A flat, point-to-point 200 miler across northern Nebraska on the Cowboy Trail
The Cowboy 200 runs west across northern Nebraska from Ta-Ha-Zouka Park in Norfolk to Bolo Beer Co. in Valentine, following the Cowboy Trail, a former railroad line converted to a crushed-limestone rail trail closed to motor traffic. The course covers 200+ miles with almost no repetition and very little climbing, so it is one of the most runnable 200-mile races in the US and a common choice for a first 200 or a PR attempt. Runners pass old railroad depots, a water-powered gristmill at Neligh, and dozens of small farm towns, and they cross many of the trail's 200+ old railroad bridges, ending with the quarter-mile span high above the Niobrara River just before Valentine. Some sections leave the trail for paved town streets and dirt-road reroutes around flood-damaged bridges. Eleven full aid stations, eight unmanned water stops and three sleep stations (Atkinson, Long Pine, Wood Lake) support runners over an 84-hour cutoff. The last 25 miles from Wood Lake to the finish have no full aid station.
Experienced ultrarunners
Norfolk, NE, United StatesSeptember 24, 2027
Cowboy 200 is a point-to-point trail race in Norfolk, NE, United States, held on September 24, 2027. The course covers 200 miles and has an 84h cutoff.
This edition has its own course and we haven't mapped it yet. The interactive map, elevation profile and aid stations will appear here once the route is confirmed.
Aid stations for this edition aren't published yet. They'll appear here once the route is confirmed.
Late September in northern Nebraska usually brings warm, often sunny days and cool to cold nights. Runners spend three or four nights on course, so the race recommends both extra water capacity for hot afternoons and cold-weather layers for overnight. Open prairie sections give little shelter from wind, sun or rain.
Conditions can swing from hot afternoons to near-freezing nights over the 84-hour race
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