Willapa Trail Festival

Flattest, Fastest, or First!

This course is flat as heck. It's a great option if you're looking set a new personal best finish time, or if you're running to complete your first ultra! Its seriously like a pancake. Its without doubt one the flattest and fastest 100 mile and 50 mile courses you'll find in the PNW. The Willapa Trail Festival Footraces starts and finishes at Owl and Olive Cafe, a beautiful event space located between the Willapa Hills State Park Trail and the banks of the upper Chehalis River. The 56 mile Willapa Hills Trail follows an old rail grade traversing the rolling hills and rivers of scenic southwest Washington from Chehalis to Raymond and ending in South Bend along the Willapa River and Willapa Bay. Running along this beautiful trail in autumn makes for an excellent running event experience for our modest entry fees. *2026 Permit Pending

Race Entry

OlyTrailRunners is a non-profit dedicated to supporting the local trail running community and preservation of recreational trails in the greater Olympia area. To keep our events inclusive and promote running for everyone we keep our entry fees low. The 5k will be $20. The 25k will be $30. The 50k will be $35. The 50 miler will be $50. The 100 miler will be $100. A portion of the profits will be used to improve and maintain the Willapa Hills Trail and support the communities it runs through.

Race Day

Packet pickup will be available beginning at 6:00 AM Saturday. The 100 mile/50 mile run will begin at 7:00 AM Saturday morning. The 50k run will begin at 8:00 AM Saturday morning. The 25k run will begin at 9:00 AM Saturday morning. The 5k run will begin at 10:00 AM SUNDAY morning. The Start/Finish area will close for all runners at 10pm on Sunday night.

Course

This course is one of the flattest and fastest you’ll find. It is a perfect course for someone looking to run their first ultramarathon, or to set a very fast personal best in any of the distances offered. It is also nearly impossible to get lost. The trail is flat and wide double track following an old rail grade along the Chehalis River. The surface is mostly hard packed gravel. From our start location at Owl and Olive, runners will head east along the Willapa Hills State Park Trail. Once you reach your designated turnaround point you will turn and head west along the same trail until you return to the start/finish area at Owl and Olive. 50 and 100 milers will then head west along the Willapa Hills State Park Trail for an additional out and back.

Aid stations

There will be 2-3 aid stations along the way for the 5k, 25k and 50k. The 50 Mile runners will do an additional out and back heading west from the start/finish area along the trail thru the town of Pe Ell and beyond to the Pluvius Hill crest with one aid station along the way. The 100 Mile runners will do an additional out and back as well to the town of Raymond, with 7 aid stations along the way. The aid stations will be stocked with water, electrolytes, and the usual assortment of candy, cookies, chips, fruit, and gels offered at most ultras.

Cut off times

Overall cutoff for the 100miler is 34 hours. We’ll give you plenty of time to finish your run comfortably! There are no cutoffs for runners in the 25k, 50k, or 50 miler, however, the aid stations will close at specific times. Runners who think they will still be on course after the aid stations designated closing times should plan to carry sufficient water and food to get them to the finish. Aid station volunteers and race staff will monitor who is on course and will reserve the right to pull any runners who cannot finish their run by the time the start/finish line closes on Sunday night. Aid station closing times will be posted in the future.

Parking, camping, and & dogs

Parking will be provided by Owl and Olive and will be available to all runners and crew until the start/finish area closes on Sunday night. Some overnight parking and camping is available for Friday night as well. Contact the race director for details if you plan to stay the night at the race venue on Friday night. Another great overnight camping option is the nearby Rainbow Falls State Park campground for Friday and/or Saturday night. Reservations for camping spots can be made at www.parks.wa.gov Dogs are welcome on leash.

100 miler info

Pacers: 50k onward - pacers will check in at an aid station, though no formal registration Finisher award: unique ceramic belt buckle Drop-bags available at most stations Restrooms: many bathrooms along the way. Surface: 96 miles on improved packed gravel (think Palouse to Cascades Trail) and 4 miles of pavement We'll have a 100 mile race manual posted and shared before the race giving specific information for aid stations, crew, pacers, drop bags, and more.

5k - Sunday, Nov. 8

The 5k starts on Sunday (not Saturday) at 10 am. You might get to cheer for some of the 100 miler finishers while you race. There is plenty of time to run, hop, or walk. If you dare, run Saturday and then come back for the 5k on Sunday!

Possible Trail Construction

The Willapa Hills Trail will be undergoing some trail surface improvements on the unimproved sections on the west end of the trail in Fall/Winter of 2025 which may impact the 100 mile course. The trail improvements mean that future versions of the Willapa Trail Festival 100 miler will be even faster. Since construction may mean large sections of the trail are closed on race day, runners registering for the 100 miler should be prepared for a double of the 50 mile course. Although this means the 100 won't traverse the whole of the trail from Chehalis to Raymond, it does mean that the adjusted course will be run entirely on improved trail surfaces, making it even faster than last year!