⏵ Course guide · Jester Park, Iowa
The Stuffed Turkey Endurance Races bring a looped 10-Mile, 50K, 50-Mile, and 100-Mile trail ultra to Jester Park in Granger, Iowa, right around Thanksgiving. I will walk you through the course and format first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a cold late-November day. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official race site. The exact 2026 date is not cleanly confirmed there as of this writing (see the FAQ), so check the current year details before you commit.
All four distances share the same looped course at Jester Park, just with a different number of loops, so a good preview run on the loop tells you almost everything you need to know about your race.
The official description calls the course 99% trail with rolling hills and flat stretches, and states 455 feet of elevation gain per loop. That per-loop figure is the clearest terrain signal available: expect a genuinely rolling course rather than a flat one, with the total climb scaling directly with how many loops your distance covers.
This is a cupless race, so bring your own bottle or hydration bladder rather than relying on disposable cups at aid. Between loops, the Jester Park Equestrian Center provides indoor space for you and your crew to warm up and recharge, a real asset on a cold late-November day.
The 50K, 50 Mile, and 100 Mile races are all stated as UTMB index qualifiers, so a finish here counts toward that broader credentialing system if you have future international races in mind. The 10-Mile is the one distance without that status.
With 455 feet of gain repeating on every loop, your effort on loop one is a genuine preview of what every later loop will ask of you, which is a real advantage for pacing discipline.
Run your first loop at a controlled, honest effort and use it to calibrate the rest of your race rather than treating it as a chance to bank time. On a looped course, an aggressive early loop repeats its cost on every loop after it.
⏵ Free tools to plan your effort
Late November in central Iowa is genuinely cold-weather racing, which changes both what you want to eat and drink and how you carry it.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour while moving and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, but favor foods and drinks that stay appealing when cold, and consider an insulated bottle or bladder since this is a cupless race and you are responsible for your own hydration vessel between aid passes.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight and your chosen distance 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 training plan built around YOUR fitness and the repeated-loop climbing this course demands. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the durability your chosen distance asks for, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
It is a looped trail ultra weekend at Jester Park in Granger, Iowa, offering 10-Mile, 50K, 50-Mile, and 100-Mile distances on a 99% trail course of rolling hills and flat stretches. The 50K, 50 Mile, and 100 Mile distances are UTMB index qualifiers.
The official site advertises "the 7th Annual Stuffed Turkey Endurance Races" on "November 21st" without printing a year. Based on when this guide was written, the coming edition is expected to fall on Saturday, November 21, 2026, but the site's own packet-pickup date, listed as "Thursday the 20th," does not actually line up with a Saturday, November 21 (the preceding Thursday would be the 19th). That mismatch suggests the site copy may not be fully updated for the coming year, so confirm the exact date directly on the official site or its UltraSignup listing before you book travel.
The official site states 455 feet of elevation gain per loop on a course described as "99% trail" with "rolling hills and flat stretches." The site does not state the loop distance itself or the total elevation gain for each full distance, so use the per-loop figure as your best available reference and expect the total to scale with however many loops your distance requires.
The race asks every runner to bring their own bottle or hydration bladder rather than relying on disposable cups at aid stations, both to keep the park clean and to cut down on race-day waste. Plan your hydration gear accordingly before you show up.
The looped format at Jester Park, with indoor space at the Equestrian Center for warming up and recharging, keeps the logistics simple and crew-friendly, which helps for a first ultra attempt. The 50K is the shortest ultra distance offered and, since it is a UTMB index qualifier, gives you a credentialed result if you are already thinking about future international races. Whichever distance you pick, day-of-race entries are not accepted, so you must register in advance.
Late November in central Iowa is a cold-weather ultra, so plan your fueling and hydration around cold-temperature realities: fluids that stay palatable when cold, and layering that lets you regulate effort without overheating early and chilling later. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour while moving and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range as a starting point, adjusted for the day's actual temperature. Since this is a cupless race, plan your own bottle or bladder capacity between loop passes through the start/finish area. Build your own numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/stuffed-turkey-endurance-races">The The Stuffed Turkey Endurance Races course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/stuffed-turkey-endurance-races" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="The Stuffed Turkey Endurance Races course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The date shown is our best reading of the official site's copy, not a fully confirmed detail (see the FAQ), and course specifics can change year to year, so confirm directly with the race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.
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