⏵ Course guide · Central Arizona desert race
Dam Good Run sends its field across the actual New Waddell Dam at Lake Pleasant Regional Park, then out onto shoreline single-track past Saguaro cacti and wild burros, with the 40K adding a raft or swim crossing at Pipeline Cove. This is a race built around its landmarks as much as its climbing. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for exposed desert terrain, with free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Aravaipa race page. Check the current date, distances, cutoffs, and aid in the race-day details before you commit. Race logistics change year to year, and distances may shift slightly due to permitting.
Every distance except the 2 Mile crosses the New Waddell Dam within the first 5K, then the routes diverge onto Lake Pleasant shoreline trail with varying distance and difficulty. The 40K adds an out-and-back to Yavapai Point and two crossings of Pipeline Cove.
Running across an actual dam is not something most trail races offer, and Dam Good Run leans into it. All runners must be off the dam by 9:00 AM, a hard rule Aravaipa enforces, so treat the opening miles as a fixed checkpoint rather than something to ease into slowly.
The footbridge that once crossed Pipeline Cove remains out of commission, so 40K runners cross it twice via a short raft ride operated by a certified guide from Arizona Hiking Shack, with life vests provided, or by swimming it in a PFD. Each crossing takes about two minutes. Plan for this mentally: it briefly interrupts your running rhythm and is worth rehearsing in your head before race day.
Beyond the dam and the cove, the course runs newly constructed trail along the shoreline and above the lake, through Saguaro cacti and past wild burros, with the 40K's Yavapai Point out-and-back offering some of the best lake views on the course. The 26K, run as the Sonoran Desert Cup, covers more rugged single-track with steep descents and large boulders.
With an 8-hour cutoff on the 40K and two built-in stops for the raft crossing, plan pacing around the course's fixed features, not just the distance.
Since all runners must clear the dam by 9:00 AM, know your expected pace through the first 5K well before race day. This is one of the few hard, fixed checkpoints on the course, so build in a comfortable buffer rather than cutting it close.
Each Pipeline Cove crossing takes about two minutes and happens twice on the 40K, time that a flat-course pace estimate will not account for. Add a few minutes to your projected finish time for the crossings, and use a grade-adjusted pace target for the climbing sections so your overall estimate against the noon Cottonwood cutoff and 3:00 PM finish cutoff stays honest.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
A 7:00 AM start on exposed desert trail means the morning temperature climbs steadily as you race, and Aravaipa\'s own guidance is to plan for heat.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate an hour. Agua Fria and the second Scorpion Bay stop run light on food (mostly water and Neversecond fuel), while Two Cow and Cottonwood carry the full spread of snacks, so plan your carbohydrate carrying around the light stations rather than assuming food everywhere.
Aravaipa's own race notes recommend running with at least two bottles (40 ounces) of fluid given the exposed trail and likely heat. Sodium in the 400 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners here, leaning higher as the morning warms up past the dam crossing.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a warming Sonoran Desert morning 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 Lake Pleasant course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for exposed desert climbing, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The "Dam Insane" 40K earns its nickname less from raw difficulty and more from its unusual obstacles: about 2,716 feet of climbing over 24.3 miles of shoreline single-track around Lake Pleasant, plus the novelty of running across the New Waddell Dam and a guided raft or swim crossing at Pipeline Cove, twice. The climbing is real but moderate for the distance, so most of what makes this race memorable is the terrain and the water crossing rather than pure vert or technical difficulty.
Yes, both are real and verified parts of the course. All distances except the 2 Mile cross the New Waddell Dam within the first 5K of the race, a genuinely unique feature for a trail ultra. The 40K also crosses Pipeline Cove twice via a short raft ride operated by a certified guide (with life vests provided), or you can swim it in a PFD if you prefer, since the footbridge that once spanned the cove remains out of commission. Each crossing takes about two minutes.
The 40K carries about 2,716 feet of total gain, with a max elevation of 2,167 feet, including an out-and-back climb to Yavapai Point with incredible lake views. The 26K "Sonoran Desert Cup" option covers roughly 1,506 feet on more rugged single-track with steep descents, large boulders, and challenging climbs, while the shorter distances scale down accordingly.
40K runners must depart the Cottonwood aid station by noon, with an overall race cutoff of 3:00 PM for all distances, 8 hours after the 7:00 AM start. There is also a hard rule that all runners must be off the dam itself by 9:00 AM, so plan your early pacing to clear that crossing comfortably rather than treating it as flexible.
Aid stations sit every 1.6 to 5.4 miles on the 40K course. Agua Fria and Scorpion Bay run as "light" stations with water and Neversecond fuel, while Two Cow and Cottonwood are full stations with sweet and salty snacks in addition to fluids. This is a cupless race series, so bring a reusable cup or your own bottle, or use the UltrAspire cups available at registration and on race day.
The shorter 13K, 4 Mile, and 2 Mile options make this an approachable event for any level, and even the 40K has a workable 8-hour cutoff for its distance and vert. The dam and cove crossings are the one genuinely novel element to prepare for mentally, since running across an actual dam and riding a raft or swimming a cove mid-race is not something most training runs replicate. Expect exposed desert trail and real sun, so plan hydration accordingly regardless of distance.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/dam-good-run">The Dam Good Run course guide</a>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, distances, cutoffs, and aid 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.