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Five Fields Farm Races Course Guide

Five Fields Farm Races is a Loon Echo Land Trust benefit race at Bald Pate and Holt Pond Preserves near Bridgton, Maine, built around a three-lap figure-8 50K that mixes maintained trail with rugged, technical singletrack and steep climbs. Every lap finishes through a working apple orchard on the farm. I will walk you through the course, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for repeating the same climbs three times, with free tools to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Five Fields Farm Races quick facts

Date
Sunday, August 30, 2026, 7:00 AM start
Location
Bald Pate and Holt Pond Preserves, Bridgton, Maine
Distances
50K (three-lap figure-8, marquee) and a same-day Bald Pate 10K
Elevation gain
Steep climbs and technical singletrack throughout (confirm the current profile on the official listing)
Cutoffs
Confirm the current cutoff schedule on the official listing
Course records
Men's 5:07:00 · Women's 7:18:00 (50K)
Beneficiary
Loon Echo Land Trust, funding Lakes Region trail and conservation work

These facts come from the official Loon Echo Land Trust race series listing and UltraSignup. Check the current cutoffs, elevation profile, and aid stations in the race-day details before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: three laps, the same climbs three times

The 50K is a figure-8 loop through Bald Pate and Holt Pond Preserves, run three times. It mixes maintained trail with rugged, technical singletrack and steep climbs, and every single lap ends by running through a working apple orchard on the farm before you head back out for the next one, or across the finish on your third.

Lap one: it will feel easier than it is

The figure-8 shape means you cross back through the start and orchard area after each half-loop, which makes the whole thing feel shorter and more manageable than it is. That is exactly the trap. The technical singletrack and steep climbs do not get any easier on lap two or three, and going out too hard on fresh legs because the first pass felt fine is how people fall apart late.

Treat lap one as information, not a green light. Note where the climbs actually are, where the footing gets loose or rooty, and bank that knowledge instead of banking time.

The middle lap: where the technical footing catches up with you

By lap two the technical sections stop being a novelty and start being work. Roots, rocks, and steep pitches that you cleanly ran the first time start asking for a hike, and that is normal, not a sign anything is wrong. This is the heart of the race.

Hike the sections that call for it early rather than forcing a run and paying for it on the descent. Efficient hiking on the steep, technical ground beats a ragged run that trashes your legs before the final lap.

The third lap and the orchard finish

The final lap is where the repeated climbing shows up in your legs, and the course records back that up: over 5 hours for the men's course record and over 7 for the women's, both slow for a 50K distance, which tells you this is a technical, climb-heavy course rather than a fast one.

Running the last stretch through the apple orchard to the finish is the payoff for three laps of steep, technical trail. Save something for it, because the last climbs before the orchard are the ones that catch tired legs.

Pacing strategy for a repeated, technical figure-8

With the course records running well off flat-50K pace, this is a course you pace by effort and terrain, not by a target split you copied from a road race.

Pace each lap by grade, not by lap one's split

Your lap-one time on fresh legs and dry footing is not a number to chase again on laps two and three. What matters is grade-adjusted effort on the steep, technical pitches, so you hold a steady output you can repeat three times instead of blowing up trying to match an early split. Use a grade-adjusted pace to turn your real fitness into honest per-lap targets for this course, so the second and third laps do not fall apart.

Build a realistic finish window from the course records, not a flat 50K

A men's course record over 5 hours and a women's over 7 hours means this course runs slow relative to its distance. Do not import a flat-trail 50K time and expect it to hold. A vert-aware finish prediction that accounts for repeated technical climbing gives you a realistic window and lets you gauge your pace against whatever cutoffs are posted for the current year.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a multi-hour, multi-lap effort

The course records point to a multi-hour day for most finishers, and the figure-8 layout gives you a chance to check your fueling every lap instead of guessing across 31 miles blind.

Carbs: steady, and use the lap crossings

Aim for around 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, pushing toward the higher end if your gut is trained for it. Since the figure-8 brings you back through the start and orchard area each lap, use those passes as checkpoints to confirm you are actually hitting your per-hour number instead of drifting behind on a course where the climbing makes it easy to forget to eat.

Sodium and fluid: plan for August heat and August Maine humidity

Late August in Maine can run warm and humid by mid-morning even after a 7 AM start, so lean toward the higher end on sodium, generally 500 to 700-plus milligrams per liter of fluid, and adjust up if you are a heavy sweater. Carry enough between the lap crossings to cover the technical, climb-heavy stretches rather than rationing to the next aid point.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and this course's climbing with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.

⏵ Free calculators for this race

Run your Five Fields Farm numbers with our free, no-signup tools, then let Summit Line tie all of it to your real fitness and this exact course.

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⏵ Train for it with Summit Line

Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact Five Fields Farm course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the repeated technical climbing, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

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Five Fields Farm Races FAQ

How hard is Five Fields Farm Races?

The 50K is a genuine trail 50K, not a groomed fun run. It is a three-lap figure-8 through Bald Pate and Holt Pond Preserves near Bridgton, and it mixes maintained trail with rugged, technical singletrack and steep climbs. The course records tell the story: 5 hours 7 minutes for the men and 7 hours 18 minutes for the women, which is slow for a 50K and points to real climbing and real footing, not a fast course. Repeating the same three laps also means you feel every climb three times, so pacing the first lap honestly matters more than it looks like it will at the start.

What is the climbing like at Five Fields Farm?

The exact total elevation gain is not consistently published, so treat any single number with caution and confirm the current course profile on the official Loon Echo Land Trust listing before race day. What you can plan around: this is a figure-8 with steep climbs and technical singletrack sections mixed in with maintained trail, run three times over. The climbing is real enough that the course records sit well off a flat-50K pace, so build in margin rather than banking on your road or buffed-trail time.

How should I fuel for Five Fields Farm Races?

Plan for a mid-August Maine morning that starts cool at 7 AM and warms up as the laps go by, over an effort that will likely run several hours given the course records. Most runners do well on roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, leaning toward the higher end if your gut is trained for it, with sodium scaled up as the day warms, generally in the 300 to 700-plus milligram per liter range. Because you pass through the same start/finish area each lap, use it to reset your fueling and check your numbers instead of guessing across the whole 50K. Dial in your own plan with the free ultra fueling calculator.

What are the cutoffs for Five Fields Farm Races?

The cutoff schedule is not something this guide states as fixed, since race-day details change year to year. Pull the current cutoff times from the official Loon Echo Land Trust race series listing before you commit to a pacing plan, and build in buffer given how the technical footing and repeated climbing can slow a lap more than you expect.

What is the terrain like on the Five Fields Farm course?

You get a figure-8 loop, run three times for the 50K, that mixes maintained trail with rugged, technical singletrack and steep pitches. It is not a groomed, wide farm-road course. Expect roots, rocks, and grades that ask you to hike some sections, especially by the third lap when your legs are tired and the footing has not gotten any easier.

What is the orchard finish at Five Fields Farm?

Every lap of the 50K finishes by running through a working apple orchard on the farm, which means you pass through it three times before you are actually done. It is one of the details that makes this course memorable, and proceeds from the race benefit the Loon Echo Land Trust, which funds trail and conservation work across the Lakes Region, including the preserves you are running on.

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.