Rumble on the Ridge

Did somebody say more cowbell?? Rumble on the Ridge is our Driftless take on the classic Backyard Ultra–Last Person Standing format. The event takes place on an old family dairy farm just 40 minutes west of Madison, WI, right in the heart of the Driftless Area.
Runners compete on a 1-ish mile looped course, affectionately called “The Drifty Mile,” completing one loop every 20 minutes. Sounds easy enough… right?
To keep things interesting, we change the route every year and don’t publish details until race day. What we can tell you: the loop will be between 1.0 and 1.25 miles, it will have at least 250 feet of elevation gain, and you’ll have 20 minutes to finish each loop. The rest you’ll just have to show up to discover. Oh—and the route reverses direction every 4 hours, so you can never get too comfortable.
The race continues until only one person completes every loop under the 20‑minute cutoff. The winner earns bragging rights for a full year, free entry into next year’s event to defend their title, and a unique winner’s award. We finally broke the 24‑hour mark in Year 4, but we’re still waiting for the first group to crack the century mark. Maybe Year 5 is the year.
Because the venue is a private residence with limited space, the event is capped at 75 participants. The 2025 race sold out by mid‑March, and we expect similar demand again. A waitlist will be available if the event fills.

Date and Location:

Date: 5/16/2026
Check In: 6:15am-7:45am
Race Start: 8:00am
Race End: Last Runner Standing
Address: 5749 County Rd H, Arena, WI 53503

2025 Athlete Guide

Rules

- You have 20 minutes to complete each loop.
- You must be in the starting corral when the cowbell rings to begin the next loop. Crew tents, restrooms, and anywhere on the course do not count as the starting corral.
- Runners who finish a loop after the 20‑minute limit will be eliminated.
- No runner may accept aid while on the course; any aid must be carried on your person.
- 3‑minute warning before the next loop = 3 whistle blows.
- 2‑minute warning before the next loop = 2 whistle blows.
- 1‑minute warning before the next loop = 1 whistle blow.
- Start of each loop = Cowbell.
- The winner is declared when only one runner remains who has successfully completed every loop within the 20‑minute cutoff. A solo victory lap must be completed to earn the win.
- If no runner successfully completes the final lap, there will be no winner for the year.
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Final Rule- HAVE FUN!!

The Barnyard Basecamp

The Barnyard will serve as basecamp for the weekend. This is where you’ll find the start corral, crew tents, aid station, restrooms, and the main spectator viewing area.
We have space for up to 35 crew tents, and you must opt in for a tent spot during registration. Each space is a 10' x 10' patch of grass, and all equipment must be provided by the participant. For runners without a crew tent, we’ll have a large shared participant tent available for drop bags, chairs, and small coolers.
The aid station will be stocked with fruit, sweet and salty snacks, carbs, hot food, hydration and nutrition products, soda, and coffee. Portable restrooms will also be located in this area.
Spectator viewing, campfires, and yard games will all take place here as well, making the Barnyard the heart of the weekend.

Camping/Lodging

Camping will be allowed on Saturday night ONLY but this must be a tent or small camper van. Please, no RVs or pull behinds. This is a private residence and there are no hookups, waste disposal or space for parking campers. There are several camping and lodging spots within 20 minutes of the race venue for the weekend.

CAMPING
Governor Dodge State Park
Blue Mounds State Park
Tower Hill State Park
Brigham County Park
Trader's Island Campground
Tom's Campground
Wisconsin Riverside Resort

LODGING
Deer Valley Lodge
The House on the Rock Resort
Spring Valley Inn
Round Barn Lodge
The Birdhouse Inn
Several options of Hotels and B&B's in Spring Green and Dodgeville

Driftless Trail

Driftless Endurance, along with all participant donations, will donate $0.10 for every lap completed during the event to the planning and building of the Driftless Trail. The Driftless Area Land Conservancy (DALC) is leading this project to build the Driftless Trail which is a planned 50-mile loop that connects Tower Hill, Governor Dodge, and Blue Mounds State Parks. This is a foot-only trail, to be used for hiking, running, snowshoeing, or cross country skiing wandering through the woods, prairies, farms, bluffs and streams of Iowa County’s Driftless landscape.

More information on this project can be found on the DALC website. https://www.driftlessconservancy.org/driftless-trail

Refund Policy

Once registered for a race, registration is final. We are unable to offer refunds, deferments, or rollovers to another year or event once you have signed up. As fellow runners, we understand that life happens, schedules change, and injuries/illnesses occur. However, race entries cover various operational expenses prior to race day, which is why we cannot offer deferrals or refunds.

Please consider this carefully before registering.

Transfer Policy:
If you would like to transfer your registration to another individual, we can facilitate this process. However, arranging payment is the responsibility of the individuals involved.

You can find more information on how to edit/trasnfer your registration HERE.

If the event does sellout and we have hopeful participants on the waitlist, we can transfer your registration to someone on the waitlist. In this scenario, we are able to offer a refund.

Thank you for your understanding. Please let us know if you have any questions

Event's current local time: 12:35 PM CT