Summit Line

⏵ Course guide · Desert floor to mountain, New Mexico

Cactus to Cloud Sky Race Course Guide

Cactus to Cloud is New Mexico's original sky race, a point-to-point climb from the Alamogordo desert floor at Oliver Lee State Park up into the Sacramento Mountains, finishing at Cloudcroft. The Sky Run 50K runs the full desert-to-summit profile, and the Cloud Run 32K starts higher, at Sunspot. Put on by Wanderlust Running, it is the third race in the Sacramento Mountains Ultra Series. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan for a day that swings from desert heat to mountain air. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Cactus to Cloud Sky Race quick facts

Date
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Location
Point-to-point: Oliver Lee State Park (Alamogordo) or Sunspot to Cloudcroft, NM, Sacramento Mountains
Distances
Sky Run 50K and Cloud Run 32K
Course character
Point-to-point desert-floor-to-mountain sky race; Sky Run 50K starts at Oliver Lee State Park (~4,300 ft) and climbs into the Sacramento Mountains, Cloud Run 32K starts high on the ridge at Sunspot; shuttles run to each start
Elevation gain
Not yet published by the race ("coming soon"); a large net climb by design, desert floor to Cloudcroft at ~8,676 ft
Start times
Cloud Run 32K at 8:00 AM; Sky Run 50K start time not yet published
Cutoff
6:59:59 PM for both distances
Series
Third event in the Sacramento Mountains Ultra Series, after the Cloudcroft Ultra 53K
Organizer
Wanderlust Running LLC, Las Cruces, NM

These facts come from the official UltraSignup listing and wanderlust.run. The race has not yet published a total elevation gain figure or the Sky Run 50K start time, so confirm both on the official listing as race day gets closer.

The course: from cactus to cloud, one long climb

This is a point-to-point race, not a loop, and the two distances start in genuinely different places. Both finish together at Cloudcroft, and shuttles carry runners out to each start line before the gun.

The Sky Run 50K: the full desert-to-summit climb

The Sky Run 50K starts at Oliver Lee State Park on the Alamogordo desert floor, around 4,300 feet, and climbs the entire way into the Sacramento Mountains. That is the full sky race experience: you leave the low desert behind and spend the day working uphill into cooler, thinner mountain air, finishing in the high country near Cloudcroft. Respect the early low-elevation miles for the heat they can bring, since the desert floor in October can still run warm even as the finish line sits in cool mountain country.

The Cloud Run 32K: starting where the Sky Run finishes its work

The Cloud Run 32K skips the lowest desert miles and starts instead at Sunspot, high on the ridge, so it covers the upper mountain portion of the same point-to-point route into Cloudcroft. It is still a real mountain effort at altitude, just without the full desert-floor start. If you want the sky race scenery and the high-country climbing without the longest, hottest miles, this is the shorter door into the same race.

A shared roster, a shared finish

Both distances finish at the same line in Cloudcroft, and the race leans on the same partner roster and base of operations as the Cloudcroft Ultra 53K, since Cactus to Cloud is the third event in the Sacramento Mountains Ultra Series. If you liked that race, or you are chasing the series, this one adds the true point-to-point, desert-to-summit profile the other two do not have.

Pacing strategy for a desert-to-mountain climb

A point-to-point sky race is not a course you can pace off a flat number. The elevation and the temperature both change under your feet, so effort, not pace, has to be your guide.

Pace the climb by effort, not by early splits

Nothing about a desert-floor-to-mountain profile rewards a fast start. The low miles can be genuinely hot, and the sustained climbing into the Sacramento Mountains only gets harder as the altitude builds. Hold a steady, sustainable effort from the gun using a grade-adjusted pace, and expect your minutes-per-mile to slow as the climb and the altitude both add up, which is normal here, not a sign you are falling apart.

Build a finish window you can trust against the cutoff

With a shared 6:59:59 PM cutoff and a genuinely tough climbing profile, do not guess your Cactus to Cloud finish off a flat-course PR. Use a course-aware finish prediction to set a realistic window, and translate a recent race result into an honest goal here with the race-equivalent calculator before you commit to a pace plan.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a hot start and a cool finish

The whole point of this race is the swing from desert to mountain, and your fueling plan has to swing with it.

Front-load fluid and sodium for the desert miles

The lowest miles, whether you start at Oliver Lee State Park on the Sky Run or higher up on the Cloud Run, are the ones most exposed to desert heat. Get ahead of fluid and sodium losses early rather than waiting until you feel behind, since it is much harder to recover from a hydration deficit once you are grinding uphill into thinner air.

Keep carbs steady as the altitude builds

As the course climbs into the Sacramento Mountains, thinner air can blunt your appetite the same way it does at Cloudcroft. Aim for a steady carbohydrate rate you have trained on long runs rather than a big number you are hoping to hit, and keep intake going through the climb even if your stomach starts to protest. Run your own numbers for your weight, goal time, and the desert-to-mountain swing with the free ultra fueling calculator.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a day that swings from desert heat to mountain air 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 desert-to-mountain climbing profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the sustained climbing strength this course demands, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Cactus to Cloud Sky Race FAQ

What makes Cactus to Cloud a "sky race"?

It is a true point-to-point climb from the desert floor into the mountains. The Sky Run 50K starts at Oliver Lee State Park outside Alamogordo, around 4,300 feet, and climbs from there into the Sacramento Mountains. The Cloud Run 32K starts higher up the range at Sunspot instead, so both routes converge on the same finish at Cloudcroft, near 8,676 feet. That desert-to-summit profile is where the name comes from, and it is billed by Wanderlust Running as New Mexico's original sky race.

How much climbing is in the Cactus to Cloud Sky Race?

The race has not published a total elevation gain figure yet, so I am not going to invent one. What is clear from the start and finish elevations is that this is a big net climb by design, from desert floor around Alamogordo up into the Sacramento Mountains near Cloudcroft. Check the official UltraSignup page for the current course profile and GPX as race day gets closer, since that number is expected to be published.

What is the difference between the Sky Run 50K and the Cloud Run 32K?

The Sky Run 50K starts at the bottom, Oliver Lee State Park on the Alamogordo desert floor, and climbs the full profile into the mountains. The Cloud Run 32K instead starts high on the ridge at Sunspot, so it skips the lowest desert miles and covers the upper mountain section of the same point-to-point route. Both are shuttled from the shared start/finish pavilion, so pick based on how much of that full desert-to-cloud climb you want to take on.

What are the cutoffs for Cactus to Cloud?

Both the Sky Run 50K and the Cloud Run 32K share a 6:59:59 PM cutoff. The Cloud Run 32K has a published 8:00 AM start; the Sky Run 50K start time has not been published yet. Confirm the current start times and any intermediate cutoffs on the official UltraSignup listing before race week.

How should I fuel for Cactus to Cloud?

Plan for a long day that starts hot and dry on the desert floor and finishes cool and thin-aired in the mountains, which is a real swing for your fueling and hydration. Set a steady carbohydrate and sodium plan for a multi-hour trail effort, lean harder on fluid in the early low-elevation miles, and run your own numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator rather than guessing at the transition.

Is Cactus to Cloud a good first sky race or first 50K?

It is a serious undertaking if you have not raced a big point-to-point climb before, since the whole format is built around a large net elevation change from desert to mountain. If you have some trail ultra experience and want your first true sky race, the shorter Cloud Run 32K, which starts higher and skips the lowest desert miles, is a reasonable way to sample the format before committing to the full Sky Run 50K.

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This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, elevation figures, start times, and cutoffs 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.