THE ROAD TO 100

200 Runners. 200 Miles. 100 Finishers. One Goal.

In 2027, we’re going after something big. We want to make the Cowboy 200 Nebraska’s first Western States qualifying race.

We’ve already been in direct contact with the Western States Endurance Run board about what it would take to make this happen. They’ve confirmed that the Cowboy 200 meets their other requirements to become a qualifying race. There’s one hurdle left, and it’s a pretty damn big one for a 200-mile race.

We need 100 finishers.

Historically, only about 6 out of every 10 runners who start the Cowboy 200 make it all the way from Norfolk to Valentine. Across 200 miles a lot can happen, and as much as we’d like to, we can’t just decide we’re going to have 100 finishers and make it so. We need to put enough runners on the starting line to give ourselves a legitimate shot.

That’s why we’re making a change for 2027. The 2027 Cowboy 200 will be capped at 200 runners.

We’re not interested in turning Cowboy into a massive race. We aren’t chasing unlimited growth, and we’ve never believed bigger automatically means better. We’re adding just enough spots to give ourselves a damn good shot at reaching 100 finishers.

Based on the history of the race, approximately 58–60% of Cowboy 200 starters ultimately reach Valentine. A 200-runner field gives us some room for the inevitable DNFs while keeping the race at a size where we believe we can still provide the personal experience Cowboy has been built around. If the math told us we needed 400 runners to accomplish this, we wouldn’t do it. But 200? We know we can take care of 200 runners at Cowboy and preserve the vibe we demand.

As most of you already know, beginning in 2027 the Cowboy 100 and Cowboy 200 will take place separately. The Cowboy 100 already has its own date and is well on its way, which allows the Cowboy 200 to become a completely standalone event.

For us, that means we’re not simply adding runners to the same operation we’ve always had. We’re simplifying the race at the same time. Instead of simultaneously managing two distances with different runners, cutoff times, logistics and needs, our entire team gets to focus on one race and one goal. Every piece of our staffing, aid stations, logistics, communications and race-week attention can be designed specifically around 200-milers. From an RD perspective, it’s tough to put into words the significance of that change, and we genuinely believe this gives us the opportunity to make the Cowboy 200 better, not just bigger.

Why Western States?

As most of you realize, the Western States Endurance Run is one of the most historic and recognized ultramarathons in the world. Each year, runners hoping to enter Western States must first complete one of a relatively small number of qualifying races.

Nebraska obviously doesn’t have one and never has. In fact, on Western States’ current qualifier list there are only seven qualifying events in the conventional Midwest, and there is a huge geographic gap across the central part of the country. There is currently nothing in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota or South Dakota.

A Western States qualifier in Nebraska could introduce runners from around the country to a trail, landscape and group of communities many of them might otherwise never experience. It would give runners throughout Nebraska and the surrounding region another opportunity to earn a Western States qualifier without traveling halfway across the country to do it.

Those of us who have spent time on the Cowboy Trail already know what a special place it is. We’d love the opportunity to show it to a hell of a lot more people. That’s part of what makes this goal so important to Casey and me. We are originally from communities not unlike those that dot the Cowboy Trail, and this is an area and a way of life that we hold dear. It would be awesome for Nebraska and for the runners in this part of the country, but selfishly, it would mean a hell of a lot to us too.

We’re Going to Film It.

We’re also doing something completely new for 2027. If we’re going to attempt something like this, we want to capture the story properly.

We’ve partnered with Fox Brush Films, a Nebraska-based production company, to professionally document the 2027 Cowboy 200. This is a significant investment for us, but we think Cowboy has a story worth telling, and 2027 might be the perfect year to tell it.

The goal isn’t to manufacture drama or make Cowboy look like something it isn’t. We want to show what this race actually looks and feels like.

The endless trail, the Nebraska landscape, the small towns and communities, the volunteers, the ridiculous conversations that happen after someone hasn’t slept in two days, the runners who find something they didn’t know they had, the runners who give everything they’ve got and still don’t make it, and eventually, the people who see Valentine.

We want to tell the story of the race, but we also want to tell the story of the Cowboy Trail and the communities that make this event possible. The people and places along those 200 miles are as much a part of Cowboy as the runners themselves.

The runners who sign up for the 2027 Cowboy 200 won’t simply be participating in the Road to 100. They’ll be part of the story we’re documenting.

We’re Changing the Number. We’re Not Changing the Race.

This is immensely important for us.

When Casey and I created Cowboy, we wanted to put on an amazing non-repetitive 200-mile race that highlighted the communities, landscapes and people of Nebraska. What we didn’t expect was the Cowboy family that would develop around it. Every year it feels more and more like a family reunion. We’ve made some of our closest friends through this race, and we know many of our runners and volunteers can say the same.

We don’t want to lose that.

Cowboy has never been about packing as many runners as possible onto a starting line. It’s about volunteers who remember your name and small Nebraska communities welcoming exhausted strangers with open arms. It’s about runners taking care of one another. It’s about spending an absurd amount of time moving across a deceptively simple trail and learning that “flat” and “easy” are definitely not the same thing.

We don’t believe 200 runners spread across 200 miles requires us to sacrifice any of that. In fact, separating the 100 and 200 gives us an opportunity to put more attention, not less, into every detail of the 200-mile experience.

We’re changing the number. We’re not changing what Cowboy is.

The Road to 100

At some point in 2027, up to 200 runners will leave Norfolk and start heading west across Nebraska. We have absolutely no idea how many of them will reach Valentine.

Maybe it’s 120. Maybe it’s 105. Hell, maybe it’s 99.

That’s a 200. Nothing is guaranteed. As it shouldn’t be.

But somewhere in that field could be finisher #100. The runner who comes down the trail into Valentine and officially gets Cowboy across the threshold. The runner who helps put the Cowboy Trail and Nebraska onto the Western States qualifying map.

We don’t know who that person will be. We don’t know what mile 190 is going to look like when we’re sitting at 97, 98 or 99 finishers. We don’t know if we’ll pull this off on our first try.

But we’re sure as hell going to try.

200 runners. 200 miles. 100 finishers.

Nebraska has never had a Western States qualifier.

Let’s change that.

This is the Road to 100.

Registration for the 2027 Cowboy 200 will open shortly after the completion of the 2026 race.

200 spots. That’s it.