The Hawk

General Course Description

You’ll begin at the Start/Finish and run about an eighth of a mile to the trailhead for the blue-blazed trail. Make a left turn onto the blue-blazed trail and follow it a couple of hundred yards to the Sanders Mound trail. You’ll take a left and do a quick 1.1-mile out-and-back to the top of Sanders Mound. From there, you’ll get back on the blue-blazed trail and head for the Lands End aid station.

From Lands End, you’ll take the red-blazed trail for about 1 mile and then connect with the blue-blazed trail. You will follow the blue trail, and after you cross the park road, it will turn into the white-blazed trail 3.5 miles from Lands End at a point known as Cactus Ridge.

The white-blazed trail will take you to the West Park Road aid station. From there, leave the trails and follow the signs, flags, and ribbons along West Park Road, staying on the grass, to Bunker Hill. This is the Goodwin Loop. Complete the 2.5-mile Goodwin Loop, which includes a traverse of Bunker Hill, and return to the West Park Road aid station. You’ll then continue on the white-blazed trail back to the Lands End aid station.

Leaving Lands End, you will continue on the white-blazed trail back to the Start/Finish aid station. This completes one loop of the course.

Big Loop: At the Start/Finish aid station, runners will have completed 25 miles (26.2 for marathoners)—what we call the “Big Loop.” Hundred-milers repeat the Big Loop three more times, 75-milers two more times, and 50-milers one more time.

When the trails cross: The white-blazed trail and the blue-blazed trail cross at several points on the course. The crossings will be marked and signed, but it is your responsibility to read and heed the markers, signs, and white and blue blazes to stay on course.

Marathon: Start time 8:00 AM - runners will follow the same course as the 50, 75, and 100-mile runners, but they will run an additional 1.2 miles at the beginning of the race.

Aid Stations

The Hawk is a fully-staffed race with three aid stations, crewed by experienced UltraRunners. The locations and distances runners will hit aid stations as they traverse the 25-mile course (26.2 for marathoners):

Lands End: 4.5 miles – no crew access, drop bags

West Park Road: 10.5 and 13 miles – crew access, drop bags

Lands End: 18.5 miles – no crew access, drop bags

Start/Finish: 25 miles – crew access, drop bags

Cut-offs

The 100, 75, and 50-mile races have a Sunday 10:00 AM cut-off for runners leaving the West Park Road aid station after completing the Bunker Hill/Goodwin loop. This is at mile 88 for the 100-mile runners, mile 63 for the 75-mile runners, and mile 38 for the 50-mile runners.

The cut-off for Lands End aid Station is Sunday 12 PM, noon. This is at mile 93.5 for the 100-mile runners, mile 68.5 for the 75-mile runners, and 43.5 for the 50-mile runners.

To stay in the race, you must have left the aid station by the above cut-off times. Volunteers will break down the aid station at that time and depart. Runners continuing on their own accord past the cut-offs and not arriving at the Start/Finish on or before the 2 PM cut-off will not be eligible for the finisher awards.

Race date:: September 9, 2023
Start time:: 06:00 AM
Race distance:: 100, 50, 75, 26.2
Cut off time:: 32 hours for 100 and 75, 31 hours for the 50 and 30 hours for the Marathon

Event Information

Click here for a course map.

Awards

Finishers

All Runners will receive a long-sleeve race shirt and a race bag if you register by August 15th.

100 Mile Finishers | We have a beautiful Hawk finishers buckle. Runners completing the HAWK Hundred under 24 hours have a buckle with a distinct design.

75 Mile Finishers | Runners completing the 75-mile distance receive a custom HAWK cooler.

50 Mile Finishers | Runners completing the 50-mile distance receive finisher mugs handcrafted by Matty Mullins.

Marathon Finisher | Runners completing the Marathon distance receive a handcrafted marathon finishers' medal made by Matty Mullins.

Placement Awards

We are continually evaluating our award system and are making a few adjustments this year. For each race, there will be:

Overall Winner

First Runner-Up Male, Female, Non-binary

Second Runner-Up Male, Female, Non-binary

Masters (Age 45+) Male, Female

Last Mule in the Barn

The awards will be distributed in that order.

Please visit our Facebook group for information and updates on the race, connect with other Hawk runners, past, present, and future, and participate in contests that include prizes from our sponsor, Orange Mud. Also, visit the Lawrence Trail Hawks for information about our weekly group runs, upcoming events, and volunteer opportunities.

Registration

Packet Pickup

The pre-race briefing and packet pickup for all distances will be the morning of the event. DROP BAGS need to be dropped off race morning 15 minutes before your scheduled start time.