Summit Line

⏵ Course guide · Downeast Maine ultra

Bold Coast Bash Course Guide

Bold Coast Bash runs a figure-8 course along the cliffs of Cutler Coast Public Reserved Land, and the elevation profile lies to you: more than 5,000 feet of climbing packs into a course that never gets above 250 feet. I will walk you through the terrain and the mandatory gear list first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for cold, technical miles that add up lap over lap. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Bold Coast Bash quick facts

Date
Sunday, November 8, 2026
Location
Cutler Coast Public Reserved Land, Cutler, Maine (Downeast)
Distances
50K (three laps) and 30 mile, figure-8 course
Elevation gain
50K: more than 5,000 ft (roughly 1,700 ft per lap, despite a max elevation near 250 ft)
50K start
6:00 AM
Cutoffs
First two laps: 6.5 hr · Overall limit: 10.5 hr · Course closes 4:30 PM
Entry style
$45, capped field, registration opens in August, no day-of entry

These facts come from the official race registration page and Bold Coast Runners. Check the current year details, cutoffs, and mandatory gear list before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: cliffs, bog, and repeat

The 50K runs three laps of a figure-8, roughly 10.4 miles each, with a shared middle section you cross twice per lap. The 30 mile shares the same figure-8. Every lap returns you to the single start-finish aid area, which is the only supported aid on the course.

Ocean cliffs: exposed, scenic, and unforgiving

One arm of the figure-8 runs singletrack along the unfenced ocean cliffs of the Bold Coast, and this is the section people come for. Big views, real exposure. There is no fence between the trail and the drop, so this is not the place to run distracted or push a downhill you have not looked at. Slow down through the exposed sections and make up time where the footing lets you.

The rock along the cliffs gets slick fast, whether from morning dew, rain, or spray off the water, so trust your footing before you trust your pace.

The inland bog: mud, roots, and slippery bridging

The other arm of the figure-8 cuts inland through bog terrain, crossed on bog bridging that gets slippery with any moisture at all. Add in mud and roots and this section punishes anyone still running on tired legs from the cliffs. It is not technical the way a rock scramble is technical, it is technical the way wet wood and soft ground are technical: you have to actually watch your feet, lap after lap.

Because you repeat both arms three times on the 50K, small inefficiencies in your footwork compound. Clean form on lap one saves real time and energy by lap three.

Three laps, one aid station, cold-weather gear checks

With one start-finish aid area and no aid out on course, you are self-supported between laps. Stage your own drop bag at the start-finish and use it: dry layers, backup calories, whatever your plan calls for. Race organizers check mandatory gear before each lap, including a headlamp requirement for the third lap, so budget the time for that check into your lap splits, especially late in the day.

Early November on the Maine coast means cold, wind off the water, and a real chance of rain or ice. The mandatory list, waterproof and windproof jacket, warm mid-layer, warm gloves, head covering, foil blanket, whistle, and at least 200 calories of instant energy, is not a suggestion. Carry it from the gun.

Pacing strategy for a low-vert, high-fatigue course

The cutoffs are not flat across the day: 6.5 hours to finish two laps, then only 4 more hours to close out the third and hit the 10.5-hour overall limit. Bank your buffer early.

Respect the footing more than the pace chart

This course does not reward raw speed, it rewards someone who can hold a steady, careful cadence over technical footing for three laps without a fall or a rolled ankle. Grade-adjusted pace is less useful here than on a big-mountain course, since the climbing is all short rollers, but the same principle applies: run the effort, not a number pulled from a flat training run.

Build your lap splits around the two-lap cutoff

The 6.5-hour cutoff after two laps is the real gate. Work backward from it: if your first two laps eat most of that window, you are already in trouble for lap three, when the light may be fading and you need your headlamp checked and on. Use a vert-aware finish prediction to see whether your target pace actually clears both the two-lap checkpoint and the 10.5-hour overall limit with room to spare, not just on paper.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a cold coastal ultra

Most runners will be out somewhere between 6 and 10 hours in November coastal Maine weather. Cold does not mean you can skip fueling, it means your plan needs to survive stiff fingers and gear checks between laps.

