The Mogollon Monster runs its 15th edition this weekend, about 90 minutes northeast of Phoenix outside the small town of Pine, Arizona. The Mogollon Rim rises roughly 2,000 vertical feet out of the high desert and runs 200 miles across the state forming the edge of the Colorado Plateau. The 100 mile course climbs it in six separate places over the course of the race making for one of the tougher races in the state. The event has really grown up in the past few years, now an annual sell out and a rare dual Western States 100 & Hardrock 100 qualifier.
What is so fascinating about the rim and this event is how it is ever changing. This is some wild country and a year has not gone by without something affecting the course, the trail or the experience which always seems to be one of a kind. The improvements along the Highline Trail themselves has made some of the below the rim footing easier, while also lengthening those sections.
Join race director & Mogollon Monster co-founder Noah Dougherty walking you through everything you need for race weekend in the brief below. Everything here is also in the runner guide and on the race page, along with the CalTopo files.
Prefer to listen on the drive up? It’s also an episode of Aravaipa Race Briefings.
Also on Apple Podcasts.
- Live results, splits through race weekend, plus every past edition back to 2021
- Runner guide (PDF), the full document this is drawn from
- Crew guide (PDF), crew zones, road conditions and parking rules
- Race page, course maps and CalTopo files
- All-time results and course records, every edition since 2012
Schedule of events
Friday, September 11
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. | Packet pickup and registration. Bibs, race bag, and any course questions answered | Old County Inn, Pine |
The course runs right behind the Old County Inn, and they do wood-fired pizza and local beer if you want dinner while you’re there.
Saturday, September 12 – 100 Mile
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 4:25 and 4:40 a.m. | Shuttles depart, two buses, about a 45 minute ride | Old Pine parking area |
| 5:00 a.m. | Drop bag drop-off opens (all bags due by 6:10 a.m.) | Trailhead 260 |
| 5:15 a.m. | Check-in and late registration | Trailhead 260 |
| 5:20 to 5:35 a.m. | Buses arrive at the start | Trailhead 260 |
| 5:50 a.m. | Mandatory runner briefing, about five minutes | Trailhead 260 |
| 5:55 a.m. | National Anthem | Trailhead 260 |
| 6:00 a.m. | 100 Mile start | Trailhead 260 |
You must check in Saturday morning even if you already picked up your packet Friday, so the race knows you started and can track you into the first aid station.
Sunday, September 13 – 42K
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 6:15 to 6:50 a.m. | Shuttle runs continuously to the start. Or walk it, 0.65 miles | Old Pine parking area |
| 7:00 a.m. sharp | 42K start | Pine Trailhead |
| Just after 7:00 a.m. | Spectator bus back to the parking area | Pine Trailhead |
| 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. | Ten Dollar Wedding Bluegrass Band at the finish | Pine Community Center |
| 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. | Golden Hour, the last 100 Mile finishers | Pine Community Center |
| 8:00 p.m. | Course closes, 38 hour cutoff | Finish |
There is no parking at the Pine Trailhead for either day. Everything parks at the Old Pine parking area, one mile south, where camping is allowed all weekend.
42K (Sunday)
From the Pine Trailhead you run 2.4 miles on the Highline to Donahue, then share the final 24 miles with the 100 milers: up Donahue, down to West Webber, up Turkey Springs, around to Pine Canyon. The shuttle from the Old Pine parking area is a Pine-Strawberry School District bus, and spectators are welcome on it. If you’d rather warm up, the connector trail is well under a mile.
No pacers and no crews for the 42K.
Pine Canyon Aid to the Pine Trailhead is almost 11 miles and it gets hot. You drop almost 1,800 feet in the first 2 miles on switchbacks, and then, as the guide puts it, you’ll continue to climb now and again the rest of the way. Fill up at Pine Canyon. You are not out of the woods yet.
The finish is at the Pine Community Center, with the Ten Dollar Wedding Bluegrass Band playing noon to 4:00 p.m. An informal truck shuttle runs from the finish back to your car.
100 Mile (Saturday)
Bring your drop bags with you on the bus, or drop them at the start line yourself. Shuttle departures are punctual, so don’t be the person jogging across the lot at 4:41. Expect bathroom lines at the start and an immediate bottleneck out of the gate, so be patient.
