We know a lot of folks are planning for and looking forward to running the Oregon 200 in 2026. We don’t want you to miss out on other opportunities for adventures and races, so we are sharing today that we will not produce the Oregon 200 race next year.
The Emigrant Fire that shutdown this year’s race in the middle of it all is still ongoing, at 33,000 acres. The fire is now 49% contained. Some previous restrictions are lifted, but it is still burning. We won’t get to see the affected trails and roads that are a part of the race before the permitting window opens and can’t know how much repair would be required or if the Forest Service could even allow an event next year given the condition of the trails and forest. We still have course markers and signs out there that we haven’t been able to retrieve because of forest closures.
Because of the risk of fire next year, we just can’t put ourselves, the volunteers, or the runners through the stress of not knowing if the race will actually happen, or if it might get cancelled due to wildfire or wildfire smoke before, or even during, the event.
Yes, we have looked at moving the race to a different area in the state that may be less impacted by wildfire. With the other races we put on, we have not had enough time since the end of August to scout and create a new course elsewhere. One wonderful thing about Oregon is we have a lot of land that is designated as Wilderness. However, these areas are off-limits to events. Additionally, no new events are allowed on the Pacific Crest Trail. These two things significantly squeeze and restrict the places where we could or would want to host a race. We aren’t going to create something that is a gratuitous, spaghetti-bowl of a route. We also feel strongly about having an easily crew-accessible course.
Moving the current race to a different time of year is not an option either. The swarms of mosquitos and the snowmelt timeframe eliminate an earlier race. We run up against new snowfall later in the year. The window for a race in the current location is tight and we have to fit it in with other established races we put on.
This is a very difficult pill to swallow for us as we poured a lot of heart, soul, time, and money into creating Oregon’s only 200-miler and we still believe it is an extra special event that a lot of people want to experience. But after two years of fire cancellations and another year threatened by smoke, we have to adjust our expectations for this one.
We aren’t saying it’ll never come back, or that it won’t come back somewhere else in the state. But for 2026, there will be no Oregon 200.