⏵ Course guide · Ohio loop 100
The Mohican 100 sends its field around a wooded loop course through the hollows and river valleys of Mohican State Park and the Mohican-Memorial State Forest near Loudonville, Ohio, part of the Midwest Grand Slam of Ultrarunning and a Western States 100 qualifier. I will walk you through the loop-based course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for repeated trail rather than one defining climb. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official OMBC event page and the runreg.com registration listing. Check the current year details, cutoffs, and aid stations before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.
Mohican runs a wooded loop course through Mohican State Park and the Mohican-Memorial State Forest, and how many loops you run depends on your distance: 1 to 4 loops, with the 100 mile field covering the most ground on the same terrain.
The trail winds through hollows and river valleys under tree cover for nearly the whole course, so there is no long flat road stretch to bank easy miles on. Roots, uneven footing, and the terrain shifting from dry ridge to damp bottomland are the norm. Because the 100 mile distance repeats the same loops, your early-loop reads of the trickiest sections, in daylight, on fresh legs, pay off directly when you hit them again tired and possibly in the dark.
The 100 mile field goes off first, at 5:00 AM Friday. The 50 mile starts an hour later, at 6:00 AM Saturday, and the Marathon starts at 8:00 AM Saturday. All three distances share roughly the same overall finish window, which means aid stations and the finish line stay staffed and active well into the event for every distance, not just the leaders.
Aid stations sit approximately 5 miles apart throughout each race course, denser than most 100 milers. That density is a real asset on the loop-based distances: stage what you need each loop instead of overloading your vest to cover long remote gaps, and use the frequent stops to reset your fueling rhythm rather than letting it drift over the course of a long day and night.
With a 32-hour cutoff and a course you will see multiple times on the 100 mile distance, Mohican rewards even effort across loops over an aggressive early pace that borrows from the loops still ahead.
Rooty, technical wooded singletrack does not give you a flat-ground pace to hold, and the hollows and river valleys mean your effort should shift with the terrain, not stay locked to a number. A grade-adjusted pace target gives you an honest read on what you can sustain across every loop, rather than what feels good on loop one.
Because the course repeats, you get real pacing data fast. After your first loop or two, a vert-aware finish prediction built off your actual splits is a far more honest guide than any flat-course time you bring in from outside Ohio. Check that projection against the 32-hour cutoff early, while you still have room to adjust, not on your final loop when adjusting is hard.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
A 100 mile finish likely runs somewhere in the 20 to 32 hour range here, meaning most runners will fuel through late-May Ohio heat and humidity by day and cooler, damp hollows by night.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and use the aid stations roughly every 5 miles to keep your intake consistent rather than front-loading early and fading late. A dense aid network is only an advantage if you actually use it to stay on schedule.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners, leaning toward the higher end through the warmer, humid stretches of daytime running. Ohio in late May can run warmer and stickier than the calendar suggests, especially in the low, wooded hollows where air movement is limited.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a full day and night in Ohio 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 loop course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for a full day and night on repeated trail, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The Mohican 100 is a loop course through Mohican State Park and the Mohican-Memorial State Forest, run entirely on wooded trail through hollows and river valleys. It does not have the massive single climbs of a mountain 100, but the repeated loops and the technical, root-and-hollow terrain add up over 100 miles. The race is a qualifier for the Western States 100 lottery and part of the Midwest Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, so it draws a serious field. The 32-hour cutoff gives a well-prepared runner real room, and the custom finisher buckle is earned, not handed out.
The course is loop-based: entrants run 1 to 4 loops depending on which distance they enter, all through the same wooded hollows and river valleys of Mohican State Park and Mohican-Memorial State Forest. Because you pass through the same terrain multiple times on the 100 mile distance, learning the trail on your early loops in daylight pays off later when fatigue and darkness both work against you. Aid stations are spaced roughly 5 miles apart on every loop, which is denser than most 100s and worth using to your advantage.
A 100 mile finish here likely takes somewhere in the 20 to 32 hour range depending on your pace, spanning a full day and at least one night on trail. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusting for late-May Ohio humidity, which can run warm even this early in the season. With aid stations roughly 5 miles apart, you have frequent chances to reset your intake rather than banking on one big stop. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The 100 mile race has a 32-hour cutoff from its 5:00 AM Friday start, and finishers within that window earn a custom Mohican 100 Mile Buckle. The 50 mile race starts an hour later, at 6:00 AM Saturday, giving those runners 31 hours to finish. The Marathon starts at 8:00 AM Saturday, three hours after the 100 mile field, giving marathon runners 29 hours. All three races share the same overall finish window, so aid stations stay open late into the event for slower finishers on any distance.
Yes. Any runner who completes the Mohican 100 within the 32-hour time limit qualifies to apply for the Western States 100 lottery. That status, combined with the race being part of the Midwest Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, means the field includes a real mix of first-time 100 milers chasing the buckle and experienced ultrarunners chasing a Western States entry. Respect the cutoff either way. It is generous but not unlimited.
The loop format is a real advantage for a first 100: you return to the start-finish area and pass aid stations roughly every 5 miles, so crew logistics, drop bags, and the mental math of the distance are simpler than a remote point-to-point course. The wooded, technical footing through hollows and river valleys still demands real trail experience, and running the same loop repeatedly late in the race, tired and possibly in the dark, tests your head as much as your legs. With a 32-hour cutoff and dense aid, a well-trained first-timer has real room to finish.
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.