Suttle Lake Trail Fest

Suttle Lake Trail Fest takes place in Sisters, Oregon, on October 24, 2026. Rather than fixed distances, the event is timed: 6-hour, 12-hour and 24-hour formats, all run on a loop and all starting together at 8:00 a.m.

Timed loop racing rewards a different discipline than a point-to-point ultra. You are not chasing a finish line so much as managing how long you can keep moving at a sustainable effort, which makes fueling and foot care the deciding factors. Eat something every 30 to 45 minutes from the start, keep spare shoes and socks where you can reach them each lap, and resist the urge to bank early miles. Trail legs help: build over three to four months with back-to-back long runs at the weekend and time on uneven ground rather than pure mileage. The 6-hour is a sensible entry point if you have never gone past a marathon.