Heartland Ultra

Heartland Ultra is a trail ultra weekend in Cassoday, Kansas, on October 10–11, 2026, organized by the Kansas Ultrarunners' Society. The 125 Miler (201.2 km) sets off on October 10, while the 100 Miler (160.9 km), the 100K (62 miles), the 50 Miler (80.5 km), the marathon (26.2 miles) and the half marathon (13.1 miles) all run on October 11.

The Flint Hills of Kansas offer something rare in ultrarunning: long, rolling gravel roads through open prairie, with no forest cover and wind as the main opponent. That makes every distance here more runnable than a mountain course, but also more exposed. The half marathon and marathon are good entry points, the 50 Miler and 100K suit runners ready to go beyond 50K, and the 100 and 125-mile races reward relentless pacing and strong mental focus through the night. Train with long runs on gravel or dirt roads, practice running into a headwind at a steady effort, and for the longer formats plan 18 to 20 weeks with back-to-back weekend runs. Layers matter, since prairie nights in October can turn cold quickly.