Here are the best trail & ultra races for runners in Ontario!

1. SULPHUR SPRINGS

Sulphur Springs is the most competitive and professionalized ultra event in Ontario. Here are some of the key reasons why:

1. It’s the only race in Ontario with a UTMB Index Score.
2. Several 50k racers have run under 4 hours in the history of the race, with a mix of fast road runners, triathletes, and technical trail runners coming together.
3. Race organizers have been pushing for it to be a Western States lottery race ahead of 2025.
4. There’s seven different races to choose from, with the 50K typically the most competitive.

The race is so big in Ancaster, ON that the parking lot is literally called ‘Sulphur Springs Trail Race Parking Lot’.

The race is also a looped course, which presents a unique opportunity to continuously pass by runners from other races. Alongside Tally in the Valley, it would be one of the easiest to film for a livestream as a result. The 50K features an initial 10K lap, followed by 2x20K laps, all of which finish with the legendary climb up Martin Road.

Sulphur Springs & Dundas Valley also make for an ideal training location for those that like runnable trail that is challenging but not overly difficult. I did most of my long runs there in preparation for the 50K, but I’ve also gone back for rolling hill interval workouts due to the runnability.

QUICK FACTS:

Location: Ancaster, ON – Dundas Valley Conservation Area & Sulphur Springs
Runnability: Super runnable, fast double-track with good elevation gain. Incredibly minimal technicality.
Elevation: 460m per 20K loop. The 50K has total 1,000m of elevation gain.
Style: 20K loops on runnable trail through a Carolinian forest.
Recap: Sulphur Springs 50k Recap – A photo-finish at the final climb

2. FALLING WATER TRAIL MARATHON

Falling Water is the most difficult trail race in Ontario, taking place across some of the most technical terrain anywhere on the Bruce Trail. The downhills and rocky terrain require just about as much leaping and stepping as actual running, taking a different kind of toll on the body before the 42K mark hits.

Despite being 8-kilometres shorter than the 50K races on this list, it takes runners around the same time as a typical 50K due to the technicality.

But on top of being challenging, the course is ideal for those that love a variety of nature. Much of the race takes place near Hogg’s Falls and Eugenia Falls, two top tourist attractions in Kimberley, ON. The second half takes place in and around the Beaver Valley Ski Club, featuring a brutal ski hill climb with about 7k to go.

With several different parking locations and the way the race takes you up Graham’s Hill Climb twice, it’s fairly easy to both crew and train for from a logistical standpoint. Just expect to beat your body up a bit more than usual if spending several weekends on the course in the lead-up.

QUICK FACTS:

Location: Grey Highlands, ON – Beaver Valley Ski Club & Hogg’s Falls
Runnability: Super technical, featuring twisty downhills requiring much shuffling, stepping and leaping. Some road, one ski hill, and a few ‘choose your own adventure’ sections where the trail disappears altogether.
Elevation: 1,600m across the 42K.
Style: One big out & back looped course
Recap: Falling Water Trail Marathon – Race Recap – “Rocks!”

3. THE BAD THING

The Bad Thing features a 50K, 25K and 7K Night Trail Race. It’s definitely the event with the best community-based feel. I don’t know whether it was the way the race organizers made an active effort to engage with runners throughout the event, the superb social media, the post-race meal, the bus ride to the start-line, or the prize package featuring a myriad of local products…but everything felt nicely community-oriented.

Of all the races, I think The Bad Thing is still the one that is most difficult for the elites to adequately figure out. You can assess how to pace Sulphur Springs since it’s so runnable, and by the same logic you can assess how to pace Falling Water since it’s so un-runnable. But The Bad Thing simply features so much variety, from insanely technical windy stair turns and river crossings, to long and fast road sections.

The other major layer of complexity is the difficulty by which it is to stay on course if you are unfamiliar with the trail. The leaves cover the trail entirely, so even with some white blazes and pink flags, you can’t always see where to go.

Add in the headlamp that you’re required to wear at the start so you can see the dark trails in the early morning before sunrise, and you get further complexities added into the mix.

Excluding a drastically changed course for COVID in 2020, no 50K runner has ever broken the 4-hour barrier on the male side, or 5-hours in the women’s field. It feels like a race still to be mastered by the elites.

QUICK FACTS:

Location: Goderich, ON to Auburn, ON
Runnability: Mix of super technical – featuring twisty stair downhills and several river jumps, alongside flat and fast roads. No sustained climbs.
Elevation: 950m across the 50K
Style: Point to point
Recap: The Bad Thing 50K – Race Recap – Racing Smarter, Not Harder

OTHER TOP RACES

Niagara Ultra: The most competitive flat road 50K in the province, featuring insanely fast times.

EndurRun: Including this race mostly so that someone takes down my friend Rob Brouillette, who’s won the event 7 years in a row. It’s an 8-day, 7-stage race featuring 160KM total. Even if you make it through the week without breaking, it ends with a killer cross-country styled marathon.

Tally in the Valley: One of the more competitive ultra events, but the competitiveness gets diluted across the Half Marathon, 6-hour, 24-hour and ‘Gong Show’ – which is our biggest version of the Backyard Ultra format. All races take place across a 7K looped course in Dundas Valley.

Summit 700: A fairly competitive race featuring nearly 1,000m of climbing across the 21K, covering trails in and around the Blue Mountain Resort near Collingwood, ON. If there weren’t so many other summer races high on my bucket list, this would definitely be a top choice.

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