Whether you’re running the 100K or the Relay, your training is coming together. Long runs are nearly behind you, and your focus is starting to shift toward race day.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be putting the final touches on the course, aid stations, and overall race experience.
Now it’s your turn to prepare for the details that matter.
Getting Ready for Race Weekend
Your bib number is now available on RunSignup. As you begin organizing your gear, take time to:
Prep your drop bags (label with aid station, bib number, and last name)
Review the course and aid station chart
Plan your travel and parking logistics
Prepare for variable conditions: sun, wind, cold, and rain
Relay Captains: confirm all 4 runners are registered
This is not just another race day; thoughtful preparation will make all the difference.
Bib Pickup Details
San Francisco Running Company (Mill Valley) Thursday, April 30 + Friday, May 1 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Race Morning (Stinson Beach Community Center) 4:00 – 4:45 AM
Important: Even if you pick up your bib early, you must check in on race morning to activate it.
A Shared Responsibility
Participating in a trail ultra is a partnership.
We provide the course, support, and infrastructure. In return, we ask that you take responsibility for your safety and decision-making throughout the day.
Follow all instructions from race officials and volunteers
Respect aid station decisions, including medical pulls
If you drop, you must do so at an aid station and check out properly
Your safety, and the safety of others, is our top priority.
Respect the Land We Run On
The Miwok 100K takes place on land stewarded for thousands of years by the Coast Miwok people, who refer to themselves as Huuku’i’ko.
We had the privilege of speaking with the Simons family: Elissa, Kody, and their father, John, about their work, their culture, and their commitment to sharing their story.
Elissa Simons (center) and her father, John (left), along with other members of the Coast Miwok Tribe, attended the celebration of a recent land acquisition in Marin County.
Every year, runners gather in the Marin Headlands for one of the most challenging and beautiful races in ultrarunning: the Miwok 100K Presented by The North Face.
The course winds through coastal ridgelines, redwood groves, and open hillsides overlooking the Pacific. It is a place that demands humility and respect from everyone who runs it.
Long before it became a race course, these lands were home to the Coast Miwok people.
For thousands of years, Coast Miwok communities lived along the shores and in the valleys of what is now Marin County, developing a deep and enduring relationship with the land and water that continues to this day.
One of the goals of the Miwok 100K has always been to honor the place where the race takes place. This year, that commitment has taken on new meaning through a collaboration with members of the Coast Miwok community. We had the privilege of speaking with the Simons family: Elissa, Kody, and their father, John, all members of the Coast Miwok Tribe, about their work, their culture, and their deep commitment to bringing the story of their people to the forefront.
A Living Culture
For many people, Indigenous history is often framed as something that belongs only to the past. But as Coast Miwok cultural advocate Elissa Simons explains, that narrative misses an important truth.
The Coast Miwok are not simply a chapter in California’s history.
They are a living culture.
“We have been here for thousands of years,” Simons shared. “And we’re still here.”
Simons works with Huukuiko Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to cultural revitalization and community engagement. The organization focuses on strengthening tribal connections through education, storytelling, language revitalization, and land stewardship.
One of their long-term goals is to develop a cultural center on recently acquired land in Marin County where community members can gather for ceremonies, language programs, and cultural events.
Sharing that culture with the broader community is also a central part of their work.
“We want people to understand that this is a living culture,” Simons explained. “We may have been displaced, but we are still here, and we are reclaiming and rebuilding things that were lost.”
John and Elissa pause for a photo at a ribbon skirt exhibition where Elissa was a contributing artist.
A Collaboration Rooted in Respect
The connection between the Miwok 100K and the Coast Miwok community began simply. Coast Miwok descendant Kody Simons reached out after signing up for the race. Simons had long aspired to run the Miwok 100K, and he wanted to contribute something meaningful to the event that bears his Tribe’s name.
That conversation led to the creation of traditional-inspired bracelets that will be given to runners. The bracelets feature abalone and gray pine nuts, materials that reflect historic trade networks among California Tribes and carry cultural significance.
The collaboration has continued to grow from there. Along with Elissa and John, another Simons family relative, Amber Witzke, is working with race director Magda Boulet on designs for wooden awards that connect the race to indigenous culture and tradition.
For the family, the goal of the partnership is simple.
It’s about honoring the ancestors and elders who cared for this land for generations.
Running with Purpose
This year’s race will carry special meaning for Kody Simons, who will be standing on the start line himself. Simons works as a firefighter-paramedic and runs Liwako Rescue, a company that teaches swiftwater rescue and wilderness safety.
