Cirque Series - Jay Peak, VT

Join us for inaugral year of the Cirque Series at Jay Peak.  7.1 miles featuring 3,044' vert.

Prizes
Prizes will be distributed at the end of each race & for the overall series winners. There are three categories in which the prizes will be given out: Sport, Expert and Pro.  Prizes for each race are as follows:

Pro 
1st place - $1000 cash each race
2nd place - $250 cash each race
3rd place - $150 cash each race

Expert 
1st - $400 in Gear each race
2nd - $250 in Gear each race
3rd - $150 in Gear each race

Sport 
1st - $300 in Gear each race
2nd - $200 in Gear each race
3rd - $100 in Gear each race

Grom Award - youngest competitor will be recognized.

OG Award - wisest competitor will be recognized.

Lexie Award - the "unofficial MVP" of the race will be recognized.

Middle of the Pack Award - the person that finished exactly middle will be recognized.

Overall 2026 Season Winner + Points
The racers with the most points at the end of all races will be declared the overall 2025 winner.  The top 20 racers of each event will obtain points. The following is the per stage breakdown as a function of place:

1 - 50pt    6 - 30pt    11 - 20pt 16 - 10pt 
2 - 40pt    7 - 28pt    12 - 18pt 17 - 8pt
3 - 36pt    8 - 26pt    13 - 16pt 18 - 6pt
4 - 34pt    9 - 24pt    14 - 14pt 19 - 4pt
5 - 32pt    10 - 22pt    15 - 12pt 20 - 2pt

PRIZE MONEY 2026 OVERALL SEASON STANDINGS   **Men's & Women's
PRO
PEAK FREAK Belt Buckle - Overall 2026 season
PEAK FREAK Belt Buckle - Overall 2026 season
PEAK FREAK Belt Buckle - Overall 2026 season

EXPERT
1ST - PEAK FREAK Belt Buckle - Overall 2026 season 
2ND- PEAK FREAK Belt Buckle - Overall 2026 season 
3RD- PEAK FREAK Belt Buckle - Overall 2026 season

SPORT
1ST - PEAK FREAK Belt Buckle - Overall 2026 season 
2ND- PEAK FREAK Belt Buckle - Overall 2026 season 
3RD- PEAK FREAK Belt Buckle - Overall 2026 season

**Everyone that runs six 2026 Cirque Series races will receive a Cirque Series 2026 PEAK FREAK belt buckle.  

Registration
We are capping the race at 500 entries, we encourage to sign up right away.

Bibs / Timing Chips
Cirque Series will utilize Competitive timing to time the event with a disposable chip placed on the back of your bib. Please do not fold, crush or remove the chip from the bib. You may dispose of the chip/bib after the race is over.

Rules / Guidelines
Please help us preserve the beauty of our mountains and assist in maintaining an enjoyable, safe event for everyone involved.

Please respect private property near the trails. Do not trespass. 
No littering: Participants are encouraged to carry water and food during the event. 
Please dispose of all waste and recyclables in the proper containers. 
Please be respectful of all Forest Service officials. 
Do not impede another runner. 
Leave no trace: Pack-in pack-out.

We will provide Skratch hydration at aid station & finish line.

Lodging - Jay Peak Hotels

Contact:  Tom Hooper, hooper.thomas@gmail.com 

Julian Carr, julian@cirqueseries.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Runners will start at Tramside beside the Tram dock. Climb Interstate right away, steady grade, Tram overhead. Descend Upper Perry Merrill to Perry Merrill Ave & head to Stateside. Short drop onto Chalet Meadows past the hotel. First real climb begins near the Jet Triple & pushes toward the summit.

Climb Sweetheart to Paradise Meadows. Traverse Jet. Grind up Hotshot Derrick to the Stateside peak. Descend Montrealer to Angel’s Wiggle & onto Taxi Trail. That’s your rhythm section. At the end of Taxi, left turn uphill on Goat Run. It pitches up onto Upper River Quai under the Tram towers. Pass Bonaventure Quad. Descend Northway. Hard right onto Green Beret, steepest climb of the day. Briefly onto Vermonter, then right onto the Long Trail. Single track. No passing. Crest the ridge as you summit Jay Peak, take in the amazing 360 views.

Then it’s downhill: Sis Boom Bah to Northway into Ullr’s Dream. Partway down Ullr’s, hard right and back uphill on the Wedelmaster runout. Final sequence: descend JFK, reconnect briefly to Ullr’s Dream, then flatten out across Kokomo back to Tramside. Seven miles. Nearly 3,044'ft feet. Pace your climbs. Respect the descents. See you at the finish where you started.

SAFETY LANGUAGE
The course is steep, rocky, & grassy. Summit is technical rocky ridge, potentially wet & slippery. You will be pushing hard for the summit, putting yourself to your capacity, lungs, grit, & strength. Please note, we will have the course well marked, it is imperative, for your safety, you follow precise path of flagging. Please be mindful of other competitors, if you encounter an injured competitor please inform the nearest course Marshall, EMT, Jay Peak Patrol, or Rescue Services.  Course is well marked with orange flagging, if you suddenly find yourself on a path without immediate orange flags to indicate the route, please turn around, go back the way you came until you get back on trail with orange flags. 

**Every competitor is subject to a strict cut-off time at Jay Peak summit, of 2:00 hrs (competitor will take tram back down). We typically see 2-10 people not make cutoff

**Course subject to be adjusted as necessary

**The race course is located in Jay State Forest

**No Passing Zone on Jay Peak Summit Ridge - The Long Trail segment  (0.15 miles)

We will provide hydration for all participants at two aid stations & finish line.

Cancellation / Refund Policy:  the race organizers reserve the ability to cancel the event due to unsafe weather, any variety of circumstances, etc. Race organizers will make the best decisions when it comes to protecting the safety of all runners. This means we reserve the right to adjust, cancel, reroute, or reschedule as we see fit.

Because the bulk of our costs come before the event even occurs we will not be able to extend refunds to those who wish to cancel their registration. We will assess things appropriately & fairly, to the best of our abilities. If the race is popular enough to create a waiting list, we will also treat your entry fairly with specifics TBD.

Race registration is non transferable & cannot be rolled over to subsequent races. We will always treat our community fairly but also ask that you be sympathetic about the realities of putting on a great event. Anyone running under a bib assigned to another athlete will be banned from future Cirque Series Races, we take this very seriously because it creates a safety issue.

CATEGORIES:
*SPORT: This category is for people that don't have a ton of mountain experience, and wouldn't call themselves strong runners. But are ready to test themselves.

*EXPERT: This category is for people with a lot of mountain experience, consider themselves strong hikers with competent running skills.

*PRO: This category is for professional & sponsored athletes. 

Average Race Category Stats Across Our Other races:

Sport Registrations: 71% of runners

Expert Registrations: 22% of runners

Pro Registrations: 7% of runners

Results will be posted here 48 hours after the event.

By signing up, you have opted-in to potentially receive digital marketing from our sponsors.

julian@cirqueseries.com 

Friday, Sept 25, 2026:  3pm-6pm - early bib pick-up: TBD

Saturday, Sept 26, 2026: 8:00am-9:30am - Bib pickup available at the race venue, Tramside. Please arrive early enough to pickup your packet and get ready. We will start promptly at 10AM.