9TH ANNUAL RACE | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10TH, 2026
REGISTRATION OPENS JULY 1ST, 2026
ANNUAL RACE
(Fort Custer): 5163 Fort Custer Drive, Augusta, MI 49012
Packet Pick Up 8:00 AM | Race Start 9:30 AM
A fast, fun, and challenging course utilizing Fort Custer's red, green & yellow trails awaits you! Whether you’re looking to keep your conditioning for
Iceman or perhaps attempting your first mountain bike race, Custer’s Last Stand
is a great race for you.
The 7.5 miles of trail is 90% single track, but affords enough passing room for courteous racing. Participants will be sent off in waves w/everyone in their race class every 2 minutes.
What a great course Custer’s Last Stand offers. The Start / Finish area is by Eagle Lake Beach and its concession building.
When you start, you’ll go up the Eagle Lake hill. It’s approximately 75 meters long at a 10% grade. You turn right at the top, go behind the Hilltop Pavilion, around the asphalt in a 180 degree direction and race on the grass along the parking lot. Then you go around the Prairie View pavilion, cross Fort Custer Drive (w/the assistance of course marshals stopping traffic) before making a 180-degree right turn onto Section 11 of the green trail. This course is considered Intermediate skill level as it’s nearly all singletrack with above ground roots, a few rocks, some decent climbs and “The Stairs”.
Since Fort Custer is a bi-directional trail and our race day is Saturday, you need to climb “The Stairs” since the ‘Easy’ bypass is taped off. There are 2 creek crossings, lots of switchbacks that’ll work on your bike handling skills and you’ll descend “Erin’s climb”, a nice swooping switchback climb with you guessed it…more above ground roots.
When exiting the green trail, you’re on wide open 2 track for ~100 meters before hanging a left on the red trail and climbing “No Fear Chute”. At the top, you’ll be on wide singletrack, great for passing before hanging a right on the Yellow Trail, which is an old-school trail with some loose sand, a decent short, punchy climb and loose sandy exit onto the newest section of the green trail.
“Homestead” as it’s called, offers nice flowy singletrack w/1 decent gradual climb that descends in switchback style before exiting out of singletrack as you’re now on wide, passable singletrack for 250 meters. You’ll then make a swooping right onto Yellow, a quick left, then another quick left before exiting out and racing over Eagle Lake, taking a quick shot through the woods and then either start your 2nd or 3rd lap (depending on your race class) or finishing.
Elite/Expert racers climb Eagle Lake climb 3 times, Sport/Fat bike racers 2 times and Beginners once. All race classes finish at the bottom of the climb and veer off toward the parking lot after crossing the finish.
What you receive with your registration:
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Customized plate with chip timing by Eastside Racing
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Swag bag
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Well-marked course with signs, caution tape and marshals
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Cash Payouts and Top 3 overall medals to Elite Men & Women Open, Expert Men & Women Open race classes
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Age category medals to Expert Men, Fat Bike Men & Women, Single Speed, Tandem, Sport Men, Sport Women, Sport Men Clydesdale, Beginner Men, Beginner Women, Beginner Men Clydesdale
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Trailsmap Link to Download GPX/TPX File.
Download file Custer’s Last Stand Course File
We believe in the next generation of mountain bikers. We absolutely love seeing their smiling faces and the expression on their faces during the Kids race. If you’re wondering if your child should race the Kids Race or the Beginner race class, we can say that we’ve seen 10 yr. old children in both races! Therefore, it’s ultimately parents’ decision based on your child’s skill and endurance level. The (2) lap kids’ race is less than 1 mile and the Beginner lap is 9 miles, so hopefully that makes your decision easy.
What you receive with your registration:
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Customized plate
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Swag bag
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Well-marked course with signs, caution tape and marshals
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Every child receives a finisher medal
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Strava Link to Download GPX/TPX File
You must be logged into Strava to download files
CASH PAY OUTS
Men's and Women's ELITE Open:
1st Place: $150
2nd Place: $125
3rd Place: $100
CLYDESDALE WEIGHT
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Your height in INCHES multiplied by 3
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For example, 6 ft. tall is 72 inches and therefore if weighing 216 lbs. or more, you're a Clydesdale
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This is on your honor, there's no weigh in
START ORDER
Custer's Last Stand is a Wave Start race format. Your assigned wave will have its own start time within the main hour (i.e. 9:30 AM) start time. You will ONLY start with those who are in your race class. You'll know your competition from the word GO!
3 LAPS/22.5 MILES:
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ELITE MEN, EXPERT MEN, SINGLE SPEED, ELITE WOMEN, EXPERT WOMEN
2 LAPS/15 MILES:
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SPORT MEN, FAT BIKE MEN, FAT BIKE WOMEN, SPORT MEN CLYDESDALE, SPORT WOMEN, TANDEM
1 LAP/7.5 MILES:
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BEGINNER MEN, BEGINNER MEN CLYDESDALE, BEGINNER WOMEN
START TIMES
9:30 AM: ELITE MEN, EXPERT MEN, SINGLE SPEED, ELITE WOMEN, EXPERT WOMEN
12:00 PM: SPORT MEN, FAT BIKE MEN, FAT BIKE WOMEN, SPORT MEN CLYDESDALE, SPORT WOMEN, TANDEM
2:00 PM: BEGINNER MEN, BEGINNER MEN CLYDESDALE, BEGINNER WOMEN
PAST RACES
