A Beautiful One Day Relay: 2025 Elkhorn Relay

It’s time for the 2025 Elkhorn Relay! This fun one-day event takes place on August 9^th this year. This race runs through the Elkhorn Mountains and the journey is 80.6 miles. Each of the 6 runners per team will run 3 times with an average of 13 miles for each runner.

The race begins at Hilgard State Park and heads out along the Grand Ronde River. There will be some challenging climbs, some beautiful backcountry, and a 20+ mile section of gravel mountain roads. Runners will catch views of the Elkhorn mountains and climb up Anthony Lakes, reaching to 7,400 feet of altitude –  total climb of 6,000 feet in elevation before reaching the trail leg near the Anthony Lakes Ski Resort.

Check out the course map here.

There will be porta potties at each leg exchange and at times, you might be treated to snacks or drinks from aid station volunteers. You should plan on bringing your own nutrition and hydration though, as anything given to you other than what you’ve brought is a gift that can’t be depended on.

Start times on race day vary, and team captains will get their team’s start time a couple of weeks before the race. To give you some general guidelines, teams running an average of a 10-minute pace will start around 5:00AM and finish at 7:30PM and runners going at a faster 7-minute pace will start at 9:00AM and finish at 6:30PM with other paces somewhere between.

Runners don’t need to supply any volunteers for this relay, which is a huge plus! The cost is $600 per team and this race supports charitable causes, so your money is well spent.