⏵ Course guide · Badger State Trail, Wisconsin
The Badger Trail Race runs six distances, from a Half Marathon up to a full 100 Mile, along the smooth, 99% rail-trail Badger State and Jane Addams Trails between Belleville, Wisconsin and Orangeville, Illinois, passing through the landmark Stewart Tunnel. I will walk you through the course and staggered start times first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan for whichever distance you pick. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official race page. Check the current year details, including cutoffs, before you commit. Race logistics can change year to year.
Every distance shares the same route, just different amounts of it: a smooth converted rail line from Belleville, Wisconsin across the state line into Orangeville, Illinois.
The race states its surface plainly: 99% rail trail and less than 1% asphalt, running along the Badger State Trail and continuing onto the Jane Addams Trail. Along the way, the route passes through the Stewart Tunnel, a well-known feature of the Badger State Trail and a distinctive break from the open rail-trail scenery.
The 100 Mile and 100K start Saturday, at 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM respectively, giving the longer distances a full day's head start. The 50 Mile and 50K start together Sunday at 6:00 AM, and the Marathon and Half Marathon start together Sunday at 7:00 AM, all sharing the same non-technical rail-trail route.
The race is organized by Ten Junk Miles Racing. With registration closing July 29, 2026, and an early bird deadline of July 1, 2026 that guarantees swag and a finisher's award, plan your entry timing if those extras matter to you.
With almost no technical terrain to slow you down, pacing discipline matters more here than terrain-forced walk breaks would on a rockier course.
If you are racing the 100 Mile or 100K, the Saturday morning start means you will be moving through the night. Plan a conservative early pace and a real lighting and layering strategy, since the smooth surface makes it tempting to go out fast early and pay for it after dark.
For the Half Marathon, Marathon, 50K, and 50 Mile, the smooth rail-trail surface is genuinely fast, so a steady, even effort will translate to a strong finish time. Treat this more like a well-paced long training run than a technical trail race, and let the consistent footing carry your pace.
⏵ Free tools to plan your effort
The official page does not publish aid station spacing, so confirm the current year's aid plan and build a plan that does not depend entirely on it.
For the 50K, 50 Mile, 100K, or 100 Mile, aim for roughly 40 to 70 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and sodium in the 400 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusted for early-August Wisconsin heat and humidity during daytime hours. For the Marathon or Half Marathon, keep it simpler: 30 to 60 grams per hour is plenty for a race in the 2 to 5 hour range.
If your race takes you through the night, cooler temperatures reduce sweat losses but caffeine and warm layers become part of your fueling plan too. Build a per-hour plan that accounts for both the daytime heat early on and the cooler overnight hours later.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your pace, and your chosen distance 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 training plan built around YOUR fitness and whichever Badger Trail Race distance you pick, from the Half Marathon up to the 100 Mile. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the durability your distance demands, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
Every distance runs along the Badger State Trail continuing onto the Jane Addams Trail, between Belleville, Wisconsin and Orangeville, Illinois. The race describes the surface as 99% rail trail and less than 1% asphalt, so this is a smooth, non-technical course, a converted rail line that runs through the well-known Stewart Tunnel along the way, one of the Badger State Trail's signature landmarks.
The longer distances start first on Saturday, August 1: the 100 Mile at 6:00 AM and the 100K at 9:00 AM. The shorter distances start the next morning, Sunday, August 2: the 50 Mile and 50K together at 6:00 AM, and the Marathon and Half Marathon together at 7:00 AM.
The official race page I checked does not publish specific cutoff times for any distance. Given the smooth rail-trail surface across two state lines, contact Ten Junk Miles Racing or check the current year's official information for cutoff details before you commit to a goal time.
The rail-trail surface itself is about as forgiving as ultra terrain gets, mostly smooth and non-technical. The challenge scales almost entirely with the distance you choose: the 100 Mile starting a full day ahead of the shorter races means a genuinely long effort with an overnight stretch, while the Half Marathon and Marathon are a straightforward, scenic point-to-point run on good footing.
The 50K is a strong first-ultra option here: a non-technical rail-trail surface with a reasonable Sunday morning start, none of the technical footing or heavy climbing that makes some first 50Ks intimidating. If you want a bigger step up, the 50 Mile shares the same start and course character on a longer stretch of the same trail.
It is a well-known landmark along the Badger State Trail that the course passes through on its way between Belleville and Orangeville, a distinctive, cool, dark stretch that breaks up the otherwise open rail-trail scenery. It is one of the reasons this particular rail-trail route stands out from a typical flat gravel course.
Registration closes July 29, 2026. If you register by July 1, 2026, you are guaranteed race swag and a finisher's award, so earlier entry has a real, published benefit beyond just securing your spot.
Link this guide
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/badger-trail-race">The Badger Trail Race course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/badger-trail-race" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Badger Trail Race course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course, cutoffs, and dates 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.
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