50K Course
Get ready for a course that will show you the true beauty of the diversity of the trails in Forest Park! A course that was developed by runners who have spent many hours finding the secrets of the park. There is 4,000′ of gain.
50K Interactive Map link
Turn-by-Turn
- Start with a short out and back on Leif Erikson and then climb up Wild Cherry trail up to Wildwood
- Turn left onto Wildwood for a couple of miles before taking a right and climbing up Holman Lane
- At the top of Holman, follow along 53rd drive to the Birch trail
- Head down on Birch and take a left back onto Wildwood.
- Go left up to the top of Wild Cherry and then back down Dogwood, rejoining Wildwood.
- From there you stick to Wildwood for a almost three miles to reach Firelane 1, and aid station 1.
- You will plunge down Firelane 1 to Leif Erikson Dr.
- Turn left onto Leif Erikson and enjoy a relative flat section before taking a left and winding your way up Nature Trail to reconnect with Firelane 1 (and aid station 2).
- Leaving the aid station, go west/right on Wildwood
- Runners will turn right on Maple trail, enjoying a beautiful, lesser traveled (and newly re-opened) section to eventually reconnect with Leif Erikson
- Right on Leif Erikson to the Wiregate trail where there is a water-only aid station, then back up to the Wildwood Trail
- Right on Wildwood and then left and up the Trillium trail. You are half-way there!
- Turn right at the top of Trillium and then enjoy the wilder Firelane 7/Oil Line downhill to reconnect with Wildwood.
- Turn right onto Wildwood and stay on that trial until you get to Firelane 5, where you’ll go right and head uphill to the top, and the fourth aid station.
- Then its time to cruise down Saltzman Road for over a mile before turning right on to Wildwood trail for five rolling miles to the last aid station at the intersection of Firelane 1.
- From here, it is on Wildwood with a right to go up Dogwood (save some in the tank for this uphill, it’ll surprise you) and reconnect with Wild Cherry where you’ll run down to Leif Erikson and the finish line.
Aid Stations/Drop Bags
There are four well-stocked aid stations (1, 2, 4, and 5) and you can count on GU gels, electrolyte drink, PB&J, bananas, chips, M&Ms, gummy bears, water, and other ultra-fare. The third aid station is just water. You are welcome to carry your own aid.
There are no drop bags.
Go Beyond Racing is cupless. You’ll need to bring your own cup for liquid aid at all aid stations. Read more about what it means to be cupless.
| Aid Station | Segment
Distance | Cumulative
Distance | Full Aid | Cutoff |
|---|
| AS 1 | 7.7 | 7.7 | Yes | |
| AS 2 | 2.0 | 9.7 | Yes | |
| AS 3 | 6.0 | 15.7 | Water Only | |
| AS 4 | 4.5 | 20.2 | Yes & Toilet | 1:30 pm |
| AS 5 | 6.9 | 27.1 | Yes | |
| Finish | 4.2 | 31.3 | | |
Cutoff
There is a cutoff at the 4th aid station (mile 20.2). All racers must leave this aid station by 1:30 pm. Runners who do not make this cutoff will wait with the volunteers to break down the aid station and get a ride back to the start/finish.
Crew & Spectators
There is no spectator access at the aid stations because of very limited parking. This means that crewing is also not allowed. The best place to be is at the start/finish area. You can walk to spots along the course from the start/finish however. But even then, crewing is not allowed.