Carbs: steady, and easy to eat with cold hands

Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour. Pick fuel you can open and eat without fine motor control, since fingers get cold and clumsy on the cliffs. Stage extra calories in your lap drop bag so you are not relying on what you started the day carrying.

Sodium and layering: plan for cold, not heat

In cool November conditions, sodium can sit toward the lower-middle of 300 to 500 mg per liter of fluid, but push it back up if the day runs warmer or you sweat heavily under layers. Just as important as fueling is managing your layers: sweating through a jacket on the climbs and then chilling on an exposed cliff section is how people get pulled from the course, not just poor fitness.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and cold coastal conditions with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.

⏵ Train for it with Summit Line

Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact Bold Coast Bash course profile, and your projected lap splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the rolling technical terrain, and rehearses your cold-weather fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Bold Coast Bash FAQ

How hard is the Bold Coast Bash?

Bold Coast Bash is harder than its elevation profile suggests. The 50K stacks more than 5,000 feet of climbing over three laps of a figure-8 course, and the max elevation on the whole route is only around 250 feet, so almost none of that vert is one long climb. It is short, punchy rollers on slippery rock, root, mud, and bog bridging, repeated for hours, with unfenced exposure along ocean cliffs. The overall cutoff is 10.5 hours with a 6.5-hour checkpoint after two laps, and finisher rates have run around 64 to 65 percent in recent years, so this is not a course to take lightly.

How much climbing is in the Bold Coast Bash?

The 50K totals more than 5,000 feet of gain across three laps of roughly 10.4 miles each, which works out to about 1,700 feet of climbing and descending per lap. None of it is dramatic. It is constant short ups and downs on uneven footing, which wears differently than one big mountain climb, and it adds up over three laps.

How should I fuel for the Bold Coast Bash?

Plan for a cool-weather, technical effort that runs anywhere from about 6 to 10 hours depending on your pace and the conditions. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and do not skip fueling just because November on the Maine coast feels cold, since the effort and the duration still burn through glycogen the same way. Sodium can run toward the lower-middle of 300 to 500 mg per liter of fluid in cool weather, but bump it up if you run hot or the day turns warm. Dial in your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator.

What are the cutoff times for the Bold Coast Bash?

Runners get 6.5 hours to complete the first two laps of the 50K, and the overall course limit is 10.5 hours, with the course closing at 4:30 PM. That means the pace you need per lap is not flat: you need real buffer built into the first two laps to protect your shot at the cutoff on the third.

What is the terrain and weather like at Bold Coast Bash?

The course runs singletrack along unfenced ocean cliffs on the Bold Coast, one of the most scenic stretches in the Northeast, mixed with an inland section of bog and slippery bog bridging. Expect wet rock, roots, mud, and footing that gets worse, not better, as the day goes on and more runners pass over it. Early November in Downeast Maine means cold temperatures, wind off the water, and a real chance of rain or ice, which is why the race requires mandatory cold-weather gear: a waterproof and windproof jacket, a warm mid-layer, warm gloves, a head covering, a foil blanket, a whistle, at least 200 calories of instant energy, and a headlamp for the third lap. Gear gets checked before each lap start.

Is the Bold Coast Bash a good first 50K?

It is a demanding one. The terrain is technical and repetitive, the weather is a real factor, and the cutoffs ask you to bank time early. If you have logged real miles on wet, rooty New England singletrack and you have a cold-weather kit dialed in, the format (three laps, one start-finish aid area, self-supported between laps) is honestly easier to manage mentally than a point-to-point, since you see your crew and your drop bag every lap. Respect the footing and the cutoffs and it is a strong, scenic goal race.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and gear requirements come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.