Entry for the 2022 Hashawha Hills 50 km now open
Entry into the Hashawha Hills 50 km Trail Run is now open.
Read moreThe Virginia Happy Trails Running Club
Promoting trail running in the D.C. area for more than 25 years.
Welcome to the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club
We are a fun group of trail runners of all abilities centered in northern Virginia. Many but not all of us run ultramarathons. Come play with us at our races and training runs!
Hashawha Hills Entry Opens January 3, 2022 More information
Latest news
VHTRC 2022 Board election results
The election to select the members of the new VHTRC board is now over, and the results are in. Read on to see the full list of board members.
Read more
VHTRC Board elections (2022)
The webpage for the 2022 VHTRC Board elections is now live and contains all the information about the candidates and voting procedures.
Read moreUpcoming stuff
Here’s what we have coming up. See our calendar for a full list of our (and others’) events
The VHTRC was founded to put on races. We are mighty proud of our courses and hospitality.
Sat Feb 26
50 km
Westminster, MD
Entry opens: Jan 3, 2022
31 miles of trails, old woods roads, open fields, and plenty of hills with a couple of stream crossings thrown in just for fun.
Entry is open
Sat Apr 9
50.2 miles
Clifton, VA
Entry opens: Nov 19, 2021
A 50 mile trail run that parallels the Bull Run and the Occoquan River in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. The course traverses forested, rolling terrain during the height of Virginia’s spring beauty. The run’s unique character includes a Civil War theme that honors the battles that occurred here over 150 years ago. The 13 hour time limit makes Bull Run Run an excellent first 50 miler.
Entry is open
Sat May 14
100.6 miles
Fort Valley, VA
Entry opens: Jun 1, 2021
A challenging, rocky 100 miler on the trails of the Massanutten Mountains in the George Washington National Forest in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The course includes short but rugged mountain climbs with more than 18,000 feet of total ascent. There is a 35 hour cutoff.
Events are open to the public and free to enter, but do require prior registration and many have entry limits.
Didn’t get in? Consider volunteering.
Sat Feb 12
7 miles
Fairfax Station, VA
Since it is can be easy for the uninitiated to get lost, “Death by Do Loop” is a chance to become familiar with this section of the course while seeing how many laps you can do.
Entry is open
Sat Feb 19
25.3 miles
Luray, VA
Entry opens: Jan 1, 2022
This MMT training run covers much of the middle third of MMT. Tweaked course for COVID.
Entry is open
Sat Feb 26
71 miles
Fort Valley, VA
Entry opens: Jan 24, 2022
Why anyone who has completed The Ring would want to do this is anyone’s guess. Entry is open only to those in the Fellowship, so the rest of you can breathe a sigh of relief and run Hashawha Hills. Mike Bur and Quatro Hubbard are the “organizers.”
Sun Mar 6
14 miles
Fairfax Station, VA
The first portion of the two out-n-back sections will be on the BROT to the Bull Run Marina, and then returning on the same trail back to the cars. This round trip should total about 14 miles. After refueling, the plan is then to go out on the “horse trail” to link up with the infamous Do Loop, then return on the same horse trail to the cars. This section is about 8 miles, as the first section will be using the White trail that is part of the outbound section of the BRR 50 miler course.
Entry opens Feb 1
Sat Mar 12
30.5 miles
Fort Valley, VA
Entry opens: Feb 1, 2022
Entry closes: Feb 8, 2021
A challenging, low-key 50 km in the Elizabeth Furnace area of the Massanutten Mountains, utilizing the old Dogwood Half Hundred course. Excellent training for those inclined to run the MMT 100 miler in May.
Entry opens Feb 21
Sat Mar 26
35 miles
Luray, VA
Entry opens: Feb 21, 2022
This MMT training run covers the final third of MMT, from Camp Roosevelt to the finish.
Low-key runs with no formal sign-up. Just show up and run.
Wed Jan 26
Varies
McLean, VA
Runs every Wednesday at 6:00 pm in Great Falls National Park, in partnership with DC Capital Striders.
Sun Jan 30
7-10 miles
Washington, DC
Explore the trails of Rock Creek Park on these low-key runs. We leave at 8:00 am from either Peirce Mill or Theodore Roosevelt Island and the runs are roughly 7–10 miles long.
Fri Nov 25
25.3 miles
Nethers, VA
Often referred to as “Shenandoah’s National Park’s greatest hits,” this 25-mile loop’s highlights include White Oak Canyon, Hawksbill, Stony Man, all connected by beautiful ridge running on the Appalachian Trail.
View our available SWAG More information
Featured run
Vicki’s Death March
Now that Shenandoah National Park is largely reopened, we can recommend Vicki’s Death March! Often referred to as “Shenandoah National Park’s greatest hits,” this 25-mile loop’s highlights include White Oak Canyon, Hawksbill, Stony Man, all connected by beautiful ridge running on the Appalachian Trail. Just be sure to get an early start, as Old Rag is an especially popular trailhead… especially now.
On top of the world on Little Stony Man during the 2011 Vicki’s Death March.