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⏵ Course guide · Washington ultra

Lumberjack Endurance Runs Course Guide

The Lumberjack Endurance Runs is a runnable, loop-format ultra in the Port Gamble tree farm out on the Kitsap Peninsula, just across the water from Seattle, with a 100 mile, a 100K, and a 50 mile all sharing the same 12.5 mile loop. It is Kitsap County’s first 100 miler and a well-loved place to go chase a first buckle, because the vert is gentle and the logistics are simple. I’ll walk you through the loop and what it asks of you, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a runnable hundred and a long night going in circles. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Lumberjack Endurance Runs quick facts

Date
Saturday, June 6, 2026 (typically a Saturday in June)
Location
Port Gamble, WA, on the Kitsap Peninsula, in a privately owned tree farm of about 4,300 acres
Distances
100 mile (8 loops), 100K (5 loops), 50 mile (4 loops), on a 12.5 mile loop
Elevation gain
About 1,350 to 1,500 ft per loop, roughly 12,000 ft total on the 100 mile
Start
Morning mass start (UltraSignup has listed 9:00 AM); confirm the current time
Cutoff
30 hours for every distance (100 mile runners may get slightly more depending on their lap 7 time)
Pacers
Allowed after 50 miles (loop 4) for the 100 mile and 100K; no pacers for the 50 mile
Qualifier
No Western States, Hardrock, or UTMB Running Stones qualifier status listed by the race

These facts come from the official race organizer, UltraSignup, and UltraRunning. Check the current date, start time, cutoffs, loop count, and aid stations in the race-day details before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: where the Lumberjack 100 is won and lost

Everything here happens on one 12.5 mile loop through the Port Gamble tree farm, run eight times for the 100, five for the 100K, and four for the 50. About 75 percent of it is singletrack and the rest is dirt and forest road, with roughly 1,350 to 1,500 feet of climbing per lap that comes as constant small rollers rather than any real mountain. It is runnable from start to finish, and that, more than any climb, is what defines how the race goes.

The loop: runnable, rolling, and relentless in its own way

There is no big climb to break the day up and no technical section that forces you to slow down and recover, so the Lumberjack loop just keeps rolling. On smooth forest singletrack with gentle ups and downs, your legs never get the built-in rest breaks a mountain course hands you on the steep stuff. That is the trap. Because it feels easy and runnable early, it is dead simple to run the first few loops a hair too hard and quietly cook your legs for the back half.

The fix is to power hike the short rises on purpose even when you could run them, and to settle into an effort you could honestly hold for a day. Think of the climbs as free recovery you have to take, not as obstacles to attack. Run the rollers like you are trying to save energy, not spend it, and you arrive at the night with legs that still work.

Loop by loop: the mind game of going in circles

A loop course is a gift logistically and a grind mentally. The gift: you pass the start/finish every 12.5 miles, so your crew, your drop bag, and a full aid station are never more than one loop away, and you can run light and restock every lap. The grind: it is the same trail, over and over, and by loop five or six you know every root and every turn, which is exactly when the boredom and the doubt show up.

Beat it by shrinking the race. Do not think about the 100. Think only about getting through this loop, and then the next one. Break the day into eight tasks instead of one giant one, give yourself a small reset at the start/finish each lap (food, a podcast, a fresh layer, two minutes with your crew), and get back out before you get comfortable in the chair. The chair at the start/finish is the most dangerous place on this whole course.

The night and the late-race low

With a morning start and up to 30 hours on the clock, most 100 mile runners are out for a full night, and on a flat runnable loop the small hours are where the race is really decided. Energy bottoms out, the temperature drops in the damp Kitsap air, the trail looks the same in every headlamp beam, and the urge to sit down and quit gets loud. This is normal. Everyone out there feels it.

Plan for the 2 a.m. low before you ever toe the line. Carry a warm layer, gloves, and a backup light, keep eating even when your appetite is gone, and if you are allowed a pacer (after 50 miles for the 100 and 100K) save them for these dark loops when company is worth more than speed. Keep the breaks at the start/finish short and purposeful. The night does not last forever, and if you keep moving and keep eating, your legs and your mood usually come back with the daylight.

Crew, drop bags, and pacers on a lap course

This is where Lumberjack is easy compared to a point-to-point mountain 100. Your crew sets up once at the start/finish and sees you every single loop, your drop bag lives right there, and you never have to guess what is around the next bend because you already ran it. That makes it a forgiving place to crew and a forgiving place to learn what a hundred feels like.

Stage smart. Lay your food, bottles, lights, and layers out at the start/finish so each lap turnaround is fast, and tell your crew the plan ahead of time so they can hand you what you need and push you back out. Pacers are allowed after 50 miles (loop 4) for the 100 mile and 100K, and there are no pacers for the 50 mile, so confirm the current pacer and crew rules and make a clear plan for who joins you and when. The whole game on a loop course is keeping the turnarounds tight so the start/finish does not swallow your day.

Pacing strategy for a runnable loop 100

With gentle vert and runnable footing, Lumberjack is about discipline and even effort, not about surviving big climbs. The danger is going out too fast because it feels easy, so pace it by effort and protect the back half.

Hold an honest, even effort from loop one

Because there is no climb forcing you to slow down, the responsibility to hold back is all on you. Pick an effort you could sustain for a full day and refuse to exceed it on the early loops, even when your legs feel great and the trail invites you to run. Hike the short rises, run the flats and downs relaxed, and keep your lap times remarkably even. A grade-adjusted pace turns your real fitness into honest targets for the rollers, so you can see when you are drifting too hot before it costs you the night.

