Course Description

To Bone and Back – 40 Mile Relay and Ultra-Marathon is a country road race that begins on the south east side of Idaho Falls at an elevation of about 4750 feet. The race can be run as an ultra-marathon or as a relay with teams from 2 to 8 members. The course is divided into eight legs, each 5 miles long. The race is an out and back course on asphalt and dirt roads and has a variety of hilly terrain.

The first leg of the course heads east on pavement to the outskirts of town and within the first few miles enters the farming community. This leg is flat except for a couple of small hills within the last mile.

The second leg, the most challenging one, continues east southeast and climbs for almost its full 5 miles to the high point of the course at about 6100 feet. This leg provides a great hill running experience with an overall elevation gain of 1200 feet.

The third leg begins with a mile of down hill and then continues south southeast over the rolling hills of dry farms and ends at an elevation of about 5700 feet. If it’s a clear day runners can see the Teton Mountain Range some 100 miles to the east while running much of the course.

The forth leg continues south and goes from pavement to dirt at about mile marker 18. It then climbs for almost a mile up a fairly steep grade to level-off somewhat and drop sharply to the Bone Store, 20 mile, turn-around point. The elevation of the Bone Store is about 6000 feet.

The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight legs are a repeat of legs four, three, two, and one run in the opposite direction. A couple of things to keep in mind on the return legs are the uphill section of leg six, which is significant, and all of leg seven which is downhill and can be fast. The last leg, leg 8 ends at the finish line which is where the race began. Total accumulated elevation gain for the course is about 1620 feet.

This course provides the ultra marathoner a moderate training distance with lots of hills and is a great training race for longer courses that could be run later in the year.

If you have any questions about the race, send us a note at info@toboneandback.com.