Canyons returns for 4-day festival, trail runs

Auburn's trails, downtown and endurance-sports culture will once again take center stage next week as the 12th annual Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB return for a four-day celebration in the Endurance Capital of the World. The event runs April 23-26 and will feature four headline ultramarathon distances with 100-mile, 100K, 50K and 25K races along with a free kids race, local vendors, music and a downtown Auburn festival atmosphere that has become a hallmark of race weekend. Each course showcases the dramatic canyon terrain that has made Auburn a global destination for trail running, with the 100-mile and 100K races spending long stretches on the historic Western States Trail. The race weekend begins Friday, April 24, with two opening events. The 100-mile race starts at noon at China Wall Trailhead, sending runners across more than 18,000 feet of climbing through some of the most legendary terrain in ultrarunning, including Eldorado Canyon, Deadwood, Devil's Thumb, Swinging Bridge, Foresthill and the Cool loop before the return into Auburn through No Hands Bridge and Robie Point. Later Friday, the spotlight shifts downtown for the 25K at 4 p.m., a newer evening race that gives runners a fast but demanding out-and-back route over No Hands Bridge, through Cool and back into the heart of Auburn's finish-line festivities. Saturday features the two marquee events of the weekend where runners will compete for a golden ticket to Western States. The 100K begins at 5 a.m. at China Wall, covering 62.1 miles and more than 12,000 feet of elevation gain before runners descend into Auburn for a downtown finish. At 7 a.m. Saturday, the 50K begins and ends in downtown Auburn, making it one of the most accessible spectator races of the weekend. The 31-mile course takes runners from Robie Point to Driver's Flat and back, traversing No Hands Bridge, Mammoth Bar and the Foresthill Divide Loop. All four races finish in historic downtown Auburn, where organizers say the weekend will once again include a celebration with local vendors, music and community festivities. The race remains a major draw for both elite ultrarunners and recreational athletes because of its Western States qualifying implications and UTMB World Series prestige, but for Auburn, the event also serves as one of the city's marquee spring weekends. From the climb out of Devil's Thumb to the emotional final stretch across Ann Trason's White Bridge into downtown, the Canyons weekend continues to blend world-class competition with the community spirit that has made Auburn one of the most iconic trail-running destinations anywhere.