Drop-offs at the start are true drop-offs. No parking, no lingering.
Crew access
Five crew stops, in order:
- Black Mesa crew zone, mile 21.7, no aid station
- Buck Springs, mile 43.1
- General Springs crew zone, mile 57, no aid station
- Dickerson Flat crew zone, mile 84.3, no aid station
- Pine Trailhead, mile 99.8, drop-off only
There is no crewing or spectating at any aid station below the Rim, and no crews at Horton Aid itself. Your first crew access is the Black Mesa crew zone, about 3 miles of Rim Road between the Horton Creek and Babe Haught trails, just past Horton.
One crew vehicle per runner at the remote aid stations. Your runner gets a crew pass with their race packet: leave it on the dash. Parking is tight and the roads have to stay clear for emergency vehicles at all times, so if you cannot park without narrowing the road, keep going and take the next spot that opens.
There is no cell service on top of the Rim, and no facilities once you leave Pine or Payson. Plan your arrival times before you drive up, and take everything you need for a full day and night.
The crew zones without aid stations, Black Mesa, General Springs and Dickerson Flat, have no timing. If you drop at one of them, go back to the last aid station or text the race director number in the runner guide so we know you are off course and safe.
Driving directions, pin drops and parking notes for every one of these stops are in the crew guide.
Pacers
Pacers can join you from Buck Springs, mile 43. One at a time, no muling, and they arrange their own transport. Bibs and waivers are handled at the aid station or at packet pickup.
New for 2026: Geronimo Aid, mile 71, is an additional pacer pickup and drop-off point. It sits between General Springs (mile 57) and Dickerson Flat (mile 84.3), so nobody has to cover that whole stretch alone through the night, and it’s about 20 to 25 minutes off AZ-87. It is not a crew aid station, there’s nowhere to leave a vehicle, so arrange a drop-off or pickup.
Pacers can also start or finish at General Springs Crew Zone, Dickerson Flat Crew Zone, and the Pine Trailhead.
If nobody is at General Springs or Dickerson Flat to hand you a bib when you start pacing, that is fine. Just tell the next aid station and they will sort you out.
Most pacers pick up at night. Headlamp, spare batteries and warm layers, and know the profile of the section you are taking: the point of a pacer is one fewer person in trouble out there, not one more.
Drop bags
Drop bags are allowed at Fish Hatchery (mile 27), Buck Springs (mile 43.1), Geronimo (mile 71) and the finish. Keep them small, and mark each one with your bib number, your name and the aid station. You get a MOG drop bag when you pick up your 100 mile bib.
Fish Hatchery is your first drop bag, and your next one is not until Buck Springs at mile 43. Pick up your headlamp and warm layer at Fish Hatchery, not later: the guide is explicit that most runners will need them well before they see another bag.
Bags go to the start line from 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, and it is on you to put each one in the right aid station’s pile. They come back to the finish once each aid station closes down, so do not chase us for them on Saturday afternoon. Anything unclaimed goes to the Phoenix warehouse and is held for 30 days.
On course
Fish Hatchery to Myrtle is now just over 12 miles on the renovated Highline. It is smoother and more runnable, but it is long and hot. Horton Spring is a natural spring, and you can see the source running out of the rocky mountainside. Worth the minute it costs you, because a steep climb starts immediately after.
Cutoffs are based on an overall 22:30 per mile pace, averaged across the whole course, so it varies section to section. They are posted at major checkpoints, strictly enforced by aid station captains, and they apply to leaving an aid station, not arriving at one.
