⏵ Course guide · Steep Loess Hills loop
The Hitchcock Experience repeats a steep 20-mile loop through Iowa's Loess Hills, about 4,928 feet of change per loop and over 24,000 feet for the 100 mile, run in early December with genuine winter conditions possible. The race warns you directly: you may never look at an Iowa race the same again. I will walk you through the loop and terrain first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for steep, repeated climbing in the cold, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official G.O.A.T.z race site. Field caps, aid station offerings, and weather conditions can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics before you commit.
The 100 mile runs five 20-mile loops and the 50 mile runs three 16.7-mile loops through Hitchcock Nature Center, on singletrack to fire-road-sized trail with a small amount of maintenance road, all built on the steep, unglaciated Loess Hills landform.
About 4,928 feet of elevation change per full loop is a genuinely surprising number for a race most people would assume sits on flat Iowa ground. The Loess Hills are a unique, steep geological formation, and this course climbs and descends them repeatedly rather than relying on any single defining ascent.
With just 125 runners total across the 50 and 100 mile distances, this is a genuinely intimate race. Three fully stocked aid stations sit roughly every 6 miles per loop, The Lodge at start/finish, The Oasis around mile 6, and Black Diamond around mile 11.5, each staffed and stocked with food and hot drinks.
Running in early December means genuine winter weather is possible, not just cold-morning starts. Plan your gear for temperature swings across a full day and night, and treat layering and cold-weather race management as seriously as your pacing plan.
With a 5:00 am Saturday start and a Sunday 3:00 pm final cutoff, the loop format gives you real data early to check your pace against.
At nearly 4,928 feet of change per 20-mile loop, the grades here are genuinely steep for the distance, steeper than most runners expect from an Iowa course. A grade-adjusted pace target for those climbs gives you an honest number for what you can sustain across five repeats, rather than what feels manageable on a fresh first loop.
Because the course repeats, your first loop or two gives you genuine data. A vert-aware finish prediction built from those early splits, extrapolated across your remaining loops, is a far more honest guide than any flat-course assumption, and it lets you check your margin against the Sunday 3:00 pm cutoff while you still have room to adjust.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
A 5:00 am start and a Sunday 3:00 pm cutoff put most 100 mile finishers through a full day and a full winter night, when hot food matters as much as raw carbohydrate.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour. Cups at aid stations are limited to soft drinks and hot soups, so every runner must carry a bottle or hydration pack for water and sports drink. Use the hot soups, broth, and quesadillas at the aid stations for real food and warmth, especially through the cold overnight stretch.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range is a reasonable starting point, but in December conditions, staying warm matters as much as your electrolyte numbers. Build layering changes into your drop bags at The Lodge, and treat the hot drink options at aid stations as part of your core-temperature strategy, not just your fueling plan.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a cold December Loess Hills 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 steep Loess Hills loop profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for steep, repeated climbing in cold conditions, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
This is a small, punishing race hiding in plain sight in the Iowa Loess Hills. The official race guide warns runners directly: "You may never look at an Iowa race the same again." A single loop carries about 4,928 feet of elevation change, and the 100 mile distance repeats that loop five times for something in the range of 24,000 to 25,000 feet of cumulative change, all on steep, unglaciated loess ridge terrain that most people do not associate with the Midwest. Add a December date with genuine winter conditions possible and a field capped at just 125 runners, and this is a serious test dressed up as a small regional race.
The official race site lists approximately 4,928 feet of elevation change per full loop. For the 100 mile distance, which runs five 20-mile loops, that works out to roughly 24,600-plus feet of cumulative change, an unusually steep total for a race most people would assume is flat Iowa terrain. The Loess Hills are a genuinely unique, steep landform, and this course uses that terrain fully.
With a 5:00 am Saturday start for the 100 mile and a Sunday 3:00 pm final cutoff, plan for a full day, a full night, and well into a second day, in early December conditions that can range from mild to genuinely wintry. Aid stations are fully stocked and manned at three points per loop, roughly every 6 miles, but because cups are limited to soft drinks and hot soups, you must carry your own bottle or hydration pack for water and sports drink. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and lean on hot soups, broth, and quesadillas at the aid stations for real food during the cold overnight hours. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The final cutoff for the 100 mile, the 101K "The Hard Way," and the 50 mile is Sunday at 3:00 pm. The 100 mile and 101K (first leg) start at 5:00 am Saturday, while the 50 mile and 101K second leg start later, at 9:00 pm Saturday night. Given the elevation change and the possibility of winter weather in early December, treat the window between your start time and that Sunday 3:00 pm cutoff as real working time rather than a generous buffer.
Pacers are for 100 mile runners only. A single pacer is allowed starting at the Black Diamond aid station, roughly mile 52.5, in the middle of the third lap, and additional pacers can join at the Start/Finish beginning on the fourth lap. There is no pacer access at The Oasis aid station at any point in the race.
Only for a runner who has trained specifically on steep, repeated climbing and is prepared for possible December cold. The Loess Hills terrain is far steeper than most first-time hundred mile runners expect from an Iowa race, and the small 125-runner field limit and remote Nebraska-border location mean less of the crowd energy that carries some runners through their first hundred elsewhere. For a well-prepared, hill-trained runner comfortable with cold-weather racing, the small field and well-run aid stations make for an intimate, well-supported experience.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/hitchcock-experience">The The Hitchcock Experience course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/hitchcock-experience" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="The Hitchcock Experience 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.