The Mid South, live.

Red dirt roads out of Stillwater

The Mid South is a weekend gravel festival in Stillwater, Oklahoma, known for red dirt roads that turn to thick mud when it rains.

The 2027 edition is the 15th. Group rides and a welcome party start on Thursday 11 March, the Pro 100 cycling race and the running events take over downtown on Friday 12 March, and the main cycling day is Saturday 13 March. Riders start and finish in downtown Stillwater, next to Block 34, whose main stage has live music on Friday and Saturday.

For 2027 the organiser lists courses of 12, 58 and 106 miles on Saturday, sold as the 12 Mile Inspiration Ride, the 50 Mile and the 100 Mile, with tandem and under 18 entries too. The pro fields race their own 100 mile route on Friday. Neutral water and food wait at the halfway points, and riders on the long route may only meet their own support crew at its halfway stop.

The event began in 2011 as the Land Run 100, when 121 riders took on 107 miles of rutted red roads with more than 6,000 feet of climbing. Weather has shaped almost every edition since. When rain falls, the clay sticks to wheels and shoes, and some sections become a walk. Dry years are fast and dusty.

The 12 Mile Inspiration Ride is the gentle way in, while the long course asks for real self reliance in March, when Oklahoma weather can swing hard within an hour. The expo takes over downtown on Friday, and food trucks join the music at Block 34 on Friday and Saturday.

On Livebib you can follow a rider who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. That position comes from the rider, not from the organiser's timing, and the official results come from The Mid South. It is a simple way for family and friends to see roughly where someone is on course and when to head for the finish.