLOVER OPTIONS ARE EXPIRED. WE WILL STILL OFFER YOU A RACE ENTRY CREDIT FOR NEXT YEAR RACE WITH AN 8 HOUR VOLUNTEER SHIFT AT 2025 HENNEPIN HUNDRED EVENT. No refunds under any circumstance. Thank you .

Flat & Fast

The Hennepin Hundred is Illinois’ only point-to-point, all-trail ultramarathon, a true Illinois adventure from Sterling, Illinois on the Rock River to Colona, Illinois near the mighty Mississippi, along the historic and beautiful Hennepin Canal. Flat and fast, the 50- and 100-mile courses follow the 104-mile Hennepin Canal State Trail, Illinois’ longest multi-use trail, across historic locks and lift bridges, past the autumn corn, picturesque farms and postcard towns of northwest Illinois. It's a perfect course for a PR run, a first 50 or 100, or for chasing a world's fastest time! Find race information, fantastic photos, hotel info and more at hennepinhundred.com .

The Mule 50k- night time run

Starts at aid station 7/15. 5 pm start See website for full details

Aid Stations and course

Aid stations every 3-7 miles. Please check out hennepinhundred.com for a list of aid stations

Morning Bus ride to start line

100 mile runners Colona Fire Department: bus leaves at 5:10 am sharp 50 mile runners Lock 17:bus leaves at 5:10 am sharp Bus service is $10.00

Testimonial from Kyle Siefers, first-time 100 finisher in 19:33:28

"Thank you so much for running an excellent race. It was my first 100-mile run and I couldn’t have asked for a better event. All of you truly did a fantastic job and I am so impressed by how hard everyone worked. I saw Michele several times during the race and was constantly wondering if she was just everywhere. I have helped run a triathlon before but nothing of this caliber, so I cannot imagine the stress and commitment it took. Everyone is impressed by the runners, how they are staying up through the night to complete the race, but I know that the race directors were probably up for 72 hours straight. Thank you so much for all of your hard work! I would also like to thank all of the volunteers. They were amazing, all of them. I loved so many of the stops. Aid 2 had Jello shots, which was awesome (I saw that aid 8/13 had Jack, but I couldn’t bring myself to swallow that at that point in the race). Aid 6 had a great theme going on and made me laugh when they scared me coming out of the tunnel. A special shout-out to Aid 16, who was all alone in the dark but was super friendly and helpful. He was a sight for sore eyes at that point. The fire chief at Aid 20 was just incredible, he had that trial light up like it was the fourth of July and we were thankful for all his awesome helicopter landing lights. There are many others that I would like to mention but will spare you a longer letter. Thank you so much to everyone that helped out. It was a great event and I will be recommending it to other ultra-friends for coming years! I am donating a small amount to the Trails for Illinois organization as a small thank you gift. Hopefully it helps maintain the Hennepin Canal Trail! Regards, Kyle Siefers"

Read website for full deferral instructions

Deferrals: We take pride in working hard to keep our race prices down. In an effort to keep our cost low, we have come up with this policy. Rollover policy. Rollover Race entry as long as you let us know by 70 days before event. Do this on Ultrasignup 50% OMR race credit as long as you do this by 25 days before event. Do this on Ultrasignup . No exceptions.

Races Offered

100 Miler

Oct 03, 2026

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Distance — 160.9K

terrain

Type — Running

timer

07:00

sell

$375.00

100 mile team relay

Oct 03, 2026

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Distance — 160.9K

terrain

Type — Running

timer

07:00

sell

$550.00

50 Miler

Oct 03, 2026

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Distance — 80.5K

terrain

Type — Running

timer

07:00

sell

$185.00

50K

Oct 03, 2026

straighten

Distance — 50K

terrain

Type — Running

timer

17:00

sell

$160.00

50K

Oct 03, 2026

straighten

Distance — 50K

terrain

Type — Running

timer

17:00

sell

$165.00

Weather History

These values represent the 3-year monthly averages for October in Sterling.

thermostat Temperature
9.0° / 19.1°
wb_sunny Feels like
5.6° / 15.6°
light_mode Avg sunshine hours
8h 54m
water_drop Avg rainfall
2.1 mm
ac_unit Avg snowfall
air Avg wind speed
14.4 km/h (Gentle breeze)
opacity Sweat loss rate
Low
terrain Course conditions
Firm and slightly soft
sunny Max UV Index
Moderate (4.0)
humidity_mid Humidity
63.8%
wb_twilight Sunrise
07:12
nightlight Sunset
18:16

About Sterling

Learn more about the host city, Sterling.

Scenic view of

Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States, along the Rock River. The population was 14,782 at the 2020 census, down from 15,370 in 2010. Formerly nicknamed "Hardware Capital of the World", the city has long been associated with manufacturing and the steel industry.

Read more launch

Hotels & Places to Stay

Video

Watch highlights and course previews from previous years.

Race Results

All-time top performances and historical records for The Hennepin Hundred.

Place Name Year Time
🥇 Taggart Vanetten '23 12:45:59
🥈 Jim Sweeney '18 13:09:32
🥉 Chris Stayman '23 13:09:43
4 Reese Slobodianuk '24 13:14:56
5 Jim Sweeney '25 13:47:02

Runner Reviews

Read what other athletes have to say about their experience at the The Hennepin Hundred.

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