One day, one continuous clock
24-Hour Races
A fixed-time race where the clock runs for one full day and every completed lap or measured distance counts.
How the Format Works
In a 24-hour race, the task is to cover as much distance as possible before the clock expires. Many events use short loops or tracks, so runners can return frequently to food, spare clothing, shoes, crew, and medical support.
The format rewards restraint more than an aggressive opening pace. Walking, fueling, changing layers, solving foot problems, and staying safely alert overnight are part of the performance rather than interruptions to it.
Use the four steps below to leave with a race shortlist, a training framework, a pace-and-stop scenario, and a tested packing list. The detailed explainer covers the format; the calendar compares actual editions; this page connects the preparation work.
Curated preparation path
Learn, Train, and Plan
1. Choose Your Race and Goal
Shortlist a course whose surface, support and entry requirements fit you. Write down its measured lap length, start time and crew rules before setting a flexible goal.
Compare 24-Hour Races
Compare countries, surfaces, loop lengths, support and entry context for upcoming editions.
Guide24-Hour Races Explained
Format, course types, scoring, first-race decisions, and safety considerations.
AnswerHow Far Can You Run in 24 Hours?
A practical way to think about distance without treating one target as universal.
Guide24-Hour vs 48-Hour vs 6-Day
Compare timed formats before choosing the duration that fits your experience.
2. Build and Rehearse Your Training
Choose a framework suited to training you already recover from. Identify a familiar session in which to test your walking pattern, food, footwear and stop routine, then review recovery before progressing.
Train for Your First 24-Hour Race
An adaptable framework for endurance, walking, night practice, and recovery.
GuideTapering for Multiday Races
Reduce fatigue while preserving the routines and equipment you have already tested.
ToolMultiday Pace Calculator
Explore average-speed, lap, break-time, and run-walk scenarios.
3. Write the Pace and Support Plan
Calculate at least two stopped-time scenarios, list what crew should do at each stop, and agree how to revise the distance goal after a delay. Use the worked 100-mile example to understand the arithmetic.
24-Hour Race Pacing Strategy
Build conservative effort and run-walk scenarios that can adapt as conditions change.
GuideWhat to Eat During a 24-Hour Race
Practice a flexible fueling system with familiar foods and fallback options.
GuideCrew and Aid Station Strategy
Organize supplies and decisions so short stops do not become repeated delays.
4. Pack and Check the Whole Routine
Finish with a labelled checklist and a rehearsed kit layout. Check overnight lighting, weather layers, foot-care access, spare equipment and a safe plan for getting home after the race.
24-Hour Race Gear Checklist
A race-specific packing list for clothing, lighting, nutrition, crew, and foot care.
Gear guideShoe Rotation Strategy
Plan tested alternatives for wetness, swelling, pressure changes, and surface fatigue.
ToolInteractive Gear Checklist
Create and save a practical packing list in your browser.
Curated race directory
Active and Upcoming 24-Hour Events
13 matching events as of Sep 9, 2026; event source reviews dated June 22, 2026 – August 23, 2026. 2 past editions remain in the directory archive.
Self-Transcendence 24 Hour Track Race
Tooting Bec Athletics Track, London, UK
Incorporates the British 24-Hour Championships 2026. An IAU Bronze Label event limited to 55 experienced ultra-runners, held on the Tooting Bec Athletics Track for this edition.
View verified race details →48 Heures de Royan
Royan, France
A French fixed-time festival on a traffic-free stadium circuit of about one kilometre, led by the 48-hour race.
View verified race details →Hainesport Endurance Run
Hainesport, New Jersey, USA
A flat paved-loop festival with 48-hour, two 24-hour starts, 12-hour, relay, and 100-mile options at Hainesport Township Park.
View verified race details →International Ultramarathon Festival — Loutraki
Loutraki, Greece
The 21st edition of this World Cup festival on a 400m tartan track. Features 48-hour, 24-hour, and 12-hour races in a supportive Mediterranean setting.
View verified race details →The Endless Mile
Alabaster, Alabama, USA
A 72-hour, 48-hour, and 24-hour festival on a certified, paved, lighted 1.00203-mile loop at Veterans Park.
View verified race details →Salt Creek 24
Port Angeles, Washington, USA
A scenic 24-hour endurance race at Salt Creek Recreation Area on the Olympic Peninsula. Features a 1.4-mile course on paved and unpaved surfaces with 12-hour solo and relay options.
View verified race details →Fat Ox Endurance Runs
Goodyear, Arizona, USA
A fixed-time festival on a certified 0.988178-mile concrete loop, headlined by the 48-hour race and 2026 USATF 24-Hour Championships.
View verified race details →24 Hores d'Ultrafons en Pista Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
A charity-focused 24-hour track race at Barcelona's Estadi Municipal Joan Serrahima, accompanied by 12- and 6-hour events.
View verified race details →Desert Solstice Track Invitational
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
An elite invitation-only 24-hour and 100-mile track race at Camelback High School. Limited to 25 runners with qualifying standards. Organized by Aravaipa Running.
View verified race details →Across the Years
Peoria, Arizona, USA
A legendary multi-day running festival spanning New Year's Eve. Offers 6-hour to 6-day fixed-time races plus fixed-distance options. Organized by Aravaipa Running.
View verified race details →Spartanion Tel Aviv 24-Hour
Hayarkon Park, Tel Aviv, Israel
Israel's national 24-hour championship on a fast paved loop in Hayarkon Park, with qualifying standards for the headline race.
View verified race details →NZ Ultramarathon Festival — 6 Day
Hagley Park, Christchurch, New Zealand
A fully catered six-day race on a flat 1.9464 km park loop, part of a ten-day Christchurch festival with 72-, 48-, and 24-hour options.
View verified race details →Taiping 24 Hour
Taiping, Perak, Malaysia
A fixed-time festival at Taiping Lake Gardens with 24-, 12-, 6-, and 3-hour challenges. Confirm the final endurance-course measurement with the organizer.
View verified race details →Dates, entry status, routes, and rules can change. Use each event page's official organizer links before registration or travel. Format preparation paths were reviewed September 5, 2026.
24-Hour FAQs
Is a 24-hour race suitable as a first multiday event?
It can be a comparatively manageable introduction when the course, support, weather, withdrawal process, and travel demands fit your experience. The format itself is not a safety rating, so assess the specific event and your health, training history, and practiced systems.
Do runners sleep during a 24-hour race?
Some do and some do not. Rules usually allow rest, but the right decision depends on the runner, goals, alertness, symptoms, conditions, and available safe space. Unsafe sleepiness or confusion calls for stopping and race-medical assessment.
How should a first 24-hour goal be set?
Use recent training, walking efficiency, course conditions, and tested break routines to create flexible process goals. A single distance copied from another runner is less useful than pacing, fueling, symptom, and safety checkpoints you can adjust.
Compare Related Formats
48-Hour Races
A two-day fixed-time race where sleep, recovery choices, and the second night become central parts of the plan.
Backyard Ultras
A last-person-standing format built around one 6.7056 km loop every hour, on the hour, until only one finisher remains.
6-Day Races
A 144-hour fixed-time event where sustainable routines and recovery choices matter across nearly a full week.