Meyerhoff's Mayhem

Meyerhoff's Mayhem is held in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on October 16, 2026. The event offers one format, a 48-hour timed trail race starting at 6 p.m. There is no set distance to cover: the clock runs for two full days and two nights, and your total mileage when time expires is your result.

A 48-hour is one of the most demanding formats in ultrarunning, and the evening start means you are on your feet through the first night before you have banked any sleep. Success here comes down to a sleep plan, a crew or drop-bag system you have rehearsed, and food you can keep swallowing hour after hour. Runners generally arrive with a 100-mile finish already behind them and a long build of high weekly volume, plus a few overnight training sessions to learn how their body handles walking through the dark.