Running in Wyoming

Laramie, home to the University of Wyoming, sits at over 7,200 feet in the state's southeast and gives the university's cross country and track programs a natural high-altitude training base, one that has historically attracted distance runners specifically for the thin air. The city's location on the high plains means near-constant wind, adding another layer of difficulty that Laramie-trained runners often turn into a competitive advantage at lower, calmer elevations.

Sheridan, in north-central Wyoming at the base of the Bighorn Mountains, offers a running character built around access to genuine mountain trails without Jackson's tourist crowds or price tag. The Bighorn Trail Runs, held each June in the mountains above town, have grown into one of the most respected ultra events in the region, drawing competitive trail runners from across the country to a town of under 20,000 people.

Both towns share a common Wyoming trait, small populations supporting outsized running cultures relative to their size, driven in Laramie's case by the university and in Sheridan's by proximity to serious mountain terrain, a pattern that repeats across the state's sparse population centers more than in almost any other state in this guide.

Wyoming's wind is not a minor inconvenience but a defining feature of running in the state, with sustained gusts common across the open plains and high desert year-round, strong enough that some Wyoming runners plan routes specifically around windbreaks or choose direction based on forecasted gusts rather than distance or terrain preference alone.

The state's spring mud season, when snowmelt saturates trails and dirt roads across the mountains and high plains, can make many routes impassable well into May at higher elevations, compressing Wyoming's reliable trail running season into a shorter window than even its harsh winters might suggest. Runners planning early season mountain trail races need to watch snowpack and trail condition reports closely rather than assuming a calendar date guarantees clear trails.

Because Wyoming combines high altitude, persistent wind, and a short mud-season-bound training window, runners who build fitness successfully in the state tend to be remarkably well prepared for tough conditions elsewhere, a byproduct of training through some of the most physically demanding weather patterns of any state covered in this guide.