Aid stations – 100 Mile
| Aid station | Mile | Segment | Cutoff | Crew, bags, pacers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start, Trailhead 260 | 0 | 6:00 a.m. start | Check in even if you picked up your packet Friday | ||
| See Canyon | 11.1 | 11.1 mi, ~1,100 ft | |||
| Horton Trailhead | 21.7 | 10.6 mi, ~3,750 ft | 2:15 p.m. | No crews at the aid itself, and no parking | |
| Black Mesa crew zone | 21.7 | no aid | Crew | About 3 mi of Rim Road between the Horton Creek and Babe Haught trails, just past Horton. No timing | |
| Fish Hatchery | 27.1 | 5.4 mi, ~125 ft | 4:00 p.m. | Drop bag | Your first drop bag. Take your headlamp and warm layer here, not later |
| Myrtle Trail | 39.6 | 12.5 mi, ~1,950 ft | Long, hot and exposed getting here | ||
| Buck Springs | 43.1 | 3.5 mi, ~135 ft | 10:00 p.m. | Crew, drop bag, pacer | Pacers may join from here |
| Pinchot Cabin | 50.7 | 7.6 mi, ~990 ft | 1:00 a.m. | ||
| General Springs crew zone | 57 | 6.3 mi, ~960 ft | Crew, pacer | No aid and no timing | |
| Washington Park | 59.4 | 2.4 mi, ~15 ft | 4:15 a.m. | ||
| Geronimo | 71 | 11.6 mi, ~1,400 ft | 8:30 a.m. | Drop bag, pacer | New pacer point for 2026. No crewing and nowhere to park, so drop-off or pickup only |
| Donahue | 80.5 | 9.5 mi, ~2,200 ft | 12:15 p.m. | ||
| Dickerson Flat crew zone | 84.3 | 3.8 mi, ~1,800 ft | Crew, pacer | No aid and no timing | |
| Pine Canyon | 89.2 | 4.9 mi, ~140 ft | 3:30 p.m. | Fill up. It is almost 11 miles to the trailhead and it gets hot | |
| Pine Trailhead | 99.8 | 10.6 mi, ~900 ft | Crew (drop-off only), pacer | Water only table. No extended parking, so drop off and move on | |
| Finish, Town Ramada | 101.3 | 1.5 mi, ~45 ft | 8:00 p.m. | Drop bag | 38 hour cutoff |
Aid stations and medical
Skratch Labs is the hydration sponsor. Aid stations typically carry hot food, vegetarian and vegan options, pickles, salt caps, candied ginger, sunscreen, tampons and basic first aid, though nothing is guaranteed. Gels are not guaranteed either, so bring your own if you rely on them. There are Skratch energy chews on course. Ask if you do not see something.
MedStar Solutions runs 24-hour medical on 480-269-4126, printed on every 100 mile bib and answered by a real person. Race Director Noah Dougherty is on 480-518-6731. When you report a problem, give a bib number and a location, not just “a guy on a rock.”
If you drop, you must report it to an aid station so officials know you’re off course, or text the race director. Dropping at a crew zone with no aid station and no timing (Black Mesa, General Springs, Dickerson Flat) means going back to the last aid station or making that call. And if you quit on top of the Rim, expect it to take an hour to retrieve you and at least that long again to get back to the finish, 2 to 3 hours in total.
Course markings (all distances)
| Marking | Means |
|---|---|
| Orange and black polka dot ribbon | You are going the right way |
| Orange pin flags stamped “Aravaipa Running” | Ours |
| Blue and white checker ribbon | Wrong way, turn around |
Carry the CalTopo file on your watch or phone. It works in airplane mode.
Weather
A real monsoon season means green views, tall grass, and a real chance of afternoon storms. Carry a rain shell and an emergency blanket. Lightning is a genuine risk on the exposed rim: spread out, and duck and cover if you have to. It could also just be hot.
Ham radio operators cover the aid stations, because there is almost no cell service on the rim. Check in with the ham team. They stay on post until every runner clears the next aid station.
Trail work
Turkey Springs got its first work day in August. Myrtle, Horton and Promontory have been cleared. Donations to the Highline Initiative through the National Forest Foundation are part of why the Highline runs the way it does now. Huge thanks to Margaret Dees and the Arizona Trail Association crews.
Trail work days on the Mogollon Rim ahead of the 2026 race. Tap any photo to open the gallery.
Give the buckle a home
Finishing this thing earns you a buckle. The 2026 buckle holder is handcrafted and personalized, and preorders close Sunday, September 27, shipping the week of October 20.
2026 Mogollon Monster 100 Buckle Holder
$75
Every mile of the Mogollon Monster 100 was earned. Now give your hard won buckle the home it deserves. Handcrafted and personalized specifically to celebrate your incredible achievement and the rugged trails you conquered. Buckle Holder Sale: Ends Sunday, September 27. Buckle Holder Ship Date: Week of October 20.
Order nowCome prepared. Come ready to suffer, then celebrate. Year 15. See you at the start line.