⏵ Course guide · Ouachita Mountains classic
The Arkansas Traveller 100 runs a 17-mile opening loop into an 83-mile out-and-back through the Ouachita Mountains outside Perryville, about 12,000 feet of gain on forest roads, jeep trails, and one stretch of singletrack Ouachita Trail. AURA calls it a great first 100, and 23 aid stations back that up. I will walk you through the course structure first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for rolling hills and a long day, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official AURA race page and public race listings. Individual aid station cutoffs, the exact start time, and crew access rules can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics on runarkansas.com/AT100 before you commit.
AT100 opens with a 17-mile loop near Lake Sylvia, then heads out on an 83-mile out-and-back through the Ouachita National Forest. You will run most of the course twice, once heading out and once coming back, which gives you a direct read on how the trail and your own legs have changed since your first pass.
About 12,000 feet of total gain sounds modest for a mountain 100, and that is the point: this course wears you down through continuous rolling terrain rather than a single defining climb. Race organizers themselves call the hills "sneaky-hard," runnable individually but relentless in sequence, which means honest, even pacing matters more here than saving everything for one big effort.
Most of the course runs on forest roads and jeep trails, wide and forgiving underfoot, with one 8-mile stretch on the actual singletrack Ouachita Trail. That mix means you can run efficiently for most of the race, but the technical section deserves real respect, especially on the return trip when your legs are far more tired than they were the first time through.
Twenty-three fully stocked, staffed aid stations spread across 100 miles is a dense support network by ultra standards, giving you frequent chances to refuel, check in, and reset your effort. Use that density to your advantage: run a conservative early race knowing help is never far away, rather than trying to bank time between widely spaced stops.
With a 30 hour cutoff and 23 aid stations to check your progress against, AT100 gives you plenty of data points to adjust effort well before you are in real trouble.
The temptation on runnable forest roads is to bank early miles at an aggressive pace. Resist it. A grade-adjusted pace target across the rolling Ouachita terrain gives you an honest number for what you can sustain over the full 17-mile loop and the 83-mile out-and-back that follows, rather than what feels comfortable on fresh legs at the start.
Because you run most of the course twice, your outbound split gives you a direct baseline to compare against on the way back. A vert-aware finish prediction built off your outbound pace, checked against the 30 hour cutoff before you turn around, tells you honestly whether your current effort gets you home in time or needs adjusting now, while you still have room to do it.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
A 30 hour cutoff means most finishers spend a full day and a full night on trail, and Arkansas in early October can still run warm early before cooling off overnight.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour. With 23 aid stations along the route, you rarely go far between chances to top off, so use that frequency to keep your intake steady rather than gambling on carrying large reserves between stops.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners here, leaning toward the higher end if the October afternoon heat runs above normal for the region. As temperatures drop overnight, dial your sodium and fluid intake back down to match, rather than running the same numbers for the whole 30 hours.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a warm-to-cool Arkansas October day and night with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.
⏵ Train for it with Summit Line
Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact rolling Ouachita climbing profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for sustained rolling terrain, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
AT100 is a serious 100 miler, but it is built to be approachable for a well-prepared first-timer, and the race's own organizers describe it as "a great first 100 for anyone looking to test themselves at the premier ultra distance." The course covers about 12,000 feet of gain over forest roads, jeep trails, and one 8-mile stretch of singletrack Ouachita Trail, with 23 aid stations keeping the gaps between support short. The hills are runnable but relentless, "sneaky-hard" in the race's own words, which means the difficulty here comes from cumulative fatigue over rolling terrain rather than one brutal climb.
The published total is about 12,000 feet of gain across the full 100 miles. That is a moderate vert-to-mileage ratio for a mountain 100, and it comes from a course of continuous rolling hills through the Ouachita Mountains rather than a handful of major climbs, so a grade-adjusted pace plan matters more than any single hill you need to prepare for specifically.
AT100 runs a 17-mile opening loop followed by an 83-mile out-and-back, all starting and finishing near Lake Sylvia in Perryville. That means you see the first 17 miles once, then run the same terrain twice more on the way out and back, giving you a real read on your effort and the trail conditions on the return trip that you did not have on your first pass.
With a 30 hour cutoff, plan for a long day and a full night on trail for most finishers. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusting upward if the Arkansas October heat runs warm early in the race. With 23 aid stations along the course, you have frequent chances to reset your intake rather than needing to carry large reserves. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The overall time limit is 30 hours. AURA publishes individual aid station cutoffs on the official race page (runarkansas.com/AT100), so pull the current cutoff sheet before you build a detailed pacing plan, since those splits are not captured here. With 23 aid stations spread across the course, you get frequent checkpoints to gauge whether you are on pace for the 30 hour finish.
Yes, and the race's own organizers pitch it that way: "This race is considered by many to be a great first 100 for anyone looking to test themselves at the premier ultra distance." Runnable forest roads and jeep trails, a generous 30 hour cutoff, and 23 aid stations spaced closely enough to manage your race in small pieces all make AT100 a reasonable target for a well-trained first-time 100 mile finisher, and a strong field of AT100 veterans returns every year, which tells you plenty about how the race treats its runners.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/arkansas-traveller-100">The Arkansas Traveller 100 course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/arkansas-traveller-100" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Arkansas Traveller 100 course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and aid stations come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.