Runner Instructions

Friday, Vienna High School

601 N 1st Street, Vienna, IL

Saturday, Vienna City Park

302 E Vine Street, Vienna, IL

Sunday, Vienna City Park

Tunnel Hill is proud to host the 2026 USATF 50 Mile Championships. To be eligible for championship awards, you must be a USATF member in good standing and a U.S. citizen.

See all USATF requirements and membership information at the USATF Adult Membership page.

Championship Prize Money

Note: To receive prize money for running the 50 miles, you must be entered in the USATF championship.

USATF Drug Testing Acknowledgement

Athletes who participate in this competition are subject to drug testing performed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in accordance with the USADA Protocol for Olympic Movement Testing. The use of all dietary supplements is at the athlete's own risk of committing a doping violation. Testing may take place at any time or after any round, preliminary, qualifying, or final. USADA typically selects place finishers and random athletes.

Checking whether the medication you take is allowed could be the difference between passing your test and serving a doping ban. Search USADA's Drug Reference Online at globaldro.com, call USADA's Drug Reference Line at 1‑800‑233‑0393, and follow up with any necessary forms. The adjudication of anti-doping rule violations or refusals to test will be carried out by USADA. Athletes found to have committed a doping violation will be disciplined according to penalties specified by the World Anti-Doping Code and, if appropriate, applicable World Athletics rules. Penalties may result in a period of ineligibility as well as disqualification from the event.

Any prize money payable to an athlete who has tested positive shall be withheld until the final disposition of all disciplinary proceedings.

Course Certifications

USATF Sanction # 26-21-162733

Packet pickup is in the old gymnasium at Vienna High School, 601 N. 1st St., Vienna. Park around back and follow signs to the appropriate doors.

Packet Pickup

• 50-mile and 100 km runners receive an organic cotton long-sleeve shirt, choice of cap or sock cap while supplies last, drawstring bag, bib waist belt, and other goodies.
• 100-mile runners receive all of the above, plus a SILO 10-liter dry bag and additional goodies.
• Every runner receives a Race Booklet with course info, local attractions, the runner list as of the press deadline, and photos from past years. Please support the local businesses listed.

Pre-Race Dinner

The free runner dinner begins around 4:15 PM, courtesy of Johnson County Tourism and prepared by Vienna Masonic Lodge #150 and Egyptian Chapter 30, Order of the Eastern Star. The menu includes pasta with meat and meatless sauce, salad, bread, drink, and dessert. Vegetarian options are available; unfortunately, there are no gluten-free options.

Additional meals are cash only: adults $15, kids 6-12 $7, and kids under 6 free.

Special Guest: Zach Bitter

American record holder and former world record holder at 100 miles, Zach Bitter will speak from 6:00-6:30 PM on getting the most out of your race.

Tunnel Hill Merchandise

Fleece jackets, hooded sweatshirts, special caps, and long- and short-sleeve shirts will be available at packet pickup, along with some merchandise from past years. We are working on accepting credit cards, but cash pricing will be discounted.

Parking

Beyond the main Vienna Park lot, additional paved lots are available near the State Trail property. If those fill, we will open grass lots, or, if conditions are wet, direct overflow parking to the Ranger Station on Hwy 45 about a mile away, with a roughly 0.3-mile footpath to the park.

Drop Bags / Boxes

Drop bags and boxes are dropped off Saturday morning. Use a bag or box roughly shoebox-sized. Up to about 12" × 12" × 18" is fine. No large coolers.

• Do not pack your car keys in a drop bag. Carry them yourself or give them to your crew.
• Label each bag or box with your name and bib number assigned at packet pickup.
• Place it in the corral for the location you want it at: Karnak, Vienna, or Tunnel Hill.
• Karnak appears around miles 10, 15, 60, and 65. Vienna appears around miles 26, 50, and 76. Tunnel Hill appears around miles 36, 41, 86, and 91.
• Drop bags off near the white State building and finish area before the race.
• When you are done with a bag at an aid station, leave it in that station's Return to Finish area. Bags will be periodically shuttled back to Vienna Park.
• Take your drop bags home after the race. Forgotten bags cannot be shipped.

Aid Stations & Course Notes

A chart of aid station locations is in your Runner Booklet and at durbinracemanagement.com under Race Schedule > Crew Info. Stations marked minor have the same great food, drinks, and volunteers as any other station. They are labeled minor because there is no parking lot, only roadside access, which can get congested early in the race.

• Heron Pond, the first aid station, is not accessible to crews until 9:30 AM. Earlier access creates dangerous crowding.
• The southern turnaround is the Barkhausen Cache River Wetlands Center, 8885 IL-37, Cypress, IL 62923. The facility has a large lot, gift shop, and walking path. It is only open during daylight hours. Due to staffing shortages, the Center may be closed. Updates will be provided if needed.
• Breeden Trestle is an unmanned, water-only stop in a remote area where IDNR does not allow vehicle access. Gallon jugs of water will be left for runners. There are no cups, so bring your own container and do not drink directly from the jugs.

Each aid station is marked with Entering Aid Station and Leaving Aid Station signage.

What Is at the Aid Stations

Expect hydration drink, water, soda, bananas, oranges, Honey Stinger gels, salty snacks, trail bars, and, depending on time of day, egg-on-a-bun, spinach and cheese wraps, bean and cheese wraps, and ham and cheese wraps. Aid station captains are known for variety. Vienna Park also offers hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and hot dogs. If there is something specific you cannot do without, plan to carry it.

No cups are provided anywhere on course. Bring your own bottle or container.

