The Big Hurt is open to participants age 15 and over. Big Hurt participants can race solo in Iron Division or as a relay team of 2 to 4 persons in the team Division. Top 3 male and female and top 3 teams in each team division will receive an award. Each participant who registers before August 31 will receive a Big Hurt t-shirt.
Please, check out the registration page for pricing and refund information
A portion of event proceeds are donated to the Peninsula Trails Coalition, a local non-profit organization dedicated to the construction, maintenance, and promotion of the Olympic Discovery Trail and Olympic Adventure Trail.
The Big Hurt event central, or Hub, is located in downtown Port Angeles at the Pebble Beach Park at the intersection of Oak Street and Railroad Avenue.
Packet pick up will take place on Friday, September 23, between 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. at Field Arts and Event Hall, and on Saturday, September 24, between 6:30 a.m.-7:35 a.m., at the Pebble Beach Park.
There is a 15-minute mandatory meeting at 7:30 a.m. at the race hub at Pebble Beach Park. All participants must attend, no exceptions.
All team members must be present at packet pickup with Team Roster to pick up the packets.
The race will start at 9:00 a.m. All leg starts and finishes will take place at the Hub except Leg 1—Mountain Bike—which will have a remote start and finish at the Hub.
The race starts with the Mountain Bike leg - Mountain Bikers must be dropped off at the mountain bike start area by 8:30 a.m. There will be a bicycle parking area available at the Hub when the leg is completed.
All kayaks must be dropped off and inspected by a race official between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Friday. Representatives from the athletic program at Peninsula College will help you unload your boat, and will keep boats secure and keep watch over them overnight. We encourage a small donation to the athletic program for their help!

Kayaks can be picked up between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday. You will be turned away if you show up before 3 p.m. If you have not arrived by 5 p.m. your kayak will be left on the beach to whatever it’s fate may be.
3 p.m. - 4 p.m. you can park on Oak Street and walk to the beach to carry out your boat.
4 p.m. - 5 p.m. you can drive up the same way you did on Friday night.
Road bikes will be staged at the Hub, and must be dropped off between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. Cars can park on Oak Street while unloading bikes only.
Temporary parking for equipment drop-off and pickup is available at the Hub only during the times specified above. No parking is available for kayak until after 4:00 p.m., however you can take your bike back to your car at any time.
Each Iron Division participant and each team will be assigned one timing chip that will be included in and picked up with their race packet. This chip is associated with your team bib number and cannot be switched with any other chip. This timing chip is to be treated as if it were a baton, by being passed from one team member to the next during the event, and turned into the timing crew at the end of the race, at which point you will receive overall time and times for each stage.
There will be a designated Transition Zone established at Waterfront Park, which will be shown to you at the mandatory team meeting, which is at 7:30 am on race day. At the end of each leg, you must enter this area and ring the bell. Then, if you are a Team participant, you can hand off the chip to your next team member, who must also be inside of the designated Transition Zone, and they can continue on to their leg. Iron Division ring the bell and head to your next leg.
All team members should wait outside of the Transition Zone until their number is called that their finishing team member is approaching the Transition Zone, then they can enter the Transition Zone.
In addition to having timing chips, all participants must wear a bib number that must be visible during the race. Bicyclists will attach their number plates to their bicycle handle bars - DO NOT WRAP YOUR BICYCLE PLATE NUMBER AROUND YOUR TUBE. If you do, then volunteers will not be able to see it at the check points, and you may not get credit for your leg. Kayakers will display their number plates to the front of their boats, and runners will display their numbers on the front of their shirts. Numbers and chips will be issued at packet pickup.
IMPORTANT: Only racers and volunteers are allowed inside of the equipment and transition area. In the past, we have had repeated instances of non-racers entering the area, despite being asked by volunteers to stay outside the flagged off area. For the security of your equipment and personal belongings and safety of racers and participants, please advise your friends and family to stay outside of the race area. We have an amazing spectator zone, and we absolutely encourage any and all guests to join us in the fun. The spectator area includes food, a beer garden, bleachers, soft grass and music. There is plenty of room for all, without anyone entering the transition. Thank you so much for spreading the word for us.
PLEASE NOTE: that friends or family cannot enter the race area to “help” any Iron participant. Iron participants are not allowed assistance, and will be disqualified if any of their friends and family enter the race area.
All individuals and team members must be off the course by 4:00 p.m. There will be also be time limits per leg—please check back for details to be announced.
In case of rapidly approaching bad weather that may cause problems for the kayak leg, the kayakers may receive an early start. Instructions on what to do in this case will be included in your race packet.
Bicycle legs will take place on roads and trails that are open to public traffic. Other than in the downtown area, where traffic control personnel will be in place, all riders must follow the regular rules of the road. All stop signs and signals must be abided by and all racers will use hand signals when turning. At the downtown areas with traffic control, racers must follow the instructions of the law enforcement officials that are on duty. The run leg will take place on the Olympic Discovery Trail, which will remain open to public use during the event. Racers must yield to public trail users.
MP3, iPods or similar music/audio systems are NOT allowed to be used by the racers while competing. Racers and their teams will be disqualified for using these devices.
The Big Hurt can only happen with the support of our sponsors, volunteers, and local officials. Please show the greatest respect for any of the volunteers or workers along the course. If any participant disregards the instructions of any volunteers or law enforcement officials, they may be disqualified.
Common sense stuff, we know—thank you for enduring our reminder!
You must register by August 31, to get a t-shirt. T-shirt sizes can be changed until this date by emailing contact@peninsulaadventuresports.com. No changes to t-shirt sizes can be made after September 12, and you cannot exchange sizes at the race. Shirt artwork done by Subalpine Tees
Participants and spectators must use public parking. There is limited parking in downtown Port Angeles. Street parking is limited to two hours, and public parking lots are typically limited to three hours. All day parking is available on Second and Third Streets, where they intersect with Laurel Street, and downtown can be accessed by a stairway from there. Another great all-day place to park is the County Courthouse parking lot, at Fourth Street and Peabody—it is just a short walk down to the Big Hurt Hub from there. There are also Pay lots downtown which have all-day parking for $8-10.
Only customers of the Red Lion hotel are allowed to park at the Red Lion.
We request that local teams try to arrange to be dropped off or carpool as much as possible in order to keep as much parking available downtown as possible for non-event visitors.
Top 3 male and female and top 3 teams in each team division will receive an award.
Awards will be handed out at 3:00pm at Big Hurt Hub.
Booking Link
Or phone direct at 360-452-2993 and use booking code HURT2023 to receive the same discounted pricing.
Rate good until September 8, 2023.