⏵ Course guide · Wabash Trace Nature Trail, Iowa
Yippee-Ki-Yay puts a 50K, Half Marathon, and 10K on the historic Wabash Trace Nature Trail out of Council Bluffs, Iowa: a fast, mostly soft-surface out-and-back with fall Heartland views. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a cool October morning. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Happy Trailz Running event page for the confirmed 2025 (year 6) edition. The next edition's date is not yet confirmed on the official page as of this writing. Check the current year details before you commit.
Every distance runs out-and-back on the Wabash Trace Nature Trail, a converted rail line that stretches 63 miles from Council Bluffs to the Missouri border, giving Yippee-Ki-Yay a genuinely soft, fast surface most trail races cannot offer.
The official page states the 50K course specifically as 90% rail trail and 10% pavement, with a fine crushed limestone surface underfoot for the rail-trail portion. That mix keeps the footing consistent and predictable for the full distance, which is a real advantage if you are used to technical singletrack ultras.
In the confirmed 2025 edition, the 50K started at 8am, the Half Marathon at 8:15am, and the 10K at 8:30am, all from the Iowa West Foundation Trail Head Park. The staggered starts keep the field from bunching up on the out-and-back trail early on.
The race states a 9 hour course time limit and caps the field at 250 runners across all distances. Registration for the confirmed 2025 race opened in December of the prior year, so if you want a spot, plan to register as soon as the coming year's registration opens rather than waiting.
The race's own marketing describes the 50K as one of the faster average-finisher courses in the Midwest region, which tracks with a 90% soft, flat rail-trail surface. That makes this a course where pacing discipline, not terrain management, decides your day.
Since every distance is an out-and-back, your outbound pace directly previews your return trip on the same trail. Resist the urge to bank time on the way out just because the surface feels easy, the fatigue from a fast start still catches up with you on the way back.
⏵ Free tools to plan your effort
Average October temperatures for the area run a high near 61°F and a low near 39°F, so this is generally a cool-weather race rather than a heat management problem, freeing you up to focus on carbohydrate and pacing rather than aggressive fluid intake.
The race provides water, Honey Stinger sports drink and gels on course, plus solid "Ultra Food" for 50K runners after mile 10. On a relatively fast, flat course like this, aim for roughly 45 to 75 grams of carbohydrate per hour, toward the lower end if you are running the 50K at race pace and higher if you are moving more conservatively across a longer time on course.
⏵ 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 a fast, flat rail-trail course. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the pacing discipline a course like this rewards, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
As of this writing, the official race page has not yet published a confirmed 2026 date, its most recent confirmed edition is year 6, run Saturday, October 25, 2025. Third-party race calendars list October 24, 2026 as the expected next date, but that has not been confirmed on the official Happy Trailz Running page. Check the official page or the race's UltraSignup listing directly before you book travel.
For the confirmed 2025 edition, the race offered a 50K (31 miles), a Half Marathon, and a 10K, all starting within 30 minutes of each other on the same morning. A 5 mile race was part of the event through 2022 before being retired and effectively replaced by the 10K. Confirm the current year's exact lineup before registering, since race distances have shifted before.
Every distance runs out-and-back on the historic Wabash Trace Nature Trail, a converted rail-to-trail path with a fine crushed limestone surface. The official page states the 50K course specifically as 90% rail trail and 10% pavement, so it is a fast, mostly soft-surface course without significant technical trail features.
The official page states a 9 hour course time limit. It does not break that limit down by individual distance or list intermediate aid station cutoffs, so if you are chasing the cutoff closely, confirm the specific rules for your distance directly with the race before you start.
A 9 hour window on a 90% rail-trail, mostly flat out-and-back course is about as forgiving a 50K setup as you will find, which makes it a reasonable first-ultra choice if you want to focus on distance rather than technical terrain. The course's own marketing calls it one of the faster average-finisher 50K courses in the Midwest region, which tracks with the easy, non-technical surface.
Average October temperatures in the area run a high around 61°F and a low around 39°F, so this is generally a cool-weather race rather than a heat concern. The race itself provides water, Honey Stinger sports drink and gels on course, plus solid "Ultra Food" for 50K runners after mile 10, so build your own plan around what is provided: aim for roughly 45 to 75 grams of carbohydrate per hour on the 50K given the relatively fast, flat course, and use the free ultra fueling calculator to dial in your own numbers.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/yippee-ki-yay">The Yippee-Ki-Yay course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/yippee-ki-yay" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Yippee-Ki-Yay course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The date shown reflects the most recently confirmed edition on the official race site, and the next edition's exact date is not yet confirmed there as of this writing, so confirm current specifics before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.
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