Build a vert-aware finish prediction and lap plan

Do not pull your Lumberjack goal off a road time, and do not assume a runnable course means a flat-road pace for 100 miles. Fatigue, the rolling vert, and the night all add real time. A vert-aware finish prediction that accounts for this course’s climbing gives you a realistic window, and on a loop course you can turn that straight into a per-lap target. Knowing roughly what each of your eight loops needs to come in at, with a buffer built in, is the single most useful pacing tool here, because it tells you in real time whether you are banking margin or bleeding it.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a long, steady hundred

On a runnable loop you are moving and burning the whole time, so steady fueling matters as much as fitness. The good news is the loop format makes restocking dead simple.

Carbs: steady, trained, and restocked every loop

For a hundred this runnable, aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour and only push the high end if your gut is trained for it. Because you never stop to grind up a climb, your engine wants fuel almost continuously, so keep the intake steady rather than gambling on big catch-up doses late. The loop format is your friend here: pass the start/finish every 12.5 miles, grab exactly the food and bottles you planned for that lap, and run light in between. Rehearse your hourly carb number on long runs so 80-plus grams an hour feels normal on race day, not like an experiment.

Sodium and fluid: scale to the day and the night

Match your sodium to your own sweat rate, often somewhere around 300 to 700 milligrams per liter of fluid, and bias higher if you are a heavy or salty sweater. Mild June weather in the Pacific Northwest keeps your fluid needs moderate, but do not get complacent: a warm afternoon loop or a long stretch between sips can still leave you behind, and the cold damp night quietly changes what you want to eat and drink. Weigh yourself before and after a long run to find your real sweat rate, then build the plan around your own number and restock it lap by lap at the start/finish.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a long Lumberjack 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 Lumberjack loop profile, and your projected lap splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for a runnable hundred and the long night, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Lumberjack Endurance Runs FAQ

How hard is the Lumberjack Endurance Runs 100?

It is hard in a different way than a big mountain 100. The Lumberjack 100 is eight laps of a runnable 12.5 mile loop in the Port Gamble tree farm, with only about 1,350 to 1,500 feet of climbing per loop and no real mountains, so the vert is gentle and the footing is friendly. That cuts both ways: it is genuinely runnable, which means there is nowhere to hide and no long climbs that force you to walk and recover. You get a 30 hour limit, a full night out there, and the same 12.5 miles over and over, so the loop format and the late-race lows are the real test more than the terrain is.

How much climbing is in the Lumberjack 100?

Not much by 100 mile standards, which is the whole appeal. Each 12.5 mile loop has roughly 1,350 to 1,500 feet of gain, so the full 100 miles racks up around 12,000 feet, spread across eight loops as lots of small rolling ups and downs rather than any big climbs. The 100K (5 loops) lands near 7,000 to 7,500 feet and the 50 mile (4 loops) near 5,500 to 6,000 feet. There is nothing here that forces a long power hike, so you can run far more of this course than you can a mountain 100, and that changes how you have to pace it.

How should I fuel for the Lumberjack 100?

Treat it as a long, steady, runnable effort where you are moving and burning calories almost the whole time, not stopping to grind up climbs. For most runners that means roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, leaning to the high end if your gut is trained, with sodium scaled to your sweat rate and the day (often somewhere around 300 to 700 mg per liter of fluid, higher if you are a salty sweater). The huge advantage of a loop course is that you pass the start/finish every 12.5 miles, so you can run light between aid and restock your own food and bottles each lap. Run your real numbers for your weight and goal time with the free ultra fueling calculator.

What are the cutoff times for the Lumberjack 100?

Every distance shares a 30 hour overall time limit, and 100 mile runners may get a little extra depending on their lap 7 time. Because it is a loop course, the practical checkpoints are the lap splits at the start/finish, so the race can pull you if you fall off the pace needed to finish your remaining loops inside 30 hours. Thirty hours over 100 runnable miles is generous compared to a mountain 100, but the loops add up fast when you slow down, so keep a buffer on your lap times early. Confirm the exact start time and any per-lap cutoffs in the current race-day details before you start.

What is the terrain and weather like at the Lumberjack 100?

The loop runs through the Port Gamble tree farm and is about 75 percent singletrack and 25 percent dirt and forest road, with constant small ups and downs and no big climbs. The footing is generally smooth and runnable forest trail, not rocky and technical, though the Pacific Northwest can leave roots and soft, muddy, churned-up sections after rain. Early June on the Kitsap Peninsula is usually mild, often gray and cool with a chance of rain, which is close to ideal running weather, but you should still plan for both a chilly damp night and a warmer-than-expected afternoon. The trees give you shade and shelter most of the way around.

Is the Lumberjack 100 a good first 100 miler?

Yes, it is one of the more approachable first hundreds out there, and it has a real reputation as a first-100 and buckle-hunting race. The runnable low-vert loop, the mild June weather, the aid every few miles, and passing your crew and gear every 12.5 miles all lower the logistical stress that makes a mountain 100 so daunting. The catch is mental: eight identical loops and a long night ask a lot of your patience, so the people who do well break the day into one loop at a time and have a plan for the 2 a.m. low. If you build the endurance and rehearse your fueling, the 30 hour cutoff gives a prepared first-timer plenty of room.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, start time, cutoffs, loop counts, 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.