The Virginia Happy Trails Running Club

Promoting trail running in the D.C. area for three decades.

Welcome to the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club

We are a fun group of trail runners of all abilities centered in northern Virginia. Many but not all of us run ultramarathons. Come play with us at our races and training runs!

Latest news

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Stan Duobinis

  • Jul 18, 2024
  • Member news

Stan Duobinis passed away on July 9. Stan and his wife, Margie Schlunt, were fixtures of the VHTRC from the earliest days of the club. They were avid participants of all club events and races — as runners, volunteers, and race directors.

Read more
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2024 Massanutten Trail Work Party

  • May 9, 2024
  • Trail work, MMT

Last Saturday, 18 volunteers coordinated by the VHTRC help clear trails in the Massanutten Mountains. Together, we cleared 29.6 miles of trail, removed 56(!) trees, and contributed 140.5 hours of labor to our public lands.

Read more
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2024 C&O Canal 100 mile race report

  • May 3, 2024
  • Race report

The annual C&O Canal 100 miler was held in Maryland over the weekend of April 27-28. Lo and behold we have not one but TWO reports from competitors in the race. First up: frequent contributor John Calabrese on his finish in the 2024 race.

Read more

Upcoming stuff

Here’s what we have coming up. See our calendar for a full list of our (and others’) events

The VHTRC was founded to put on races. We are mighty proud of our courses and hospitality.

Sat Feb 22

50 km

Westminster, MD

Entry opens: Jan 1, 2024

31 miles of trails, old woods roads, open fields, and plenty of hills with a couple of stream crossings thrown in just for fun.

Entry opens Oct 1

Sat Apr 5

50.2 miles

Clifton, VA

Entry opens: Oct 1, 2024

A 50 mile trail run that parallels the Bull Run and the Occoquan River in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. The course traverses forested, rolling terrain during the height of Virginia’s spring beauty. The run’s unique character includes a Civil War theme that honors the battles that occurred here over 150 years ago. The 13 hour time limit makes Bull Run Run an excellent first 50 miler.

Sat May 17

100.6 miles

Fort Valley, VA

Entry opens: Oct 31, 2024

A challenging, rocky 100 miler on the trails of the Massanutten Mountains in the George Washington National Forest in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The course includes short but rugged mountain climbs with more than 18,000 feet of total ascent. There is a 36-hour cutoff.

Events are open to the public and free to enter, but do require prior registration and many have entry limits.
Didn’t get in? Consider volunteering.

Entry is closed

Sat Sep 28

33.3 miles

Wardensville, WV

Entry opens: Aug 6, 2024

A challenging, low-key, beautiful run near the Virginia / West Virginia border. Generally held on the last Saturday in September, and limited to about 60 runners.

Fri Oct 4

107.8 miles

Luray, VA

Entry opens: May 20, 2024
Entry closes: Sep 30, 2024

As if MMT weren’t hard enough. Take out the road sections of MMT and add more climb and this is what you get.

Sat Oct 19

44.8 miles

Pen Mar, PA

Entry opens: Sep 9, 2024
Entry closes: Oct 16, 2024

You run in four states in one day, traditionally held on the Saturday the weekend before the Marine Corps Marathon. It’s a long run over challenging trail - you will have to move with dispatch to finish in daylight. Entry is limited to VHTRC members.

Entry is open

Sat Oct 26

50 km

Quantico, VA

Entry opens: Sep 9, 2024
Entry closes: Oct 22, 2024

A runnable 25k or 50k competition on a looped course comprised of the rolling trails of Prince William Forest Park.

Entry is closed

Sun Nov 3

30.5 miles

Washington, DC

Entry opens: Sep 3, 2024
Entry closes: Sep 22, 2024

The event that proves that there are beautiful trails inside the Beltway. Entry opens a few weeks before the run .

Low-key runs with no formal sign-up. Just show up and run.

Sun Sep 29

7-10 miles

Washington, DC

Explore the trails of Rock Creek Park on these low-key runs. We leave at 8:00 am from either Peirce Mill or Theodore Roosevelt Island and the runs are roughly 7–10 miles long.

Fri Nov 29

25.3 miles

Nethers, VA

Often referred to as “Shenandoah’s National Park’s greatest hits,” this 25-mile loop’s highlights include White Oak Canyon, Hawksbill, Stony Man, all connected by beautiful ridge running on the Appalachian Trail.

View our available SWAG More information

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