⏵ Course guide · Delaware's rare trail ultra
Delaware Trail Fest is one of the very few trail ultras in a state most calendars skip entirely, running a 12K, a 24K, and a 12-hour Lone Wolf timed race on the flat, mostly singletrack Swamp Forest Trail at Lums Pond State Park. There is no fixed finish distance in the Lone Wolf, just a 7.5 mile lap repeated as many times as you can manage in 12 hours. I will walk you through how each format works first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for the hours, not the hills, plus free calculators to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Uber Endurance Sports race page. Pricing, exact aid station stock, and other logistics can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics before you commit.
Every distance at Delaware Trail Fest is built from the same 7.5 mile lap around Lums Pond on the Swamp Forest Trail. The 12K covers one lap, the 24K covers two, and the Lone Wolf and Relay turn that same lap into a 12-hour timed contest.
If you want a finish line and a known distance, the 12K (one lap) and 24K (two laps) starting at 8:00 AM give you exactly that on the same fast, mostly singletrack terrain the longer formats use. Minimal elevation means these run more like a trail 10K or half marathon than a mountain race, a good on-ramp if you have never run trail before.
The Lone Wolf starts at 7:30 AM and gives you 12 hours to run as many 7.5 mile laps as you can. There is no set distance to hit and no shame in stopping after your last lap, your final result is simply your total mileage when time expires at 7:30 PM. The organizers require any final lap to start by 6:00 PM, and headlamps are mandatory once darkness sets in, so plan your gear for at least one lap after sunset if you are pushing toward the cutoff.
Delaware Trail Fest uses chip timing with an age and gender ranking multiplier, which the organizers are upfront about: your final ranking can differ from your literal finish order or total mileage. If you are racing for placement rather than just personal mileage, understand this system before you decide how hard to push in the final hour.
Because the terrain is flat and fast, the temptation in the Lone Wolf is to run every lap hard. That is exactly the wrong instinct for a 12-hour format. The race is won by whoever can hold a repeatable lap pace deep into the afternoon, not whoever runs the fastest lap one.
With minimal elevation, this is closer to a pure pacing exercise than a technical trail challenge. Set a per-mile target you know you can hold for lap after lap, and use a race-time estimate from your training to sanity-check what a full day of that pace actually adds up to before you commit to it on lap one.
The 7:30 PM overall time limit is not the only number that matters. You have to start your last lap by 6:00 PM, which means your effective cutoff for beginning a new lap is 90 minutes earlier than the headline time limit. Track your lap splits against that 6:00 PM start-by rule, not just the final 7:30 PM cutoff, so you know with certainty whether you get one more lap or not.
⏵ Free tools to plan your laps
Two aid touches every 7.5 mile lap, one at start/finish and one around mile 4, gives the Lone Wolf better aid density than most ultras. Use that structure instead of overloading your own kit.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour. Because you pass the main start/finish aid station every single lap, you can restock small and often rather than carrying a full day of nutrition on your body from the start.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners. Mid-October in Delaware can still run warm through the middle of the day even with cooler mornings and evenings, so plan to lean higher on sodium during your midday laps and ease back as the temperature drops toward evening.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal mileage, and a full day of laps 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 training plan built around YOUR fitness and the repeatable, hours-not-hills demands of a timed lap race. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the pacing discipline and durability a 12-hour format asks for, and rehearses your fueling so the laps become something you execute, not guess at.
The 12-hour Lone Wolf is a timed race, not a fixed distance. You run a 7.5 mile lap around Lums Pond State Park on the Swamp Forest Trail as many times as you can within the 12-hour window, starting at 7:30 AM. There is no set finish line distance. Your result is however many laps, plus partial distance, you complete before time runs out at 7:30 PM, with a rule that any final lap has to start by 6:00 PM and headlamps are required for it.
The terrain itself is gentle: the Swamp Forest Trail is mostly singletrack with some gravel and wider trail, and elevation is minimal. The difficulty in the Lone Wolf format comes from the hours, not the hills, repeating a 7.5 mile lap for up to 12 hours tests pacing discipline and fueling consistency more than climbing legs. The fixed-distance 12K and 24K are approachable trail races on the same flat, fast course.
Every format shares a 7:30 PM time limit, which the organizers themselves call generous and hiker friendly. For the Lone Wolf and Relay, that is 12 hours from the 7:30 AM start. There is one additional rule specific to the Lone Wolf: you must start your final lap by 6:00 PM, and headlamps are required for anyone still out on course after dark.
Because the Lone Wolf can run up to 12 hours across repeated 7.5 mile laps, treat it like an ultra even though the terrain is flat. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and keep sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range for an October day that can still run warm in Delaware. The main aid station sits at start/finish (passed every lap) with a second station around mile 4, so you get two fuel touches every 7.5 mile loop, similar to a well-aided ultra even on flat terrain. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The Swamp Forest Trail is a fast, flat course: about 70% singletrack, 10% gravel, and 20% wider trail, with minimal elevation gain and lakeside views of Lums Pond throughout. This is one of the very few trail ultra-format events in Delaware, and the flat, fast footing is part of what makes the 12-hour Lone Wolf approachable for runners without big mountain trail experience.
The flat, fast Swamp Forest Trail and the generous 7:30 PM time limit make this a reasonable entry point into the timed-race format. Unlike a technical mountain ultra, the terrain here will not punish you the way climbing does, so your first Lone Wolf becomes mostly a test of pacing discipline and fueling consistency across repeated 7.5 mile laps, a good way to learn the format before trying it somewhere with real elevation.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/delaware-trail-fest">The Delaware Trail Fest course guide</a>This guide is independent and for planning only. The format, 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.