Loup Garou Trail Run Course Guide

Yes. The race director says so directly on the official race site: December 5, 2026 is "the 10th and FINAL YEAR of Loup Garou Trail Run." After a decade of putting the race on at Chicot State Park, the RD and her crew are calling it after this edition. If you have had this race on your list, this is the last chance to run it.

It depends heavily on the weather that particular December. Chicot State Park sits in Louisiana bayou country, and past editions have swung from good, dry footing to sticky mud and genuinely cold overnight temperatures that pushed 100-mile drop rates well above half the field. The published course itself is not extreme (mostly singletrack, a few short steep climbs, about 2,000 feet of gain per 20-mile loop), but repeated loops through wet, rooty Louisiana forest at night, in whatever December decides to throw at you, is where this race earns its reputation.

The race publishes about 2,000 feet of elevation gain per 20-mile loop. That works out to roughly 10,000 feet for the 100 Mile's 5 loops, about 6,000 feet for the 60 Mile's 3 loops, and proportionally less for the 40 and 20 Mile. It is not big mountain vert, it is a lot of small, short, steep climbs repeated loop after loop on rooty singletrack, which adds up differently than one long sustained grade.

Aid stations are spaced roughly every 4 to 8 miles around each 20-mile loop and are fully stocked with typical ultra fare, sweet and salty snacks, fruit, PB&J, broth, water, ice, and an electrolyte sports drink, with each station adding its own local flair. You also get one drop bag hauled out to Aid Station #2 (about 8 miles into the loop) in addition to your start/finish setup. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and plan for a genuinely long, cool-to-cold December night if you are running the 60 or 100 Mile. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.

Every distance shares one firm overall cutoff: 30 hours from the first 7:00 AM start, which lands at 1:00 PM Sunday. No buckles are handed out after that, no exceptions. On top of that, runners must leave the start/finish for their final loop by 7:00 AM Sunday, and rolling aid-station cutoffs apply that morning (roughly 8:15 AM at Aid Station #1, 9:30 AM at Aid Station #2, 11:55 AM at Aid Station #3). Sub-24-hour 100-mile finishers earn a separate sub-24 buckle, so pace with that split in mind if it matters to you.

The course loops through Chicot State Park around Lake Chicot on mostly singletrack, with about half a mile of pavement where the route crosses a car bridge over the lake. Expect rooty sections and a few short, steep climbs, but the race describes the majority of the trail as very runnable. Alligators are technically present in the park but rarely seen, especially in the cold weather a December race usually brings.

The 20 Mile (one loop) is a reasonable low-commitment way to sample the course. For a first 100, the loop format helps a lot: you pass the start/finish area every 20 miles, aid comes every 4 to 8 miles, and you get a drop bag out at Aid Station #2 every loop, which simplifies crewing and gear changes compared with a point-to-point race. The trade-off is Louisiana December weather, which has produced both easy years and genuinely brutal, muddy, cold ones, so come prepared for either and respect the firm 30-hour cutoff. With this being the final year, plan and register early if it is on your list.