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Arkansas · Fifty-Six
Spirit of Syllamo
Dec 12, 2026
Spirit of Syllamo runs each December in the Sylamore Ranger District of the Ozark National Forest, with an alternating course: odd years cover 99 miles and 30,000 feet of gain; even years stretch to 107 miles and 33,000 feet. Terrain is 90% singletrack — rugged, rocky, and steep, roughly 200 feet of vertical change per mile through dense forest and creek crossings. The 34-hour cutoff is strict; in 2024 only 7 runners finished the 100-mile distance. An EF4 tornado in March 2025 destroyed much of the original trail network, forcing a rerouted course for December 2025.
The numbers
Race statistics
- Distance
- 100 mi
- Vertical gain
- 18,000 ft
- Course
- Loop
- Unique miles
- 61 mi
- Entry fee
- $250
- Lottery
- No
- Avg finishers
- 8
180 ft / mi
1 mi loop
per year
◈ From the runners