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⏵ Course guide · Washington ultra

Capitol Peak Ultras Course Guide

The Capitol Peak Ultras run on rugged Capitol State Forest trail near Olympia, Washington, and the 50 Mile is a real Pacific Northwest grinder: over 6,700 feet of climbing on greasy single-track and gravel road, topping out on Capitol Peak, usually on a cool and wet April weekend. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan that fits the constant climbing and the mud. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Capitol Peak Ultras quick facts

Date
Saturday, April 18, 2026 (mid-April weekend)
Location
Capitol State Forest, Fall Creek Trailhead, near Olympia, WA
Distances
50 Mile and 25K (about 16 mi) for 2026
Elevation gain
50 Mile: over 6,700 ft, summiting Capitol Peak (about 2,659 ft)
Start
50 Mile: 6:00 AM · 25K: 9:00 AM (no early or late start)
Cutoff
8:00 PM overall for both (14 hr for the 50 Mile), with 50 Mile checkpoints at mile 27 by 1:30 PM and mile 42 by 5:30 PM
Qualifier
No Western States, UTMB, or Hardrock qualifier status listed by the race

These facts come from the official race site and UltraSignup. The distance lineup and course can shift year to year (a 55K has appeared in some editions, and logging in the forest can force reroutes), so check the current date, distances, cutoffs, and aid stations before you commit.

The course: where Capitol Peak is won and lost

The 50 Mile starts and finishes at the Fall Creek Trailhead and works its way through the Capitol Forest trail network, over 6,700 feet of climbing in total, with the summit of Capitol Peak (about 2,659 feet) as the high point and an out-and-back on the Porter Trail. It is not one big climb. It is constant rolling up and down on rugged single-track and grinding gravel road, and that is exactly what wears people out.

The climbs: a death-by-a-thousand-cuts profile

There is no single monster ascent here to brace for. Instead the day is a steady accumulation of forest climbs that add up to over 6,700 feet, with the pull to Capitol Peak as the centerpiece. That rolling profile is sneaky. It tempts you to run everything early because no individual climb looks that bad, and then the cumulative load catches up with you in the back half.

Hike the steep grades with purpose and keep your effort even across the whole course instead of attacking the climbs. Save the matches. On a course that just keeps going up and down all day, patient and steady almost always beats fast and reckless.

The descents: fast in theory, slick in practice

What goes up in Capitol Forest comes back down, and in mid-April those descents are often wet, rooty, and greasy. A descent that would be a gift on a dry day becomes a careful, brake-tapping affair when the leaf litter is soaked and the mud is sliding under your shoes. The runners who do well here are comfortable moving downhill on bad footing without either tensing up or wiping out.

Practice technical, slick descending before race day, and bring shoes with real lugs. Long downhills on rough trail also pound your quads, so if you trash your legs early or never trained the descents, the last stretch back toward Fall Creek turns into a slow, painful shuffle.

The aid stations and the cutoffs

The 50 Mile course has seven aid stations, and the first one is water only with just a little food, so do not roll out of the start expecting a buffet right away. Carry enough to get yourself between stops, especially early. The 25K runs with two aid stations.

The cutoffs are the part you cannot ignore. Overall you have until 8:00 PM, a full 14 hours for the 50 Mile, but you also have to clear mile 27 by 1:30 PM and mile 42 by 5:30 PM. Those intermediate gates mean you cannot limp through the first half and make it up later. Know your splits and protect your buffer at each checkpoint.

Pacing strategy for a rolling, climbing-heavy 50 miler

With over 6,700 feet of gain spread across constant rolling climbs and slick descents, Capitol Peak is about managing effort and beating the intermediate cutoffs, not chasing a flat pace chart. Run by feel, not by your road splits.

Pace by grade, not by the watch

Your flat-ground pace is meaningless on the Capitol Forest climbs and on the muddy descents. What matters is grade-adjusted effort: hold a steady output you can sustain up the grades and hike the steep pitches without guilt. The classic blow-up here is running the gentle early rollers too hard because no climb feels big, then having nothing left for the long day of ups and downs. A grade-adjusted pace turns your real fitness into honest climbing and descending targets so you do not cook the first half.

Build a vert-aware finish prediction against the cutoffs

Do not guess your Capitol Peak finish off a road 50-mile time. The 6,700-plus feet of climbing, the technical and often wet footing, and the cold all add real hours. A vert-aware finish prediction that accounts for this course gives you a realistic window and lets you work backward into the mile 27 and mile 42 cutoffs, so you actually know how much buffer you have at each gate instead of finding out the hard way.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a long, cold, wet day

Most runners are out on the Capitol Peak 50 Mile for somewhere around 8 to 14 hours in cool, often wet April weather. That makes carbohydrate, sodium, and fluid just as important as fitness, and the cold makes it harder to remember to take them in.

