⏵ Course guide · Inaugural race, Canyon Lake shoreline
Tejas Trails brings its Great Springs series to Canyon Park for the first time, running everything from a 5K to a 50K on a mostly shaded 7.8-mile loop that hugs the Canyon Lake shoreline on the Madrone Trail. I will walk you through what is published about the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a warm early-June Hill Country day. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Tejas Trails event page. This is the inaugural running, so course specifics can still change. Confirm the current runners handbook before you commit.
Every distance runs the same 7.8-mile marked loop: the 10K and 5K shortcut off it for their exact mileage, the 25K runs it twice, and the 50K runs it four times.
The loop is described as gorgeous and well-marked, mostly shaded, and bobbing and weaving near the Canyon Lake shoreline with a good bit of technical trail mixed in. A full aid station party sits around the halfway point of the loop, with additional water and ice stations elsewhere on course.
Tejas Trails calls this "Canyon Park's inaugural trail running race," which means there is no prior-year course data, results, or crowd-sourced beta to lean on. Expect a well-marked course, since Tejas Trails is known for thorough marking with caution tape, arrows, and confidence markers, but go in prepared for the unknowns of a first-year event.
The event is made possible by the Water-Oriented Recreation District of Comal County (W.O.R.D.), whose mission covers conserving natural resources and operating public parks in the district, alongside a partnership with the Great Springs Project, which works to protect the Edwards Aquifer beneath these trails.
With no prior-year results to compare against and a relatively tight 1:37 PM final-lap cutoff, conservative pacing on your first loop is the safest way to learn this course.
Since this is the first year at Canyon Park, use your opening loop to genuinely learn the technical sections rather than push pace. A grade-adjusted target still helps, but on an unfamiliar course your first lap is as much about gathering information as covering ground.
That cutoff, just over 7 hours after the 50K start, is tighter than many loop 50Ks. A finish prediction built off your loop-one pace tells you honestly whether you have room, and it is far better to know that after lap one than to discover it on lap three.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Early June in the Texas Hill Country routinely climbs into the 90s by afternoon, so a 50K running from 6:30 AM into midday and beyond needs a heat-aware fueling plan.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and use the full aid station party at the loop's halfway point to stay consistent. Appetite often drops as heat builds, so keep easy-to-tolerate options in reserve for the later, warmer laps.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners, leaning toward the higher end for the later loops once the June Hill Country heat sets in. The additional water and ice stations beyond the main aid point are worth using, not skipping, as the day warms.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a warm early-June Hill Country loop 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 loop course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for a warm-weather loop ultra, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
This is the inaugural running of a trail race at Canyon Park, so there is no track record yet for exactly how the course runs on race day. What is confirmed: the 50K covers four laps of a 7.8-mile loop, described as mostly shaded with a good bit of technical trail weaving near the Canyon Lake shoreline. The final-lap cutoff of 1:37 PM against a 6:30 AM start gives roughly 7 hours to start your last lap, which is a tighter early window than some 50Ks, so respect the technical footing rather than assuming an easy shoreline jog.
The official race page does not publish a specific elevation gain figure for this course. What it does confirm is a good bit of technical trail on each 7.8-mile loop, weaving near the Canyon Lake shoreline through mostly shaded terrain. Since this is the inaugural edition, treat elevation and difficulty as unconfirmed until race photos, results, or an updated course page from Tejas Trails fill in that detail, and check the official site for the current GPX and course map before you commit to a pacing plan.
A 6:30 AM start for the 50K in early June means you will be racing into the heat of a Texas Hill Country summer day by the later loops, even with mostly shaded trail. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, leaning higher as the day warms. The course passes a full aid station party around the halfway point of each loop, plus additional water and ice stations, so use that structure to stay ahead of the heat rather than catching up to it. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
You must be on your final lap by 1:37 PM, and the course closes entirely at 4:00 PM. With the 50K starting at 6:30 AM, that gives just over 7 hours to reach your last lap, tighter than some 50K cutoffs, so build real pacing margin into your early loops rather than assuming you can make up time later.
The course runs a 7.8-mile loop on the Madrone Trail, mostly shaded and weaving near the Canyon Lake shoreline with a good bit of technical trail underfoot. Early June in the Texas Hill Country runs warm, often into the 90s by afternoon, and additional water and ice stations along the loop beyond the main aid station reflect the heat runners can expect on the later laps.
It could work, but go in aware this is a brand-new course with no prior-year data. The loop format helps: you pass the aid station area repeatedly, simplifying crew logistics and mental pacing. The technical trail sections and a warm early-June Texas day mean real trail and heat preparation matter more here than raw mileage, and the relatively tight 1:37 PM final-lap cutoff rewards a well-paced first attempt over an overly cautious one.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/great-springs-canyon-lake">The Great Springs Trail Race - Canyon Lake course guide</a>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, especially for an inaugural race, 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.