⏵ Course guide · Teton Range, west slope
Cirque Series - Grand Targhee packs 2,212 feet of vert into 7.1 miles, climbing from the resort base over Mary's Nipple to a technical summit push on Peaked Mountain. I will walk you through the boulder fields and the strict early cutoff, then give you a pacing and fueling plan for a short, hard mountain effort, with free calculators along the way.
These facts come from the official Cirque Series race page. Check the current year details, cutoffs, and aid stations before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.
Starting at 7,860 feet near the Dreamcatcher chair and Trap Bar patio, the course climbs the Teton Vista Traverse service road, then singletrack up to Mary's Ridge before continuing over two named summits and back down to the same spot you started.
After an aid station at the base of Mary's Ridge, around mile 2.2, the course turns straight up a mix of big boulders and singletrack that the race itself says may require using your hands to climb. That effort delivers you to Mary's Nipple at 9,920 feet, the high point of the course, with incredible views toward the Grand Teton opening up as you near the top.
From Mary's Nipple, the course runs a high-alpine ridge to a saddle before a short but technical ascent to the summit of Peaked Mountain at 9,830 feet, an area the race notes can hold snow even in late August. This is the steepest, most exposed section of the day, and the organizers explicitly ask runners to be confident in their footing and mindful of loosening rocks onto competitors below.
After a second aid station around mile 3.8, the descent strings together the Ain't Life Grand, Peaked Trail, Yada, Yada Yada, and Andy's singletrack trails back down to the Trap Bar plaza vendor village where the race started. It is a genuine trail descent, not a fire road bomb, so keep your legs under you rather than sprinting the whole way down.
Every competitor must reach Aid Station 1, at the base of Mary's Ridge around mile 1.9 to 2.2, within 50 minutes of the 10:00 AM start. That is an early checkpoint, so front-load your attention to pace rather than saving it for later.
A grade-adjusted pace target is especially useful for setting an honest, sustainable effort up the initial service road and singletrack toward Mary's Ridge, one that still comfortably clears the 50-minute checkpoint without burning your legs before the boulder field even starts.
A course this short and this steep, entirely above 7,800 feet, means altitude, not distance, is often the biggest variable for visiting runners. If you are not acclimated to elevation, arrive a few days early if possible, and set your effort expectations by heart rate or perceived exertion rather than a flatland pace you are used to.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Most runners finish a 7.1-mile skyrace in well under two hours, so this is a hard, short effort more than a long one, but the altitude changes the calculus.
At this distance, most runners do not need a detailed carbohydrate plan, water and perhaps a single gel before the steepest sections is usually enough. Where altitude matters most is hydration in the days leading up to race day, since dehydration compounds the effects of elevation on your effort and can turn a hard climb into a miserable one.
Late August at the resort base can feel mild, but the summits of Mary's Nipple and Peaked Mountain sit nearly 2,000 feet higher and can be genuinely cold and windy, with a real chance of snow underfoot on the steepest sections. Carry or wear a layer that covers you at altitude, not just what feels right at the start line.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan built for your weight, your goal time, and a short, high-altitude summit push 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 and this exact Mary's Nipple to Peaked Mountain climb profile, so race day is a pace you already know you can hold at altitude, not a guess.
It packs 2,212 feet of vert into just 7.1 miles, roughly 310 feet of gain per mile, on a course that climbs from the resort base to two named summits, Mary's Nipple at 9,920 feet and Peaked Mountain at 9,830 feet. The ascent up Mary's Ridge involves big boulders and singletrack that the race itself says may require using your hands, and the short technical push to Peaked Mountain adds real exposure near the top. This is a genuine skyrace, not a runnable trail race.
The published figure is 2,212 feet of vert over the full 7.1-mile course, starting at the resort base around 7,860 feet and topping out at the Peaked Mountain summit, 9,830 feet, after also passing over Mary's Nipple at 9,920 feet along the connecting ridge. That works out to a steep average grade for the whole distance, concentrated most heavily on the Mary's Ridge ascent and the final push to Peaked Mountain.
At 7.1 miles this is a short, hard effort rather than a long ultra, so most runners need only minimal fueling, water and maybe a gel, rather than a detailed per-hour plan. The bigger consideration is altitude: the course sits between about 7,860 and 9,920 feet the entire time, so hydrate well in the days before the race and expect your effort to feel harder than the distance alone suggests.
Every competitor faces a strict 50-minute cutoff to reach Aid Station 1, at the base of Mary's ascent around mile 1.9 to 2.2. This is an early checkpoint, not a finish-line cutoff, so pace the opening climb with that specific deadline in mind rather than assuming you have the whole race to find your rhythm.
The course climbs from Aspen groves and spruce forest at the base into high alpine terrain near Mary's Ridge and Peaked Mountain, with boulder fields, singletrack, and genuine exposure on the ridge connecting the two summits. Late August at this elevation is usually mild by midday but can turn cold and windy at the summits, and the course notes explicitly warn of the potential for snow on the steepest sections, so pack for real mountain conditions even in summer.
The race's own category breakdown shows most entrants (about 71%) run in the Sport division rather than Expert or Pro, so a strong but non-elite trail runner is squarely in the norm here, not an outlier. That said, the technical boulder and ridge sections near the summits reward mountain experience, so this is a better fit for a runner who has hiked or scrambled similar terrain before than a true first-time trail racer.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/cirque-series-grand-targhee">The Cirque Series - Grand Targhee course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/cirque-series-grand-targhee" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Cirque Series - Grand Targhee course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, 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.
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