Show Me Your Free State Marathon and Ultra

09/04/2026

List the states where you have completed a halfsy, a marathon, or an ultra in the comments below.👇

SMYFS spots are still available...sign up today! https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=131546

09/02/2026

We're so excited to have Carrie Payne Gregoire competing in the 100-mile SMYFS Ultra! Carrie, you inspire all of us and we can't wait to see you shine on October 24th. We are also thrilled that Mile 90 Photography will be on-hand to capture Carrie and every single one of our SMYFS runners as they strive to achieve something great!

09/01/2026

Meet our newest SMYFS sponsor, Dr. Bob Ruwwe! Dr. Ruwwe has been our family's dentist for over 12 years and he provides the very best care. His wonderful staff make you feel comfortable while they clean those choppers. Dr. Ruwwe provides the gentle expertise that ensures your pearly whites will last a lifetime. If you seek top-tier dental care, look no further and call Dr. Ruwwe today!

We are extremely grateful to ALL of our SMYFS sponsors whose support helps provide a fantastic experience for all of our runners and their crews. Thank you!!!

09/01/2026

Half-marathon to 100 miles...don't miss out! https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=131546

08/20/2026

Running 50 miles is a major leap. At about mile-22, you've already put in a heck of a day's work, and then you realize you're not even half-way done! It takes not only fitness, but tremendous mental strength to do a 50-miler.

The SMYFS 50-mile ultramarathon is two loops around our fast, flat, and beautiful course on the Gladden Bottoms area of the Missouri River flood plain. We provide excellent support, fully-stocked aid stations, and you could even opt for a two-hour early start (4:00 am instead of 6:00 am) if you feel you need a little more time or if you just want to be finished earlier in the afternoon or evening.

We have plenty of spots left for the 50-miler. You'll earn great swag, to include a custom, event-specific finisher's buckle. Best of all, there will be other friendly runners on the course, sharing the miles. As with all the SMYFS distances, regular season pricing ends on August 31st, so take this bold leap and get signed up today!

https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=131546

08/14/2026

St. Joseph offers so many opportunities for physical activity and good, clean fun in the outdoors! Please support the St. Joseph Nighthawks MTB Composite Team!

08/07/2026

It's time to travel some place you've never been.

If you have completed a marathon in the past or if you expect to complete a late-summer marathon, the 50K is your next big step. Take some time to recover while maintaining your fitness with short, easy runs, and then make a bold move into the world of ultra-running by signing up for the SMYFS 50K on October 24th.

Have you run several marathons and noticed that after a period of steady improvement in your overall times, you feel like your performance is flatlining? The law of marginal returns can be frustrating for athletes who compete in any event. Why not increase the distance and add a new experience to your growing list of achievements in life?

Ultra-marathon veterans, if you are training for a late-fall or a winter ultra, a 50K race should nest perfectly within your 50-mile, 100K, or 100-mile training program. It can also serve as an opportunity to validate your race-day equipment and strategies.

"Regular" registration pricing ends on August 31st, so sign up for any of our SMYFS races quickly before "late" registration pricing kicks in on September 1st.

The 50K is currently the most popular distance of the five SMYFS races taking place on October 24th, 2026. If you've never done an ultra, the 50K will take you some place you've never been.

https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=131546

07/30/2026

Hello! We've made a couple changes to the Runners' Handbook and to our registration website that we thought you should be aware of.

First, we've extended the cutoff times for the 50-mile, 50K, marathon, and half-marathon by two hours. Weather and other factors can sometimes make race-day a lot tougher than we expect so this change provides runners a little extra time to deal with the unexpected. The cutoff for the 100-miler stands at 30 hours. See the updated runners' handbook for details.

Second, regular registration pricing for all distances will end on August 31st and late registration pricing will begin on September 1st. The supplier for our buckles and medals needs at least six weeks to fill our order. We don't want to order a lot more than we need because these items are not cheap, but we definitely don't want to send any finisher home without their hard-earned hardware! We'd like to steer everyone towards registering as early as possible so that we can get not only the buckles and medals, but our tee-shirts and other swag items in the right quantities. Ultimately, we want to provide every runner a world-class event and a great value for their money, so thank you for your understanding!

Please take some time to review the updated handbook. If every runner and their crew understands our plan for race weekend and if everyone is aware of the rules, it goes a long way towards ensuring that every member of the SMYFS community has a fantastic experience here in St. Joseph!

Benton High School presents the SMYFS Marathon and Ultra! Join us in Saint Joseph, Missouri on October 24-25, 2026.

06/01/2026

Some individuals share their personal stories willingly while others tend to hold their cards very close. Every human being has his or her own unique story that most of the people around them would find absolutely fascinating. We value every single member of our running community and we want to understand what makes each person tick.

Some folks are extremely competitive by nature, while many of us don't measure our own satisfaction by comparing ourselves to others. Some of us run for health and some run for adventure. Some run to heal. The organizers of the Show Me Your Free State Marathon & Ultramarathon firmly believe that every runner's journey matters, so here's a challenge:

The Show Me Your Free State Marathon and Ultra is a 100mi, 50mi, 50k, 26.2mi, and 13.1mi foot-race through the Missouri River valley near St. Joseph Missouri. The inaugural event will take place on October 24-25, 2026.