After dark, the Vienna aid station hands off to a heated tent run by the Johnson County Masonic Lodge and volunteers from Arrowleaf Food Bank. It is open from dark until daylight with vegan potato soup, chicken soup, grilled cheese, coffee, and a few other items.

Pacers

• 100-mile runners may use pacers starting at dark, around 5:00 PM, and/or for the final 24 miles. IDNR limits how many people can be on the trail, so this schedule keeps the race compliant.
• 100 km and 50-mile runners may use pacers starting at dark. Pick up your pacer at the nearest aid station as it gets dark.
• Pacers must get a special bib at packet pickup, or at the finish area if you miss that window, and sign a waiver.
• A $15 cash fee covers the pacer's food and drink at aid stations.
• One pacer is allowed at a time. The pacer bib may be handed to a second pacer.

Course Rules

• Tunnel Hill is a double out-and-back.
• No bikes, strollers, or dogs.
• No trekking poles for the first 50 miles. If you use poles later, be considerate of runners around you.
• When meeting runners coming the other way, stay right of center and do not impede them.
• Make sure your bib number is visible. Use the race bib belt you are given so volunteers, timers, and photographers can identify you.

Dropping Down in Distance

A large share of 100-mile entrants drop down in distance. Historically, fewer than half of 100-mile starters finish the full distance even though the course is fast, with close to 50% of finishers coming in under 24 hours.

The likely reasons: the race falls the first weekend after Daylight Saving Time ends, so early darkness catches people off guard, and your car is sitting right there at the 50-mile or marathon finish. You will still receive an official 50-mile or marathon finish and buckle or medal as long as you complete at least 50 miles or a marathon.

We will encourage you to keep going for the 100. Finishing the 100 qualifies you for the 2028 Western States 100 lottery, and you will receive the Tunnel Hill finisher's jacket after you finish.

• Pack an extra jacket or tights in your drop bag for the cold.
• Do not forget your light and extra batteries.
• Runners receive a bib belt at packet pickup to make nighttime layer changes easier.

At Vienna Park

Tent or car camping only, first-come, first-served. We have always had room, but it is not guaranteed. Set up only on the park side, not the state side. Signage will guide you.

Vienna Park is not a formal campground, but it has a few shelters, one with a large fire pit, picnic tables, BBQ grills, a playground, and several sites with electricity.

RVs: Shawnee Forest Campground

Shawnee Forest Campground has 60 full hookup sites about a mile from the start/finish, just off I-24.

• 1800 State Route 146E, Vienna, IL
• shawneeforestcampground.com
• 618‑658‑0619

Facilities at Vienna Park

A warming station is available in the big tent. The white State building is a good spot to change into dry clothes overnight, but it cannot be used for sleeping or hanging out. If it is closed, restrooms are also available at the park.

Showers are available at Vienna High School. Use the entrance on the back side, marked with signage. Bring your own towel and body wash.

Cutoff times are listed in your Runner Booklet and on durbinracemanagement.com under Crew Info.

Subject to the conditions below.

A runner setting the world record receives the world record prize rather than the course record prize, not both.

Current course records: 100 mile, Elov Olsson (M) 11:26:19 and Caitriona Jennings (F) 12:37:04. 50 mile, Charlie Lawrence (M, world record, 2023) 4:48:21 and Anne Flower (F, world record, 2025) 5:18:57. Marathon, male 2:29:25 and female 2:50:05.

Top 3 Placing Prize Money

Top 3 men and women in each race receive a certificate for free shoes from Mount to Coast, the Official Shoe Sponsor of Tunnel Hill.

• Top 3 men and women in each race also earn free entry into the 2027 race.
• Top-3 placing money is added on top of any course or world record bonus.
• The IRS requires a 1099-MISC for any winnings of $2,000 or more. A W-9 must be submitted before prize money is paid.
• Runners who drop down in distance after the race starts are not eligible for prize money or top-10 awards. They still receive an official time, buckle or Marathon medal, and appear in results with an asterisk noting the drop-down.

Awards

• Top-10 M/F awards for all distances are given as runners finish. Drop-downs are not eligible.
• All ultra finishers, 100 mi, 100 km, and 50 mi, receive a belt buckle.
• Marathon finishers receive a custom medal.
• 100-mile finishers receive a Tunnel Hill jacket at the finish line, first come, first served on sizes.
• Special buckles are awarded for sub 16, sub 20, sub 24, and finishing 100 miles inside the 30-hour limit.
• 500 lifetime Tunnel Hill miles earns a 500-mile buckle. Please flag this for staff at the finish.
• 1,000 lifetime miles earns the 1,000-mile buckle, available this year.

The Finish

The race officially ends at 1:00 PM Sunday with a hard cutoff and no leniency. If you do not make the 100-mile cutoff, you can still receive an official 100 km or 50-mile finish and buckle for the distance you completed.

Volunteers

We have some of the best volunteers anywhere. Thank you for treating them well.

Interested in volunteering? Email your name, cell number, and available hours to durb417@gmail.com.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

• Mount to Coast, Official Shoe Sponsor of Tunnel Hill
• adidas
• So iLL Racing, Jason Claunch
• Colson Photography, Micki and Chad
• Durbin Race Management
• West Kentucky Runners, Eric Romanek
• Final Lap Racing, Rich Leurs
• Headfirst Performance, Todd and Cynthia Heady
• Tunnel Hill State Trail and IDNR
• Vienna Masonic Lodge #150
• Egyptian Chapter 30, Order of the Eastern Star
• Vienna/Johnson County Tourism
• Forman Depot
• SILO Bags, gowithsilo.com
• Squirrel Nut Butter
• Tailwind