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Grizzly 50 Miler

  • 50 Miles of Mountainous Pain

  • 11,000+ ft. Vertical Ft. Elevation Gain 

  • 11,000+ ft. Vertical Ft. Elevation Loss

  • (21,000+ Vertical Ft. Change)

  • Start time 2:00 am on Saturday

  • The final cut-off is 16 hours (6:00 pm on Saturday) 

*Prerequisites:  Possessing a healthy appetite for beauty and pain... No "race" prerequisites but this is NOT your grandma's 50-miler... Be prepared for a TOUGH race that many have described as the most difficult 50-miler they have ever done, but their favorite!

 

  • Start & Finish at Big Elk Creek YMCA camp located here, the course covers 1 GIANT, 50-mile figure-eight

    • 97% Single Track (zero asphalt, only a few miles of dirt road)

  • Cut-offs: There are 3:

    • ​N. Indian Cr., the final time​, leaving by 11:00 am Saturday morning

    • Dry Canyon (Before going up to Cabin Creek) leaving by 3:00 Pm Saturday afternoon

    • Big Elk Creek finish, 6:00 pm Saturday evening

    • Dry Canyon is a very hard cutoff. If you do not LEAVE the aid station by 3pm you will be required to head straight to the Finish. You will not be allowed to do the out and back up to Cabin Creek and will be a DNF. Medical professionals will be at Dry Canyon and will assist you the best they can. 

  • Creek Crossings, there are multiple ones, depending on snowmelt, but none of them are over thigh-deep with the deepest being Big Elk Cr. and a rope is secured during high water years

    • You will have wet feet, you will NEED merino wool socks and shoes that drain well

    • We discourage the use of waterproof shoes as they won't breathe well in the July heat​

  • Drop Bag and Crew/Spectator Access at miles 9 and 30, both at  N. Indian Cr. located here

  • Aid Stations located at miles 9, 14, 23, 30, 34, 42, 47 for a total of 7 fully-stocked aid station stops

    • Medical personnel will be staffed at most of these locations and have In-Reach GPS units to text back to the medical director​

    • Liquid IV's will not be available

  • Filtering Water: We do not recommend drinking from any of the streams without using a water filter. There are multiple points to filter water if needed, except for 2 major stretches: 

    • Quaker Flat/Blowout Canyon has lots of climbing, exposure, and the only possibility of water access​ being along Spring Run (closer to N. Indian Cr.)

    • Dry Canyon is a long dry stretch after leaving Garden Gnome aid station late in the race, so stock up well​

      • A couple of miles up ​Garden Canyon there is a possibility of water access before the canyon turns to the west, this a good place to filter water and top yourself off before your last grueling climb late in the race

  • NO PACERS allowed in the Grizzly 50

  • Pricing: $175 by Jan. 31 - $195 by Apr. 30 - $220 until registration closes June 30

(Select the Schedule & Policies button below to see critical information)

50milemap

50 Mile Maps

*Exporting the GPX file for the course requires opening the map in CalTopo (upper right section of the maps). Once there go to the menu at the top of the page. Select "Export" and you can download the GPX file there. You can then also import the GPX file into your own CalTopo map and adjust it as you need/want.

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