The Quad Rock 25 and 50 Mile Trail Races return to Bellvue, Colorado, on Saturday 9 May with a sold-out field and the same brutal accumulation of climb that has made it one of the most respected first-half-of-the-year tests on the Front Range. Race director Pete Stevenson and the Gnar Runners crew have set the 50-mile start at 5:30 am from the Soderberg trailhead, with a 14-hour cut-off and aid stations at Towers, Towers Junction, Arthurs Rock, Horsetooth, Spring Creek and the start/finish. The 25-mile field rolls off behind it at 6:30 am and runs the same course to the halfway turn, with an 8-hour cut-off and the same aid station coverage. Fort Collins serves as race weekend HQ.
The course is the reason the race exists. The 50-mile route ascends more than 11,000 feet across two laps that string together Lory State Park, Horsetooth Mountain Park and the Blue Sky Trail through Coyote Ridge, with 85% of the underfoot surface premium singletrack and the rest a mix of doubletrack and brief road link sections. The Towers climb on each lap is the day's defining ascent: a long pull up to a saddle that sits a few hundred feet shy of 7,300 feet, with no shade and a relentless grade. Local lore says the Towers climb is what eats the field's pacing plan; runners who can hold their second-half average inside ten minutes of the first lap are usually the ones standing on the podium.
This year's elite field is led on the men's side by Jared Hazen, the Hoka-sponsored Coloradan who has used Quad Rock as a tune-up for Western States in past years and is back for the 2026 edition with the same plan. Behind him, Cody Reed and Tim Tollefson have made late entries, and Anthony Costales returns to defend the second of his back-to-back wins. The women's race is headlined by Annie Hughes, last year's runner-up, with Riley Brady and Anna Kacius among the chasers. The depth this year is the strongest in the race's history, with seventeen runners listed inside three hours of the men's course record and twelve inside three hours of the women's.
The forecast for the Saturday morning start is cool and dry, with a slight temperature inversion expected through the canyons before the day warms into the high teens by the second-lap turnaround. Snowpack on the upper Towers section has held later than usual into spring, and Gnar Runners' course team has flagged the upper switchbacks for likely patches of compacted snow, particularly on the descents back into Lory. Pole use is permitted on both distances and is being recommended on the second lap of the 50-mile for any runner not confident on technical descents on tired legs. The full course is open to crew at the start/finish only.
The Bellvue weekend slots into a busy stretch of the spring trail calendar between the American River 50 in early April, the Big Alta 100K in March and the Western States Memorial Day training camp at the end of the month. For the runners using Quad Rock as Western States preparation, the 50-mile here is more or less the perfect distance and elevation: a real mid-distance test on terrain that mirrors the climb-heavy front half of the canyons section, with the field's depth pushing pace honest. Race results will post live to UltraLive and to the Gnar Runners site through the day, and full coverage including a podium photo set will follow on Sunday.