Getting In · Coveted ultra

Javelina Jundred

It's a hundred miles in the Sonoran Desert on Halloween weekend, run as five loops that alternate direction, with a costumed aid station, a DJ, and a thousand people. It's also one of six Golden Ticket races to Western States. Both of those things are true at once.

Open entryLotteryTime qualifier

Distance: 100 mi and 100K
Format: 5 loops, alternating direction
Field: ~1,000+
Climbing: ~7,000 ft
Golden Tickets: Top 2 M/F to Western States
Vibe: Costumes and a DJ at Javelina Jeadquarters

Javelina is the friendliest big hundred in America and also a genuinely competitive one. The course is a 19-ish mile loop in McDowell Mountain Regional Park that you run five times, reversing direction each lap, which the race calls the washing machine. Because you return to the same hub every loop, crewing is easy, drop bags are trivial, and first-time hundred milers get a psychological structure that helps enormously.

The terrain is mostly runnable desert singletrack with modest climbing, which makes it fast by hundred mile standards. The difficulty is heat: late October in Arizona still means 80s or 90s in the afternoon, and the sun on the exposed desert is relentless.

How to get in

Open entry
Registration or lottery
Javelina fills, and depending on the year entry has run as straight registration or as a lottery. Either way the process opens in the spring for the October race. Field sizes are large enough that entry is genuinely achievable.
Time qualifier
Golden Ticket
The top two men and top two women at the 100 mile race earn automatic entry to Western States. For 2027 the Javelina Golden Ticket race ran on October 31, 2026.
Lottery
The 100K
The shorter distance runs the same weekend and is the sensible way in for people who want the atmosphere and a Western States qualifier without committing to a hundred.

Your realistic odds One of the most gettable marquee hundreds in the country, and one of the best first hundreds anywhere. Loop format, easy crewing, runnable terrain, and a party. If you're trying to bank a Western States qualifier without a soul-destroying mountain race, this is the answer.

Managing the desert

The afternoon laps are the whole race. Loops one and three land in the heat. Slow down more than feels right and you'll pass dozens of people at night.
Use the loop format. Ice at every hub visit, change of shirt, sunscreen reapplication. The structure is a gift; use it deliberately.
Cactus is not decorative. Stay on trail. Cholla in a shin at mile 70 is a genuine race-ender and it happens.
Nights get cold. Desert temperature swings are large. Have layers in a drop bag.

Questions runners actually ask

Is Javelina a good first 100 miler?

One of the best in the country. The loop format makes crewing and drop bags simple, the terrain is runnable, and the atmosphere is supportive. Heat is the one serious challenge.

Does Javelina qualify me for Western States?

Yes, both distances have historically appeared on the Western States qualifier list, and the 100 miler is also a Golden Ticket race where the top two men and women earn automatic entry. Always confirm on the current WSER qualifier list.

Go to the source

Javelina Jundred

Entry rules, dates, standards, fees, and odds change every single year, and the interesting races change them the most. Use this guide to build the plan; use the official site to confirm the details before you book anything.

If this is your kind of thing

Need the races in between? The hard part of a bucket list year is everything else on the calendar: the qualifier, the tune-up, the long run with a bib on.

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