Carbs: steady, trained, and on a timer

For an 8 to 14 hour day, aim for around 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and only push the high end if your gut is trained for it. The cold quietly kills your appetite, so the danger here is not eating because you do not feel hungry, then bonking late. Put your fueling on a timer and keep it steady and easy to swallow. Practice your exact race-day carb rate on long wet runs so it feels normal, not like an experiment.

Sodium, fluid, and staying warm enough to eat

You will not sweat as hard in the cool air, so a moderate sodium intake, often around 300 to 600 milligrams per liter of fluid, is a reasonable starting point, more if you run salty. The bigger trap is that cold weather suppresses thirst, so you under-drink without noticing. Sip on a schedule. And keep yourself warm enough to actually fuel: gloves and a layer that handles rain matter, because shivering hands cannot open a gel and a freezing stomach shuts down. Weigh yourself before and after a long run to find your real sweat rate and build the plan around your own number.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a long cold day 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 Capitol Peak course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the rolling climbs and the cutoffs, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Capitol Peak Ultras FAQ

How hard is the Capitol Peak 50 Mile?

It is a genuinely tough Pacific Northwest mountain 50 miler, not a fast one. You climb over 6,700 feet on rugged Capitol Forest single-track and grinding gravel road, you summit Capitol Peak (about 2,659 feet) up from a low point near 500 feet, and you do it in mid-April when the forest is usually wet and the footing is greasy. The overall cutoff is 8:00 PM, which gives the 50 Mile a full 14 hours, but there are intermittent cutoffs at mile 27 and mile 42 you have to beat. Steady climbing, careful descending on slick trail, and a fueling plan that survives the cold matter more than raw speed here.

How much climbing is in the Capitol Peak 50 Mile?

The 50 Mile has over 6,700 feet of total elevation gain (some editions list it nearer 6,500), stacked into the rolling Capitol Forest trail network with the summit of Capitol Peak as the high point at about 2,659 feet. The terrain swings between roughly 500 feet at the low points and the peak, so it is constant up and down rather than one single climb. The 25K is the shorter option at about 16 miles with proportionally less gain. Confirm the current course and vert with the race before you commit, because logging in the working forest can force reroutes year to year.

How should I fuel for the Capitol Peak 50 Mile?

Plan for a long day, anywhere from about 8 to 14 hours, in cool and often wet April weather with seven aid stations on the 50 Mile course (the first is water only with a little food). Most runners do well on roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, leaning to the higher end if your gut is trained for it. Cold weather quietly suppresses thirst and appetite, so set a timer and keep eating and drinking even when you do not feel like it. Run your own carb, sodium, and fluid numbers for your weight and goal time with the free ultra fueling calculator.

What are the cutoff times for the Capitol Peak 50 Mile?

The overall cutoff is 8:00 PM for both distances, which gives the 50 Mile a full 14 hours from the 6:00 AM start. Along the way the 50 Mile has intermittent cutoffs at mile 27 by 1:30 PM and at mile 42 by 5:30 PM, so you cannot bank all your buffer for the finish. There is no early or late start. Always confirm the exact intermediate cutoffs in the current race-day details before you toe the line.

What is the terrain and weather like at Capitol Peak?

The course mixes rugged, serene Capitol Forest single-track with grinding sections of gravel road, climbing to Capitol Peak with an out-and-back on the Porter Trail. Expect roots, mud, leaf litter, and stretches that get genuinely slick after rain. Mid-April near Olympia is classic western Washington spring: cool, often damp or rainy, with the chance of fog up high and mud everywhere underfoot. Pack for wet and cold even if the forecast looks friendly, because a long day in the Pacific Northwest can turn on you.

Is the Capitol Peak 50 Mile a good first 50 miler?

It can be a strong goal race for a well-prepared first-time 50 miler, but it is not a soft introduction. The 6,700-plus feet of climbing, the wet and technical footing, and the intermittent cutoffs all reward specific prep: time on muddy single-track, practice climbing and descending long grades, and a fueling plan you have rehearsed in the cold. If you train the climbs and your gut and you respect the early cutoffs, the 14-hour limit gives most committed runners room to finish. If you want the shorter door into the forest, the 25K is the friendlier place to start.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, distances, cutoffs, and aid stations 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.