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Grand Teton Races Course Guide

The Grand Teton Races are a long-running high-altitude classic put on by Dreamchaser at Grand Targhee Resort, out on the quiet west slope of the Tetons. It is a crew-friendly clover-leaf loop course, run entirely up high between roughly 8,000 and 10,000 feet, offered as a 100 mile, a 50 mile, a trail marathon, and a 10K. The thing that defines it is the altitude, not any single climb. I will walk you through the loops, then give you pacing and fueling strategy built for the thin air and the long day, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Grand Teton Races quick facts

Date
Early September (confirm the exact date with the race)
Location
Grand Targhee Resort, Alta, Wyoming, on the west slope of the Tetons
Distances
100 mile, 50 mile, trail marathon, and 10K
Format
Clover-leaf loops from the base of the Dreamcatcher lift, about 5,147 ft of climb per loop
Altitude
Entirely up high, roughly 8,000 to 10,000 ft, high point near 9,600 ft
Aid
At least 7 aid stations per loop, spaced about 1.4 to 4.1 miles, drop bags at the base and Teton Canyon
Cutoff
Each distance has its own limit, confirm the current overall and intermittent cutoffs with the race
Qualifier
No Western States, Hardrock, or UTMB qualifier status listed by the race

These facts come from the official race site and public race listings. The exact date, the distances offered, and the per-distance cutoffs have shifted over the years, so confirm the current date, course, and cutoffs in the official race-day details before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: where the Grand Teton Races are won and lost

Everything starts and finishes at the base of the Dreamcatcher lift, and the course is a clover-leaf: loops that fan out from the base and come back through it, with about 5,147 feet of climbing per loop. You run on singletrack, service roads, and mountain bike trails, plus a short 3.2 mile stretch of pavement, through meadows and valley vistas with several dead-on views of the Grand Teton. The marathon is about a loop, the 50 mile is roughly two, and the 100 mile stacks them up through the night. The whole thing sits between about 8,000 and 10,000 feet, and that altitude is the real story.

The altitude: the climb you feel even on the flats

There is no single defining monster climb here. Instead you get honest, repeated climbing, about 5,147 feet per loop, all of it up in thin air. That is what makes this course harder than the elevation number looks on a chart. At 8,000 to 10,000 feet your legs clear less oxygen, you recover slower between the climbs, and even the runnable cruising sections cost you more than they would at home. If you live near sea level, plan on your pace being honestly slower and your effort feeling higher, and do not panic when it does.

Pace the first loop like a warmup, not a race. The single biggest mistake at altitude is running the early grades hard because they feel manageable, then falling apart once the oxygen debt and the repeated climbing catch up. Run by breath and effort, hike the steeper pitches without guilt, and let the loops come to you.

The loops and the descents: a course that rewards a rhythm

The clover-leaf format is actually a gift. You pass through the base area each loop, your crew can see you often, your drop bag is never far, and you always know exactly what is coming because you have run it before. That makes it a mental game as much as a physical one. The trap is boredom and complacency on lap two or three, when the novelty is gone and the climbs feel familiar in the worst way. Break the day into loops, then break each loop into the stretch between aid stations, and just keep collecting them.

The descending is mixed terrain, singletrack and service road, so it is fast in places but rocky and rooty in others. Long repeated downhill at altitude still beats up your quads, and on the 50 and the 100 that damage compounds loop over loop. Practice controlled downhill running before race day so you can keep your legs turning over late, when everything is tired and you still have another lap to close.

The night, the cold, and frequent aid

For the 100 mile and the back end of the 50, you will be out there after dark, and a September night up at 9,000-plus feet gets genuinely cold even after a warm afternoon. The mountain sun and dry air are strong by day, so you manage heat early, then you have to manage real cold once it drops. Pack a warm layer, gloves, and a hat in a drop bag and actually put them on before you are shivering. Getting cold and slow at altitude in the dark is how good days quietly fall apart.

The good news is the aid is close together: at least seven aid stations per loop, often only about 1.4 to 4.1 miles apart, with drop bags at the base area and at the Teton Canyon station. You are rarely far from help, fluid, calories, or your own gear. Use that. Keep moving through aid efficiently instead of camping out, refill what you need, grab your night layers when the sun starts to go, and get back on the loop.

Pacing strategy for a high-altitude loop race

With about 5,147 feet of climbing per loop and the whole course up high, the Grand Teton Races are about managing effort and altitude, not chasing a flat-ground pace chart. Run the climbs by feel, and let the loops set your rhythm.

Pace the climbs by grade and breath, not by the watch

Your flat-ground splits mean very little on these loops, and they mean even less in thin air. What matters is grade-adjusted effort: hold an output you can sustain up the grade, hike the steep pitches, and keep your breathing under control. The altitude already inflates your effort at any given pace, so stacking a too-hard early climb on top of that is how people blow up before the first loop is even done. Use a grade-adjusted pace to turn your real fitness into honest climbing and descending targets, then run a notch easier than that to leave room for the elevation.

