Event Overview

Go ahead. Climb up, over, and around some of the most badass trail runs in the greater Bay Area. The Vertical Challenge series is 4 great races on three days from September to late October that will take you to Mt. Diablo, Sonoma's Hood Mountain, and to Berkeley's Vollmer Peak. Every course seeks out the most quad-busting, calf-burning, lung-searing route to the top, challenging you to test your grit on some pretty gnarly technical terrain. We add up your vertical climbing and your pace to rank you among the elite climbers around. Verticalismo!

Sign up here to get a series discount when you sign up for 3 events! Signing up for the Series here makes you eligible to win an entry to the North Face Endurance Challenge 50k or 50m, which will be chosen at random. Individual race entrants will not be eligible to win.

How It Works

Our statisticians at the Scena Performance Center for Advanced Metrics will determine who runs the most vertical, the fastest. Rankings will be based on all participants from each event. Our advanced algorithms will tell us who has 1. the Most Vertical, and then 2. fastest ft gained/minute average. There are two series options that guarantee you will be in the running to be The Vertical Challenges Series Champion:

Option 1: 'The Ultra Series' (Most elevation gain possible): Mt Diablo - Vertical Challenge (9/17), Sonoma 50K Ultra (10/1), and Vollmer Peak - Vertical Challenge (10/23)

Option 2: 'The Fun Run' Mt Diablo - Vertical Challenge (9/17), Sonoma Half Maraton (10/1), and Vollmer Peak - Vertical Challenge (10/23)

For more advanced calculus on the ranking system, break out your sliderule and check here. Uncertain in the ways of life? You can register for each race a la carte using the links above.

Your Opportunity to Boast and to Run the North Face!

Each series finishers will receive a special Vertical Challenge Survivor awards. Awards will be given to top 3 Male and Female series finishers who accrue the most vertical in fastest time. The perfect opportunity for a level playing field where the fastest doesn't always win...unless they do all 3.

Top male and female finishers win entries to The North Face Endurance Challenge 50k or 50m in San Francisco in December. All series participants will be entered in a raffle for free entry for the North Face Endurance Challenge. 1 entry per distance to be chosen from qualifying participants.

Event's current local time: 4:13 PM PT