Hunter S. Thompson Fear & Loathing

Hunter S. Thompson Fear & Loathing is held in San Francisco, California, on December 6, 2026. Two ultra distances are on offer: the 50-miler (80.5 km) leaves at 7:00 a.m. with about 11,800 feet of climbing, and the 50K starts later at 11:45 a.m. That elevation figure tells you most of what you need to know about the terrain, since a course with that much vertical gain is hilly from start to finish.

This is not a race you enter on general fitness. Preparation means months of back-to-back long runs on steep ground, deliberate practice at hiking uphill rather than running everything, and enough downhill volume that your quads survive past halfway. Take poles if you use them, plan your nutrition in advance, and expect the second half of the 50-miler to run in fading December light. The 50K, with its late start, is the more manageable of the two but is still a serious day out.