The Pilgrimage: A Timed Ultramarathon on Acid

A Journey of Self-Discovery

By Chase Hammond, Ultraverse Co-Founder and Race Director

Most timed ultras ask a straightforward question: How far can you go before the clock runs out?

The Pilgrimage asks that too. But it also asks what happens when you spend hours alone in the high desert, tired, uncertain of what comes next, and stuck in your own fucking head.

I describe it as a timed ultramarathon on acid. Five routes. Changing route orders. 150 hours. No pacers. No crew assistance out on the course.

But the purpose behind all of that has always been more deliberate: a journey of self-discovery.

That was my goal when I created The Pilgrimage. Since then, runners have told us that’s exactly what they experienced.

You return to food, support, and familiar faces at Home Base. You’ll also cross paths with other runners on the trails, and you may spend an entire route together. But the Journey rules will often send you in different directions on the next one.

For long stretches, it’s just you. No pacer beside you talking you through the hard moments. You have to work through those yourself.

Spend enough time out there, and you’re going to learn some shit about yourself.

Five Routes. A Different Journey Every Time.

The Pilgrimage is a 150-hour timed ultramarathon in the high desert of Western Colorado. Complete all five routes, and you’ve completed one Journey—about 55 miles.

But you don’t simply repeat the same circuit all week.

Each Journey has its own way of determining your route order:

• Genesis: Everyone follows the same predetermined order, revealed one route at a time.
• Roulette: You draw straws to determine which remaining route comes next.
• Isolation: Starting routes alternate as runners arrive, spreading the field across the courses.
• Inversion: You reverse the order you followed during Isolation.
• Unbound: You finally choose your own route order.
• Augmentation: Routes go from shortest to longest.
• Revelations: Journey seven and beyond return to runner-selected order.

You might enjoy miles of conversation with another runner, then return to Home Base and discover you’re heading out on different routes. You might want a particular course next and draw something else.

You know the rules. You know the routes. What you often don’t know is which one you’ll face next.

That uncertainty is intentional.

You Have 150 Hours. You Still Have to Earn a Finish.

Four complete Journeys—approximately 220 miles—are required to avoid a DNF.

After that, every additional full route completed counts toward your overall mileage. Your final route must be finished before the 150-hour clock expires.

So yes, you have time to sleep, recover, and manage your effort. But a generous clock doesn’t walk those miles for you.

You still have to get up. Put your shoes back on. Check out of Home Base. Head down the trail again.

And 220 miles is the finishing requirement, not the ceiling. The Pilgrimage has already seen performances exceeding 300 miles.

How far you go beyond a finish becomes another question you get to answer out there.

Alone on Course. Part of a Family at Home Base.

The solitude matters, but so does coming back.

Home Base is where you eat, rest, regroup, and reconnect with the people sharing this experience. It’s where Casey, our volunteers, and I get to know you over the course of the race.

We limit The Pilgrimage to 45 runners to preserve the solitude on course. With runners spread across five routes, there’s room to spend long stretches alone while still crossing paths and sharing miles with others. A much larger field would change the experience we created this race to offer.

You can have company on the trails. You can help another runner, and they can help you. Those connections are part of the experience.

But you cannot bring a pacer to guarantee that company. Crew assistance stays at Home Base. When the next route separates you from someone you’ve been running with, you have to be ready to carry on.

That balance—connection, then solitude—is a big part of what makes The Pilgrimage what it is.

Why I Created It This Way

I wanted to create an event that gives people enough time and space to discover something about themselves.

When you’re alone for hours, you have time to hear your own thoughts. Sometimes that’s peaceful. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable.

You might find yourself trying to negotiate your way out of another route. You might realize you’re capable of more than you thought. You might have to figure out whether you need rest, food, a change in attitude, or simply to keep moving.

Nobody can make every one of those decisions for you.

I can’t promise what you’ll discover. That’s yours. But hearing runners describe their experience as a journey of self-discovery tells me the purpose behind this race is reaching people.

Is The Pilgrimage Your Next Challenge?

If you enjoy long ultras, can manage yourself between visits to Home Base, and are willing to spend extended periods alone, this race deserves a look.

You’ll need to arrive prepared, understand the Journey rules, and know how to navigate each route using its GPX file. Read the runner’s manual before committing. The format is part of the challenge, and preparation is part of accepting it.

Maybe your goal is to earn a finish. Maybe it’s to go beyond 300 miles. Maybe you’re curious about what happens when you give yourself 150 hours to do something difficult.

Whatever brings you here, we want you to understand the experience you’re signing up for.

The next Pilgrimage takes place May 2–8, 2027, in Western Colorado. The field is limited to 45 runners.

Explore The Pilgrimage, read the rules, and find registration details.

Come find out what you’re capable of.