Volunteers: The Soul of Chuckanut 50k

We know it is true for lots of events in athletics and basically every other realm, but we still hold a strong belief that the volunteers at the Chuckanut 50k are the BEST. The repeats that come back for more every year, the costumes, energy, thoughtfulness and time all add up to a most spectacular event that third Saturday of March in Fairhaven Park. :)

This year we are working with TrailrunnerHQ for our main race communications and volunteer sign up. There is more information, and google form link to get started on the the Volunteer Sign Up link in the main menu of the race website. This race update is to let you know it is LIVE!

Thank you for the support of the Chuckanut 50k and if you are a runner, helping us find the awesome energy of your friends and cohorts that want to volunteer on race day.

2025 Shirt Colors Announced!

It is a long standing tradition for the Chuckanut 50k to sell long sleeved Patagonia shirts for an amazing price. A $55 shirt costs $35 when you have the Chuckanut 50k logo on it! They have become collectors items and this RD LOVES seeing them around town and around the world. I apologize for embarrassing myself in advance as I will likely comment on your cool shirt and tell you that I am the race director. I really love this event that much ;)

For 2025 we have two shirt options.

The Feminine Cut will be Pumice/ dyno white X-dye with a screen print of the race logo. The Masculine Cut will be Black with a screen print of the race logo.

If you would like to add a shirt to your registration you can do so until January 6th! You will need to log on to your PacificMultiSports account and update your registration. Speaking of registration, we are in the final countdown. There are less than 100 spots remaining. We have cracked 800 registrants and we are well over $8,000 in donations. This community ROCKS!

Previous editions of the Chuckanut 50k race shirts

Patagonia Feminine Cut Capilene Cool Daily Shirt - 2025 Chuckanut 50k color

Patagonia Masculine Cut Capilene Cool Daily Shirt - 2025 Chuckanut 50k color

Chuckanut 50k Wins City of Bellingham Tourism Grant!

Congratulations to the Chuckanut 50k! 

This year we applied for and were awarded a City of Bellingham Tourism grant! We are thrilled to more closely partner with the beautiful city that hosts the Chuckanut 50k. This grant is awarded to organizations & events that contribute to the tourism of the city. We will use this funding to hire LiveStreaming, pay for the awesome medical support of Prime Sports Institute at our finish line, and potentially contribute to the runners Prize Purse.

Whether you are volunteering or racing, whether you live in town or are traveling to Bellingham for training and/or race weekend please be sure to share that you are visiting for the Chuckanut 50k. We ask everyone to support the businesses listed on our website under 2025 Race Sponsors, the Event Lodging Partners and check out the awesome City of Bellingham alongside your visit to be a part of the Chuckanut 50k.

Training for Chuckanut 50k - Bellingham Distance Project Group Run!

Information from Alicia Browder of the

Bellingham Distance Project

Are you running the Chuckanut 50k this March? Do you like running on trails with friends? Do you like eating snacks? If you answered YES to any of these questions we want to invite you to our Chuckanut 50k Course Preview Run hosted by our local running club, The Bellingham Distance Project. We will have 3 distances for you to choose that include sections of the iconic Chuckanut 50k course through the Chuckanut Mountains.

RSVP to event on Strava Here

The Chuckanut 50k Course Preview Run will be free with an option to donate to the Bellingham Distance Project via Venmo or Cash. Donations will be used to help fund group runs like this so we can keep them free for the public. We will have snacks and beverages at the finish for all runners and friends that come.

Date: Saturday, February 15th

Time: Meet at 8:45 am; the run will start at 9 am

Location: Lost Lake Parking Lot Link to parking PLEASE carpool if you can as parking is limited. A Discover Pass is required to park here. Nearby locations to park are in Larrabee State Park. Link to Larrabee Parking Lot. A Discover Pass is also required to park here.

Routes: Routes will NOT be marked so please download the route to your favorite mapping app via the links below. 

• 6.6 Mile Loop up Fragrance Lake to $2 trail loop
  14 mile “Efficient Chuckanut” which includes the popular Middle 18 without the Ridge and Chinscaper to slow you down.

• “The Middle 18” which includes the middle portion of the Chuckanut 50k. 

This is a casual group run atmosphere and not a race.

