NIWOT'S CHALLENGE

🌀 So You Think You Want In?

If you’re feeling called to Niwot’s Challenge… follow these directions exactly.

Applications open at Midnight (MT), Monday, January 19th, and close at 11:59:59 p.m. on Wednesday, January 21st.

Only those who apply within this sacred window will be considered for priority selection.

• Applying does not guarantee entry.
• No explanations will be given for denials.
• If you’re chosen, you’ll receive an acceptance email. If not… silence is your answer.

Apply by clicking the “Register Here” link above. [Link activates 1/19/2026]

The field will be selected on Thursday, January 22nd, and applicants will be notified shortly after.

Selection Ritual

Here’s how we draw the Circle of 40:

The First Five Chiefs who apply are accepted immediately.

1. Up to 15 Returning Nitwits (those with past attempts but no finish)
2. Up to 15 Virgins (first-time Niwot’s applicants)
3. Five Wild Cards, hand-picked by The Lorax himself
4. What If the Numbers Don’t Add Up?

If fewer than 40 apply:

• We follow the order above until those groups are full
• Then we accept all remaining Chiefs
• Then we alternate: one Returning Nitwit, one Virgin, until full
• After that, it’s first come, first served

If more than 40 apply:

• We fill the field per the order above
• Then initiate a waitlist, in order of received applications

⚠️ Warnings for the Unready

We reserve the right to refuse entry to any applicant without explanation.

This is a graduate-level event. You are expected to:

• Have legitimate experience in ultrarunning, orienteering, long-distance trekking, or adventure racing
• Know how to read a paper map and use a compass
• Or be actively learning those skills before race day

This is not a place for ego.

This is not a place to prove yourself to others.

This is a place to meet yourself, with scrub oak in your loins and no one coming to save you.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Niwot’s Challenge is not led; it is guarded.

At its heart stands the Tribal Council: a circle of seasoned nitwits who’ve earned their scars “out there.” These elders oversee the spirit of the event, offering guidance on applicant selection, shaping the evolving lore, facilitating Vision Quests (solo missions or small-group trainings on parts of the course), and, when necessary, serving as the event’s disciplinary tribunal.

The Order of Becoming

Every participant enters Niwot’s known only by their Spirit Animal, a totem of the self they think they are.

Finish a full loop within 30 hours, and you’ll earn your Chief Name, a sacred rite of passage that marks your transformation.

Complete a full loop in each direction within 60 hours, a feat so daunting that only two have attempted, and you’ll step into the mythic unknown: the realm of the Deity. (None have returned… yet.)

Before You Arrive

In the weeks before the event, each accepted nitwit will receive digital dispatches containing:

• The official course map
• Crew and aid details
• Additional rules and rituals
• The sacred start time

These messages are not just logistics; they are invitations to prepare your body, your mind, and your spirit for what lies ahead. You will have time to study the terrain, gather your tools, and come to terms with the truth: you chose this.