General

The Painted Horse Urban Ultra has returned! This time there are more and new horses, a new route, and it is a loop rather than point-to-point!

This is a low-key, self-supported urban adventure run. It is not a race. If you are aiming to set a course record or beat your previous 50k time, this is not the event for you. However, if you like signing up for dumb events, running around strange places with a list of turn-by-turn directions, and taking pictures of painted horses, this is your jam!

This ultra is navigation heavy. It is not a race; it is an adventure, sightseeing trip, and scavenger hunt. There is no time limit, take all the time you need. There may be some water drops and special treats along the way, but don’t plan on this event being supported.

There are about 40ish painted horses that you'll see over the 50k(ish) miles. Most are gorgeous works of art, some are lovely tributes painted by students and teachers, and one is a hilarious salute to capitalism.

The route is still being updated, but the race book will be uploaded here and sent via email once it is available!

What are the painted horses?

In 2000, Ocala asked artists to paint horses for what they called Horse Fever. For the 20th Anniversary of the project more horses were added! These horses are placed all over Marion County in public and private locations. The largest concentration is in the Downtown Ocala area. This route does not see all of the horses, but there is a map that shows most of them that are outside of the route if you’d like to see more.

The Horsin' Around Option

If you aren’t quite ready for an ultra, but are still intrigued by the route, you can break it up into sections that are doable for you. As your run will be spread out over multiple days or weeks, to qualify for a finishing time and award, you must provide data for all of the runs.

Event's current local time: 12:54 PM ET