Ghost Train Waitlists

Race Director Rob gets a LOT of questions about the 30-Hour Ultramarathon Waitlist.  Where is it, how can I find it, what is a "wait list", where am I on it, who is ahead of me, who am I ahead of, how does it work, what are my chances of getting in, do you take bribes, if I move from another Ghost Train race will I bypass the waitlist, etc, etc, etc. 

In order to save my fingers a little bit from typing responses whenever someone asks these questions, I thought I'd put you to work.  You get to read this web page with the information on it.  I had most of this information in the Ghost Train Handbook, but I get it.  People don't want to download a handbook and read it, even if I point to all the information you wanted which was on page 7.  I'll probably remove all the waitlist material from the Handbook at some point and just point it here, but if you have a Handbook version that has the waitlist info, keep it.  I'll sign it, and it will be worth just as much as the paper you printed it on after that.  🙃

Anyhow.  This is me typing a bit extra just because.  Let's get to the information you actually care about.

What is a "wait list"?
- A waitlist (AKA wait list) in this particular example is a list of folks who would like to run a race but the race filled up before they were able to register.  Because there was no room for them, they go into an overflow category to wait and hope that enough people may have schedule conflicts, become injured, fail to train, or for some other reason decide not to run the race, drop out, and create a spot for someone else to join.

What races have a waitlist?
All races EXCEPT the 30-Hour 7-Person Relay have a waitlist that will activate if a race sells out.

Will the waitlists clear?  E.g. will everyone be invited in off the waitlist?
The 30-Hour Ultramarathon waitlist did not clear for the first time in 2025, and we don't expect it to clear in 2026 or going forward either.

The Haunted Night 30-Mile Race waitlist cleared in 2025 but it may not clear in 2026.

Where can I find the waitlist?  /  Where am I on the waitlist?  /  Who is ahead of me or behind me on the waitlist?
The waitlist is on the registration site, Ultrasignup, where you register.  

1. Simply navigate to the Ghost Train Trail Races registration page

2. Click on the Waitlist link under the big picture at the top

3. CLICK ON THE RACE YOU'D LIKE TO SEE at the top of the page under the big picture.  (I put that in capital letters because a lot of people miss that step.

Here are the shortcuts if you'd like them.  This link is to the 30-Hour Ultramarathon waitlist, this link is to the Haunted Night 30-Mile waitlist, and (if needed) this link is to the 15-Mile Race waitlist.

Once you are on the page you should be able to find yourself and you'll see where you are on the list.

How does the waitlist work?

• The earlier you get on the waitlist, the more likely you are to be invited into the race.

• The 30-Hour Ultramarathon waitlist will be capped at 175 people.  Once that number is reached, the waitlist will close and no more people will be allowed onto the waitlist.  (Why the 175 person cap?  Because we don’t believe the waitlist will clear at that length and don’t believe we should continue to add participants after that point.)

• If you go on the waitlist, you are not charged until you are invited and accept the invitation into the race.

• If and when participants drop from the race, the RD will invitde people in from the waitlist.

• The waitlist is strictly processed on a first in-first out basis. (The RD is VERY strict about this. Do NOT ask for favors or special treatment because you won’t get any.)

• When someone is invited from the waitlist, the email address they have on file with Ultrasignup will be emailed. That participant is responsible for checking their email and responding within the time period allotted to respond. After that time the invitation will be rescinded and the next person will be invited in from the waitlist.

○ Response times are:
○ Until Labor Day - 4 days
○ After Labor Day - 2 days

• If you take too long to respond and your invitation is rescinded you may email the RD to see what can be done. (We’d recommend emailing before more drastic measures are taken. There is no need for sacrifices or appealing to your preferred deity.)

• The last day to join the race from the waitlists: Friday October 2nd.

What are my chances of getting in?
Haunted Night 30-Mile Race - very good, especially the earlier you get on the waitlist.  However, we have a cap of 160 people in 2026 and I expect some people who wait and sign up from late August to the end of September may not get in.

30-Hour Ultramarathon - I'll break it down by numbers.  This breakdown is ONLY the opinion of the Race Director, and DOES NOT REFLECT any sort of statistical certainty, prediction, and most definitely NOT a guarantee.  This is BEST GUESS.  Don't come back to me all upset in early October because you didn't get in and you read this and thought you would.  I'm sure there is a big legal disclaimer I could add here also, but you get the idea.

Postitions on the Waitlist

1 - 100: Almost certain to get in.  Train like you'll get invited into the race, because you probably will.
101 - 125: Darn likely to be invited, but you may have to wait until September to know for sure.

126 - 150:   It could happen.  126 is fairly likely, but 150 is pushing it.  You may not hear that you're in until late September.

151 - 175: I'm sorry, but you are in a very unlikely category.  You may get an invite, but it depends on many factors and it would probably be a last minute invite if you do get invited.

What are the factors that move the waitlist?

There are a lot of factors.  Honestly, I'll forget some but here are some factors off the top of my head:

• The number of people who sustain an injury and can't train or complete the race.

• Some number of people who have a conflict - e.g. family wedding, work trip, birthday or other family event, etc.

• The number of people who don't end up doing the training they'd hoped to.

• Another factor is the number of people who don't accept their invitation into the race, or that drop from the waitlist.  (This one is a factor most people forget about)

• How many people can't take the suspense and sign up for a different race.