Angeles Crest 100 Runners Register at Altadena’s Loma Alta Park Before First Race to Start and Finish There

Runners in the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run will register and attend a trail briefing Friday, Oct. 2, at Loma Alta Park in Altadena, the day before the first race to start and finish at the park. 

The 36th annual race leaves the park at 5 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, on a 100.8-mile course. Runners check in at 4 a.m., and an invocation is set for 4:30 a.m. 

“Putting on the 2026 race has been extremely difficult because of two major challenges,” race director Ken Hamada wrote in a July status update. He named the aftermath of the 2025 Eaton Fire, which closed the Idlehour Trail, and Highway 2 closures caused by winter storms. 

The Highway 2 closure near the Mt. Waterman Ski Area made it impossible to run aid stations between Inspiration Point and Cloudburst, Hamada wrote. The race has always started in Wrightwood, but this year it starts and finishes in Altadena. 

Registration runs from 8 a.m. to noon Friday. Drop bags are collected from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and leave at 11 a.m. The 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. trail briefing covers medical, U.S. Forest Service, search-and-rescue and trail-condition concerns and includes a welcome to Altadena. Organizers said the briefing will give the final word on trail conditions.

Parking at the park, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave., is very limited, organizers said. They pointed drivers to Sunny Ridge Road, which has parking on both sides and a large lot, and asked them to avoid a small lot off Palm reserved for race staff. 

The course begins on Altadena streets, follows the Gabrielino Trail and turns around at Mount Hillyer, 52.8 miles out. It returns through Chantry Flats and Mount Wilson. Chantry Flats reopened after years of closure from Bobcat Fire damage, and Josephine Peak will host an aid station for the first time, Hamada wrote. 

The Idlehour Trail sits inside the U.S. Forest Service’s Eaton Fire closure area, which remains in effect through Dec. 31, 2027. Travis Metzger found a route through the Mueller Tunnel at Eaton Saddle and along the Mount Lowe Motorway that avoids the closure area, Hamada wrote. A mountain bike club has been repairing the Idlehour Trail, which may be ready by 2027, he wrote in July. 

The race was first held in September 1986 and originally finished at the Rose Bowl; the finish moved to Loma Alta Park in 2008. After the 2009 Station Fire, the race moved to August, and Saturday’s race is its first in October since 2008. Organizers said they remain committed to returning to the traditional route when access and safety allow. 

Runners must reach the finish by 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, and an awards ceremony open to everyone follows at the park from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Race information is at https://ac100.com/.

Friday, Oct. 2, registration 8 a.m. to noon; trail briefing 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, race start 5 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, awards ceremony 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Loma Alta Park, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave., Altadena. For more call (626) 398-5451 or visit https://ac100.com/.