Fort McCoy’s 2026 Down & Dirty Trail Run draws hundreds to Whitetail Ridge at installation

More than 225 runners and outdoor enthusiasts embraced mud, obstacles, and plenty of smiles during Fort McCoy’s 2026 Down & Dirty Trail Run on June 20 at Whitetail Ridge Ski Area at Fort McCoy.

Organized by the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR), the annual event featured a challenging 1.5-mile course with more than 10 obstacles, including mud pits, water crossings, slip-and-slide features, climbing and balance challenges, and military-themed obstacles that tested participants of all ages.

Now in its 12th year, the Down & Dirty Trail Run has become one of Fort McCoy’s signature recreation events. Hosted annually at Whitetail Ridge Ski Area, the event brings together service members, military families, Department of War civilians, veterans, and members of surrounding communities for a day focused on fitness, teamwork, and outdoor recreation.

While Whitetail Ridge Ski Area is best known for skiing and snowboarding during the winter months, the venue also supports year-round recreation and special events. The Down & Dirty Trail Run showcases the area's trail system while highlighting Fort McCoy’s commitment to providing quality-of-life programs that promote healthy lifestyles and strengthen connections between the installation and neighboring communities.

According to Alex Karis with Fort McCoy DFMWR, 233 people registered for this year’s event, with an estimated 227 to 229 participants completing the course.

“We had 233 people sign up,” Karis said. “I believe there was a couple that didn’t show, so we figure it was like 227 or 229 who actually did it. We sold 233 tickets for it.”

Although participation was slightly lower than last year’s event, Karis said attendance has remained consistent since the race was moved away from Butterfest weekend several years ago.

“It’s a little bit less than last year, but it’s more than the previous years when we moved it off of Butterfest weekend (in Sparta, Wis.),” Karis said. “That’s roughly our average — around that 230 mark.”

Ideal weather helped make the event another success.

“Perfect weather for it,” Karis said. “We started a little after 10 a.m. when the first heat went out, and by about 11:30 or noon everybody was off the course. We got them through in pretty quick timing.”

The result, he said, was exactly what organizers hope to see each year.

“A lot of smiles, a lot of mud,” Karis said.

This year’s course continued the tradition of blending physical fitness with fun, challenging participants to navigate a variety of obstacles before crossing the finish line. One of the final obstacles featured a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), requiring runners to Army crawl underneath the vehicle before completing the course.

The JLTV obstacle, along with several other course features, was made possible through the support of Soldiers attending Regional Training Site-Maintenance (RTS-Maintenance) at Fort McCoy.

Eleven RTS-Maintenance Soldiers volunteered during race day, helping monitor obstacles to ensure participant safety while assisting event staff throughout the course. Earlier in the week, eight additional Soldiers from another RTS-Maintenance class volunteered to help prepare the course by setting up the slip-and-slide obstacle, installing floating lily pads, and completing final work along the trail.

Karis said the partnership with the RTS-Maintenance Soldiers played a significant role in the event’s success.

“It was tremendous,” Karis said. “It cut down on our labor costs a lot. I was able to fully staff the office for the first time in a lot of years. We had a couple of maintenance guys who were on vacation that week, so with their help getting the trail and stuff set up, we were still able to not neglect the campground and still get that stuff done.”

Without the Soldiers’ volunteer efforts, he said, organizing the event would have been considerably more difficult.

“Without them, I don’t know if that event would have been nearly as successful,” Karis said.

Since its inception more than a decade ago, the Down & Dirty Trail Run has continued to evolve while maintaining its focus on fun, fitness, and teamwork. Although obstacle designs change from year to year, participants have come to expect a challenging combination of hills, mud, water, and military-inspired activities that make the event unique among regional trail runs.

The continued popularity of the event demonstrates the value of Fort McCoy’s recreational programming and the dedication of DFMWR staff, volunteers, and soldiers who work together each year to provide a memorable experience. As the installation continues to serve as a premier training center for the Total Force, events such as the Down & Dirty Trail Run also highlight Fort McCoy’s commitment to supporting quality-of-life opportunities for military members, their Families, civilian employees, and the surrounding community.

Fort McCoy’s motto beginning in 2026 is “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.” The installation’s mission: “Fort McCoy strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”

And Fort McCoy’s vision is, “To be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.”

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online athttps://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.

Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”