RSVP to event on Strava Here

Runner Survey - open for all to complete

It's not been a week since we all shared that beautiful, sunny Saturday in Bellingham. Thank you for your support of the event whether there in person running, volunteering, cheering on friends onsite or from afar. We had a magical weekend with the 30th Running and are still in awe of the greatness that came from bringing everyone together for that bigger 50k goal.

We love this event and want to ensure we keep the good vibes going for our volunteers, runners, staff and the community. We are also big fans of the stories that you bring to and that come out of participating in race weekend. Please take a couple of minutes to share your feedback about race weekend and about your experience.

Runner Survey Link

Volunteer Survey Link

Thank you for making the 30th Running super memorable!

Race Prizes!

Our Awards Page is LIVE! Check out the details of the prize purse generated by our sponsors Patagonia, SCARPA, ProTec Athletics, and Wander Brewing. We also have great product prizes for all of our age group winners. We do not allow double-dipping, so if the overall or masters prize purse winners are in your age category you get bumped up!

ROAM & Wander provide Coffee at the Start and NA beer at the Finish!

The owner of ROAM Coffee and Wander Brewing has run and loves the Chuckanut 50k so much that he wakes before most runners on Saturday morning to brew coffee and brings it to the start line. He also teamed up with Athletic Brewing to provide NA beers at the finish line. He provides this to our volunteers and runners. Bring your own cup and give Chad a big THANK YOU!!

Wander is where the post Party is at - from 4-9pm and the special collab Chuckanut 50k 30th running “Chinscraper IPA” is on tap and for sale in 4-packs. Does this guy just ooze community or what?!

Thank you Chad!

Please thank Chad when you pick up your coffee or beer and while in town support these awesome local businesses.

Parking

Friday Packet Pickup is at Prime Sports Institute - 1704 N State Street, Bellingham, WA 98225

You can park along the side of the Bellingham Fitness building, same side of the street and next door to Prime. There is also street parking across State from Prime. Or you can park at Tim’s Bike Shop (formerly Kona), just two doors south of Prime. Please be respectful of these businesses.

Saturday Race morning

All vehicles must park at Western Washington University Lot C, closest address is 1950 Bill McDonald Pkwy Bellingham, WA 98225, the actual entrance is about 100 yards past this location on the right-hand side if you are traveling northbound on Bill McDonald Pkwy.

The Baker Bus will shuttle runners to the start/finish line at Fairhaven Park. Shuttles begin at 6:15am; the last morning shuttle will depart WWU at 7:40am. Plan to arrive with plenty of time to park your car and hop on the shuttle (about a 10-minute drive). There will also be shuttles from 9:30am - 11:00 to transports participants in the Kids Race and their parents. Afternoon shuttles will run from 12:00-5:00pm to return you to your car.

Cupless 50k! and Aid Station Eats

Remember the Chuckanut 50k is a cupless event.

We encourage you to carry your own reusable cup to partake in the variety of liquid options we offer at aid stations. From Cola to Pickle Juice, Ginger Ale to HEED, we’ve got options that you’ll need a cup for.

Speaking of Aid Stations, the bins are sorted! Big thanks to Walla Trails Gretchen Walla for helping RD Krissy today. Spreading out the supplies and creating aid station bins is a weird collection of eats & supplies, and a game of Tetris fitting it all into transportable bins. I have to wonder what our fabulous aid station captains think when the open these black tubs with bright yellow lids.

If you are curious what eats are at the aid stations, there is a photo below of the snacks you will find. We will add bananas, oranges, cola, ginger ale, Endurolytes, peanut butter & jelly flour tortilla wraps, and peanut butter & pickle flour tortilla wraps.

We are hands-free aid stations - we ask that you use tongs and there will be muffin cups of single-servings.

We look forward to seeing you on Friday at bib pick up and/or Saturday morning in Fairhaven Park!

Recycle Your Shoes

We will have bins from Sneaker Impact on site at Packet Pickup at Prime Friday evening 4-7pm and at the race Start/Finish line all day on Saturday. Please bring shoes that can be cleaned up and worn again - this is a re-use program, not a grind up into future materials use program.

Fantasy Picks for Chuckanut 50k?

FreeTrail Fantasy is open for your picks!

All you need to do is visit the link above, click "Sign In" to create an account if you don't already have one, and pick five deep in each field. Make sure to click "Submit" after you make your picks, and know that you can change your picks as many times as you'd like before the race starts. FreeTrail will score the predictions after the results are in on Saturday. And it sounds like there are some fun prizes shipped to the best predictor for each race.