Bandera Endurance Trail Race, live.

Hill Country trails in January

Bandera brings a 100K, a 50K and a 25K to the trails of the Hill Country State Natural Area.

The Bandera Endurance Trail Race is a Tejas Trails event held in the Hill Country State Natural Area, at 10600 Bandera Creek Rd in Bandera, Texas. The 2027 edition is on 9 and 10 January, with the Group Lodge as race headquarters and the start and finish for every race.

The heart of the course is a 50K loop with roughly 3,300 feet of climbing and the same in descent. The 100K is two full laps, about 6,600 feet of climbing in all, and starts with a mass start at 7:30 on Saturday morning. The 50K starts at 8:00 on Sunday and the 25K at 8:30 on Sunday, on a route that branches off the main loop and rejoins it. A limited number of non-competitive 50K places start at 8:00 on Saturday, and a Youth 1 Mile runs at 10:00 on Saturday.

The 100K is a Western States qualifier: finish within 18 hours and you can enter the lottery. The 100K is a standalone race on Saturday with a 25 hour cutoff, and the organisers sum up the terrain bluntly: no whiners, wimps or wusses, on a trail of rugged and brutal beauty where everything cuts, stings or bites.

The organisers say the Hill Country State Natural Area is notorious for rocks and sotol, with short but steep hills and only one consistently flat section, around the YaYa aid station. Aid stations sit close to the main paved road, and runners are welcome to self support or have a crew take care of their needs.

On Livebib you can follow a participant who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from Tejas Trails.