Build a vert-aware, distance-specific finish prediction

Do not guess your finish off a road time, and do not assume the 50 mile is just double the marathon. Each distance stacks more loops, more vertical, and more time up high, and the altitude tax grows the longer you are out there. A vert-aware finish prediction that accounts for this course profile gives you a realistic window per distance and lets you work backward into the loop cutoffs, so you actually know how much buffer you carry through each checkpoint instead of hoping.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

  • Grade-adjusted pace calculator to turn your flat fitness into honest targets for the repeated climbs and the descents between aid stations.
  • Race-time calculator for a vert-aware finish prediction on this course’s loop climbing, so you can plan each distance against the cutoffs.
  • Race-equivalent calculator to turn a recent race result into a Grand Teton goal you can actually hold up at altitude.

Fueling strategy for altitude and the long day

Depending on your distance, you could be out on these loops for anywhere from a few hours to a long day and night, all up in thin, dry air that blunts your appetite. That makes carbohydrate, sodium, and fluid just as important as your fitness.

Carbs: steady, trained, and easy to get down

Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and only push the higher end if your gut is trained for it. Altitude tends to kill your appetite and slow your stomach, so keep your intake steady and easy to swallow rather than gambling on big catch-up doses late. The frequent aid stations make it easy to top up often, which actually helps: small, regular calories beat heroic ones. Practice your exact race-day carb rate on long climbs beforehand so 80-plus grams an hour feels routine, not like an experiment at 9,000 feet.

Sodium and fluid: dry air, hard climbing, and the night

You can dehydrate fast up high without feeling it, because the dry mountain air evaporates your sweat before you notice it. Carry water on the climbs even with aid close by, and bias your sodium up if you are working hard and sweating, often around 500 to 700 milligrams per liter of fluid, and more if you run salty. Then plan for the swing: warm and sweaty by day, cold by night, when you still need to keep drinking and eating even though you do not feel like it. Weigh yourself before and after a hard 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 the Grand Teton altitude 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 Grand Teton loop profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the repeated climbing and the altitude, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Grand Teton Races FAQ

How hard is the Grand Teton Races?

The hard part here is the altitude, not the terrain on paper. Every step of the course sits up high, roughly 8,000 to 10,000 feet, so even the runnable sections feel harder than the same grade at home and your legs recover slower between climbs. The clover-leaf loops stack about 5,147 feet of climbing per loop, which adds up fast on the 50 mile and the 100. If you live at sea level and you do not respect the thin air early, this race will humble you. Train the climbs, get what altitude time you can, and pace the first loop like it is a warmup.

How much climbing is in the Grand Teton Races?

The course is a clover-leaf loop with roughly 5,147 feet of climbing per loop, so your total depends on the distance you pick. The trail marathon is about one loop of that, the 50 mile stacks it up across two, and the 100 mile piles on loop after loop for a serious day and night of vertical. None of it is one single monster climb. It is repeated honest climbing on singletrack, service roads, and bike trails, all of it at altitude, which is what makes the gain hit harder than the raw number suggests.

How should I fuel for the Grand Teton Races?

Fuel it like a long day at altitude, because thin air tends to blunt your appetite and slow your stomach down. Most runners do well on roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, leaning to the higher end only if your gut is trained for it, with sodium that climbs if you are sweating hard up in the dry mountain air. The aid stations are frequent on this course, at least seven per loop and often only a couple miles apart, so you can run lighter between them, but still carry enough to never run dry on a climb. Practice your exact hourly numbers on long climbs before race day, and run them through the free ultra fueling calculator for your weight and goal time.

What are the cutoff times for the Grand Teton Races?

Each distance has its own cutoff, and on a looped high-altitude course the per-loop time limits matter as much as the overall one. The shorter races have historically had an overall course closure in the early evening, and the 50 mile and 100 mile carry their own longer limits with intermittent cutoffs at the loop checkpoints. Because the field thins out and the loops repeat, you cannot bank all your buffer for the end. Pull the current cutoff chart from the official race and build your plan backward from those times with margin to spare.

What is the terrain and weather like at Grand Targhee?

The footing is a mix: singletrack, service roads, mountain bike trails, and a short scenic stretch of pavement, winding through meadows and valley vistas with several dead-on views of the Grand Teton. It is mountain running, so expect rocky and rooty sections along with smoother cruising. Weather in early September up at 8,000 to 10,000 feet can swing hard, warm and sunny in the day, then genuinely cold once the sun drops, especially overnight for the 100 mile runners. The mountain sun and dry air are strong even when the temperature feels mild, so plan for both heat management by day and real warmth for the night.

Is the Grand Teton Races a good first ultra?

The looped format and the frequent aid make it a friendlier place to attempt a first 50K, marathon, or even a first 50 mile than a remote point-to-point race, because you are never far from a checkpoint or your drop bag and your crew can see you often. The honest catch is the altitude. If you come from low elevation, the thin air is the thing most likely to derail a prepared runner, so arrive with realistic pace expectations, train the climbs, and get some time up high beforehand if you can. Respect the elevation and the loops give most committed runners a fair shot at the finish.

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 Grand Teton Races before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.