Registration OPENS ON ACTIVE.COM ON OCTOBER 1, 2009 AND CLOSES MAY 12, 2010.


Bishop Skyline – Copyright © 2008 Cecil Patrick.

100k & Extended Cut Offs

We are very excited to announce the inaugural Bishop High Sierra 100k event! The race emerged from the need to add a quality 100k event to the race calendar, and to be a great training run for those attempting the trail 100mile events later in the summer. With an increasing interest in ultra-distance events, and limited number of runners accepted into most races, a definite need exists for another race. The Bishop event will offer altitude, dryness, heat, exposure, vertical gain and spectacular scenery.

With some careful measuring, both with a surveyor's wheel and a Garmin GPS watch, we found the ideal 12 mile extension to the course. Our plan was to have as little impact on the aid station crews as possible, with regard to time out on the course. We could have chosen a tough, very steep but scenic extension beyond Bishop Creek Lodge, the 50 mile turnaround, but most of the aid stations would have needed to stay open for several hours longer. By using a section towards the end of the course, we only need to extend time at Tungsten City aid station, and of course, the finish line. The time limit will be 19 hours, which we feel is generous and gives sufficient time for most runners to complete the race.

We have found a 6 mile out-and-back road which traverses the Tungsten Hill. Runners will visit the Tungsten City aid station (48.5 mile mark), collect drop bag supplies and lights, and then start the voyage up and over the hill. In fact they will drop down the switchbacks to the CDF camp aid station, continue 0.5 miles further up the trail to the turnaround point, collect a numbered poker chip, and return over the hill to the finish. There will be one more aid station, Sage Summit, 4 miles into the hill run. Runners will pass through this station on the return trip, so there will be only 4 miles between aid stations. The road is gently rolling, sandy or rocky in places, but a great finale to the 100k event. The switchbacks measure almost exactly 1 mile, and lose almost 1000', which is regained on the return trip.

In addition, recognizing the increasing age of our faithful runners who return year in, year out, we have extended the cut off times for the 50 mile, 50k and 20 mile event to 15 hours. We have added 30 minutes to the cut-off times at Edison Loop, Intake 2 and Buttermilk Road.

Another change to note:
Package pick up, and runner check-in will be at Sage to Summit Running Store, 312 North Main Street, Bishop. Karen will be open from 10am to 8pm, and has an extensive selection of shoes, running apparel and all the supplies you might need to purchase. She is our major race sponsor, and we thank her for her support. Her business has been named one the best running stores in California, according to a Runners World poll. Karen is an expert in fitting running shoes as well.


BHS50 Course – Copyright © 2008 Cecil Patrick.