Kettle Moraine 100 Course Guide

Kettle Moraine 100 is not defined by any single brutal climb. It runs two out-and-back legs on rolling, glacial kettle-moraine terrain, about 80% wooded with rocks and roots and a "roller coaster of hills" that the race's own course description says can wear you down even though no individual hill is long or especially steep. Total altitude gain runs approximately 8,800 feet over the 100 miles, and 65 of those miles are on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. It is a Western States qualifier and the second leg of the Midwest Grand Slam, run since 1996, with a 30-hour cutoff that rewards patience on the endless small ups and downs over raw climbing power.

The official course page states approximately 8,800 feet of total altitude gain across the 100 miles. That number comes from many repeated small hills rather than a few big climbs: the course description calls out that the hills are not long or especially steep individually, but the constant rolling terrain across two out-and-back legs adds up. Pine sections give softer footing; other stretches roll through rocky, rooty terrain that has been wood-chipped in places to protect ski trail equipment.

For an effort that most finishers spend 20 or more hours completing, aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour and sodium in the 300 to 700 milligram per liter range, adjusting for June heat in southern Wisconsin. Aid stations lean on grab-and-go foods early with more meal-type options, hot soups, and vegan choices at later stations, and you can supplement with your own drop bags at aid stations like Nordic, McMiller, Hwy 67, and Hwy 12. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day, then rehearse the plan on a long training run.

The overall cutoff for the 100 mile race is 30 hours from the 6:00 a.m. Saturday start, meaning a noon Sunday finish. Along the way, the race's own materials describe just three hard cutoffs: you must leave the Nordic aid station (around mile 64) by midnight to head out for the final 38 miles, you must leave Rice Lake by 6:30 a.m. Sunday, and you must leave Bluff by 10:00 a.m. Sunday. All other aid stations have somewhat more generous posted open and close times that you need to be in and out of before they shut. The 100K distance has a related rule: stay on course as long as you are through the Horserider aid station by 11:00 p.m., then you hit the same checkpoint cutoffs as the 100 mile field.

The course is entirely trail except for a few road crossings, and 65 of the 100 miles run on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail through the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest. About 80% is wooded terrain, with the rest weaving through prairie or marsh. Expect a genuine "roller coaster" of small hills mixed with rocks and roots, softened in the pine sections by a bed of needles. The course runs as two distinct out-and-back legs rather than one big loop, so you cover much of the terrain twice, in different light and with different legs.

Registration is a lottery: it opens December 1 and the field is drawn on January 1 at 11:00 a.m. Central. Recent years have filled the 100 mile, 100K, and 50K fields immediately, so plan to enter the lottery on opening day and get on the waitlist early if you do not get drawn, since spots do open up as the year progresses. The race is a Western States 100 qualifier and the second leg of the Midwest Grand Slam of Ultra-running, founded in 1996 by Kevin and Kris Setnes and now directed by Michele Hartwig under Ornery Mule Racing, Inc.