At the High Lonesome 100, community runs deep.
Without it, this race wouldn’t even have gotten off the ground, let alone turn into one of the most popular 100 milers in North America. Since the beginning, we’ve built this race on two pillars: Community and Conservation. We’ve invested significant time, resources, and personal energy into both those causes and to that end we are pleased to share several policies that we believe will be instrumental in growing our community. In these policies, we’ve done our best to find ways that we can make our race more welcoming to those who don’t always feel like they are welcome. We’ve chosen to split our race evenly between men and women to help inspire and increase the number of female 100 mile runners. We’ve made a way for runners to balance running and having or adopting kids without getting penalized for it.
We know these policies aren’t perfect, and we certainly know that they aren’t going to solve all the problems in the world…but we do know that they are how we can take small steps towards making this world a better place. There is so much in the world that wants to divide us, but we want to focus on the things that bring us together. No matter who you are, you’re welcome at our race. If all that fits what you believe, or just makes you a little interested, we’d encourage you to read through some of these policies. Better yet, come see what we’re about by running, volunteering, or spectating at our race. We think you’ll like what you see.
Transgender and Non-Binary Policy
Transgender and non-binary runners are welcome at our race. We have added this policy to enable and encourage transgender and non-binary runners to register as their identified gender. We hope that by providing this structure we make it clear to all that High Lonesome is a safe and accepting community for all runners. As of 2024, we added a non-binary division and podium awards to the race.
Gender Equity Policy
A key component of our lottery system is setting aside the same number of spots for men and women. We do this by creating two “pools”, one for each gender. Prior to the lottery, we ranged between 20-22% female participation. Without this change, the switch to a lottery would have embedded this gender imbalance into our system. We believe such a large imbalance would have a negative effect on our race’s community. Beyond this policy, we will continue to work on other ways to help close the gender imbalance in ultra-running.
Pregnancy/New Child Deferral Policy
We have expanded our pregnancy deferral policy to include childbirth and adoption, and to extend to both partners. The new policy creates a method for runners or their partners to defer their spot for up to two years in the event of a pregnancy, birth, or adoption during the time period after registration and before the race. We recognize that a new addition to a family is a team effort and taxing on both partners and we want our policies to support balance in a growing family. This expanded policy also provides coverage for same sex couples.
Ute Tribal Members
The High Lonesome 100 runs on Ute Land, much of which was stolen from them through the Conejos Treaty and the Ute Treaty of 1868. While we cannot undo the past, we can honor the ancestral right and connection to the land of all Utes.
Any enrolled Ute tribal member may enter the race outside of the lottery and may run free of charge. Qualification requirements may also be adjusted with RD approval. Please email the RD if you have any questions, or if you would like to take advantage of this policy.
