Lost Soul Ultra, live.

Prairie coulees that climb like a canyon

The Lost Soul Ultra runs on 10 and 11 September 2027 in the river valley of Lethbridge, Alberta, with 100 mile, 100 km and 50 km races.

Lost Soul Ultra is held the weekend after Labour Day in Lethbridge, in southern Alberta. The trail course runs through the river valley coulees on public and private land. The organiser notes that these valleys hosted the last major First Nations battle on Canadian soil, between the Blackfoot and Cree Confederacies, and that the race is held on their land.

The 100 mile race starts at 8:00 am on Friday 10 September with a 33 hour limit, and the 100 km starts at 8:30 am the same morning with a 21 hour limit. The 50 km starts at 7:00 am on Saturday 11 September with 11 hours. One lap is 50 km with about 16 hills, most of them 50 to 80 metres high, and three aid stations. The course page gives roughly 1,300 metres of climbing per lap, and 100 mile runners add an extra loop of about 7.5 km at the start.

The race stays small on purpose, with about 350 ultrarunners. It is a Western States qualifier for a 100 km finish under 21 hours, and 100 mile runners cannot drop to the 100 km during the race. Racers and pacers must be at least 18.

Top times are just over 4 hours for the 50 km, about 10 hours for the 100 km and about 19 hours for the 100 mile, which shows how much the hills add on the prairie.

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 official results come from Lost Soul Ultra.