Kody, seen here leading a swift water rescue class.
The name Liwako comes from the Miwok language and translates roughly to “people of the water.” For Simons, running the Miwok 100K is not just an athletic challenge. It is also a deeply personal journey.
After going through a difficult period in his life, he described the race as a new chapter.
“I’ve always wanted to run it,” he said. “This felt like the right moment to take on that challenge.”
It will also be his first organized race.
Making this event is particularly important for Kody, as he said, “ I feel that the way my life is now is a direct result of running. As I mentioned, I lost the part of me that was an athlete for a number of years, and running brought me back. I find it to be a very unique and exciting way to take who I am now, look back at who I was, and where my family and I came from, and tie all of those pieces of me together.”
Movement as Connection
During our conversation, the Simons family shared a perspective that resonates deeply with ultrarunning.
In many Indigenous traditions, movement is connected to prayer, ceremony, and a relationship with the land. Dancing around a fire, walking through a landscape, or traveling long distances are all ways of expressing connection and respect.
Running can carry a similar meaning.
“When we move through the land,” Elissa Simons explained, “it can be a way of putting down prayers.”
For runners tackling the steep climbs and rugged trails of the Miwok 100K course, that idea feels especially fitting. The race is demanding, humbling, and deeply tied to the place where it happens.
Looking Ahead
The collaboration between the Miwok 100K and the Coast Miwok community is still evolving. In addition to the bracelets and awards, the race hopes to continue finding ways to highlight the history, culture, and ongoing work of the Coast Miwok people. For the Simons family, the partnership offers runners an opportunity to learn something important about the land they will be traveling across.
The Coast Miwok story did not end centuries ago.
It continues today, in the work of organizations like Huukuiko Inc., in efforts to revitalize language and culture, and in community gatherings such as the annual Marin Pow-Wow.
And this year, it will also continue on the Miwok 100 K trails.
As runners make their way across the ridgelines and valleys of the Marin Headlands, they will move through a landscape shaped by thousands of years of Coast Miwok stewardship and, hopefully, find more meaning in running a 100K trail race.
A landscape that still carries those stories today.
The iconic Marin Headlands ultramarathon enters a new chapter with a multi-year partnership focused on community, land stewardship, and the future of trail running.
The Miwok 100K, one of the most respected ultramarathons in the United States, has announced a new title partnership with The North Face. Beginning in 2026, the race will officially be known as the Miwok 100K Presented by The North Face.
Set in the Marin Headlands of Northern California, the Miwok 100K is known for its relentless climbs, technical terrain, and deeply rooted community spirit. For nearly three decades, it has stood as a defining race on the West Coast trail-running scene.
A New Chapter for an Iconic Trail Race
Race Director Magda Boulet, a U.S. Olympic marathoner and Western States 100 champion, brings both world-class experience and deep Bay Area roots to the event.
“We are so proud to partner with The North Face as the title sponsor of Miwok 100K,” said Boulet. “This is not only big news for our trail race, but also for our community. This partnership allows us to further commit to land stewardship and to creating an environment that reflects shared values around exploration, nature connection, and the trail running community.”
Rooted in Land and Legacy
The Miwok 100K takes its name from one of the course’s original trails, itself named in honor of the Indigenous stewards of Marin County.
The Coast Miwok people (Huuku’i’ko) have lived on and cared for this land for at least 10,000 years. Their stewardship shaped a rich and abundant ecosystem grounded in deep knowledge of seasonal cycles and the natural environment.
This connection to land remains central to the identity of the race today.
Partnership Beyond Race Day
As title sponsor, The North Face will support the Miwok 100K beyond race day, with a focus on:
more sustainable event practices
expanded storytelling
inclusive community initiatives
These efforts align with The North Face’s Power of Nature platform and reinforce a shared commitment to protecting and celebrating the outdoors.
A Meaningful Investment in Community
Paddy O’Leary, The North Face–sponsored athlete and longtime supporter of the race, shared:
“Miwok represents what trail running is truly about — connection to the land, respect for history, and showing up for one another. Having The North Face step in as title sponsor signals a deep investment in preserving and strengthening the culture of trail running here in Northern California.”
Looking Ahead
The Miwok 100K Presented by The North Face will take place on May 2, 2026, marking the beginning of a three-year partnership.
As the race looks ahead, the focus remains the same: honoring its roots while continuing to grow as one of the most respected and community-driven trail races in the United States.
