Every third Saturday in March, up to 600 runners from across the world gather in Bellingham to race the Chuckanut 50k ultramarathon.
The Chuckanut 50k has a lollipop-shaped course that takes runners 31.07 miles along the Interurban Trail and up onto Chuckanut Mountain Ridge, starting and finishing in Fairhaven Park.
The first and last 10 kilometer-long sections take place on the Interurban Trail and are relatively flat and smooth, compared to the middle 18 kilometers where runners traverse the Chuckanut Mountain Ridge terrain, climbing a total 5,000 feet in elevation.
Krissy Moehl has been the race director since 2003. To her, the Chuckanut 50k represents her time on the planet and experiences she’s shared. Ahead of the 2026 installment of the race, she sat down with The Front for a conversation about her role and what the Chuckanut 50k is all about. Her answers have been trimmed for clarity and brevity.
Q: How would you explain the experience of running the Chuckanut 50k?
Moehl: The one word answer is community. The ultra running and trail running community on an international level holds a lot of wonderful values, and I think Chuckanut captures those. The course, the services that we provide as a race directing community and then the way the volunteers come around it create this community driven experience that I think makes it stand out in the racing world.
It's not just about who's on the podium, we actually focus more on the entire field. We celebrate that final hour of people coming in. And as long as people leave the last aid station by 3 o'clock, we allow them to haul their butts in on the Interurban, even if it means finishing after the 4 p.m. cut off, hopefully providing an inclusive space where everybody feels celebrated.
Q: How did you become involved in the Chuckanut 50k? What led up to becoming race director?
Moehl: It was my first ultra (marathon) in the year 2000. Then I ran it again in 2002; I was injured in 2001. I guess 2002 was the founding race director's 10th year, and they decided they were done, and nobody was taking it over. I was 24 years old and I didn't want it to die. So I took it over.
Q: What does your job look like behind the scenes? What goes into making the race happen every year?
Moehl: More and more every year. We get it figured out, and we add more. I spent over two decades racing competitively around the world, so I would have these experiences and then bring them back to hopefully enhance (the race). I don't know that I ever changed (anything). I always wanted to hang on to that community vibe, but hopefully enhance the experience at the Chuckanut 50k.
Q: You said you’ve been race director for half of your life, so what motivates you to keep doing it again year after year?
Moehl: Going to the park at 4:30, 5 o'clock in the morning on that third Saturday of March, and there's nothing or anyone there. It's quiet. It's dark. I've only got my headlamp and it's empty, and then having this reality check on what's to come. There's a lot of energy already built.
When the first runners are starting to trickle in, at some point, late morning, I have this moment of, just the difference, the contrast that we've been able to create by bringing all these people, all these sponsors, all these partners, fans, dogs, whoever's running around.
Then at 6:30 at night after we've been working our tails off and we leave the park, hopefully better than we found it, or at least quiet and dark and empty again.
All of that energy can happen in that one (day). It's such a short 13 hours. We've been doing the work for it since September and it all comes together at once.
Q: You said you start planning the race in September. What happens between that time and March to make the race happen?
Moehl: We start meeting once or twice a month to talk through what each of us has on our plates. I reach out for sponsorship connections and make sure that we've got everybody aligned. I start permits at that point. We reach out to partners and make sure all those things are in place.
There's kind of like a little bit of a lull once that's all established and when registration happens (in) early December.
From then, we're on it weekly and then at this point we're definitely on it daily in terms of all the tasks that have to be managed to create that 13-hour window.
Q: If you had to describe the checknet 50K in three words, which three would you choose?
Moehl: Community, longevity and joy.
Q: What would you say has been the most rewarding part of your job?
Moehl: Those faces when people realize they can do more than they thought.
I love people that set a goal for themselves. I love creating the space that allows people to try something that they didn't think was possible. There's some really burned in memories in my mind of people that have crossed the finish line just in awe of what they've done.
Q:What's the hardest part of being the race director?
Moehl: Delegation. I like doing things the way I want to do them.
(But) if you just give direction on the end result, there are so many different ways to get there. Delegation requires letting go of the how and just requiring that this is the end result. How they get there, that needs to be let go and (you need to) let people have ownership on how that happens.
Q: What's the craziest or most unexpected thing that has happened over your years as the director?
Moehl: There's so much stuff going on in the background. If a runner doesn't know that, they still get to have their great run experience without knowing how much extra effort it took as director.
One year I flooded my parents' basement. Another year I blew up my dad's truck delivering water. One year I got a divorce. There's all these things like going (on) alongside this event planning production piece.
Q: What advice would you give to first time ultramarathon and/or Chuckanut 50k runners?
Moehl: Making decisions to make sure you keep enjoying it. Sometimes we get so caught up in a certain time that we want to finish or a place. Those can come later. When you're at a first time, like figure out what it takes to finish it and hopefully finish it enjoyably.
Erica Stavnem (she/her) is a sports and recreation reporter for The Front. She is a second-year Western student and is majoring in visual journalism. In addition, she is a member of Western’s sailing team. She enjoys reading, camping and travel. You can reach her at ericastavnem.thefront@gmail.com.
