⏵ Course guide · East Mississippi ultra
The Ivy Trek Ultra runs a 7.78 mile loop through Clarkco State Park near Quitman, Mississippi, wide and easy to navigate but deceptively hilly, four times for the 50K, twice for the 25K, and once for the 12.5K. I will walk you through the loop structure first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a small, repeat-loop Mississippi ultra. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Time 2 Run race page. No elevation gain figure is published for any distance. Check the current year details, cutoffs, and aid stations before you commit.
Every distance at Ivy Trek Ultra runs the same 7.78 mile loop through Clarkco State Park. The 12.5K is one loop, the 25K is two, and the 50K is four. Staggered starts spread the field out early, but everyone shares the same trail all day.
The race describes its own trails as wide and easy to navigate, and that holds up: this is not technical, root-tangled singletrack. But the same description flags the terrain as deceptively hilly, and after three or four loops that gentle-looking rolling ground adds up in a way that is easy to underestimate from the start line.
Because the 50K repeats the same 7.78 mile loop four times, you get feedback on your effort after every single loop rather than waiting for one distant finish. Use that: if loop one feels harder than it should at an easy effort, adjust before loop two rather than hoping it gets better. The drop-down rule means a rough day still ends in a finisher medal for whatever distance you complete, even if you started aiming for the 50K.
The Start/Finish area doubles as an aid station and there is one more out on the loop, so you pass aid twice every lap. All participants are required to bring a water container (bottle, hydration pack, or belt), and the race supplies coolers to refill from rather than pre-poured cups. With Clarkco's on-site camping and cabins, plenty of racers turn this into a weekend rather than a single-day trip.
A 10-hour time limit on a 50K is generous, but the smart way to spend that buffer is even effort across four loops, not a fast first lap that borrows against the third and fourth.
Since the race itself warns the terrain is deceptively hilly, take that seriously on your first loop rather than discovering it the hard way on your third. A grade-adjusted pace target keeps your effort honest on the rolling sections that do not look like much on paper but add up over 31 miles.
The overall 10-hour limit matters less day-to-day than the rule that your final loop must start by 2:00 PM. Build a finish prediction and check it against that 2:00 PM checkpoint after each loop, since missing that window (not the overall 10 hours) is what actually ends your race early.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Late September in Mississippi can still bring real heat and humidity, and with two aid touches every 7.78 mile loop, you have frequent chances to stay ahead of your fluid needs if you plan for them.
Aim for roughly 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrate an hour. With aid at the Start/Finish and one more point out on the loop, build a simple plan (a gel or two plus what you carry between the two stops) that you repeat on every loop rather than improvising as the race goes on.
Since you must carry your own water container and refill from coolers at aid rather than grabbing pre-filled cups, plan your carrying capacity for the roughly hour-long gaps between aid touches. Keep sodium in the 300 to 500 mg per liter range as a baseline, and push higher if the day turns warm and humid, which is common in east Mississippi even in late September.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a warm Mississippi day 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 and this four-loop Clarkco State Park course. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for repeated rolling terrain, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The Ivy Trek Ultra runs a 7.78 mile loop through Clarkco State Park four times for the 50K, on trails the race itself calls wide and easy to navigate but deceptively hilly. No official elevation gain figure is published, but repeating the same rolling loop four times means the terrain wears on you more than the raw mileage suggests, especially with a 10-hour time limit that puts real pressure on a slow start. This is a small-field, low-key event, quiet trails and a friendly, low-stress atmosphere rather than a big production.
Every distance runs the same 7.78 mile loop, just a different number of times: the 12.5K runs it once, the 25K runs it twice, and the 50K runs it four times. Staggered starts (50K at 6:30 AM, 25K at 7:00 AM, 12.5K at 7:15 AM) mean the field spreads out early even though everyone eventually shares the same trail. If you start as a 50K runner and need to drop down, you still get a medal for whatever distance you complete, but you fall out of contention for that distance's awards.
Late September in Mississippi can still run warm and humid, so hydration matters even on a course this short by ultra standards. The Start/Finish area doubles as an aid station and there is one additional aid station out on the loop, giving you two fuel and hydration touches every lap. Participants must bring their own water container (bottle, hydration pack, or belt), and the race provides coolers to refill from rather than pre-filled cups. Aim for roughly 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour and sodium in the 300 to 500 mg per liter range, leaning higher if the day runs hot. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The overall course must be completed within 10 hours. There is also a final-loop rule: if you have not started your last loop by 2:00 PM, you will be asked to end your race when you arrive at that point, and you will be scored as a finisher of whatever distance you completed at least two loops of. With a 7.78 mile loop, that gives 50K runners real, frequent checkpoints to gauge whether they are on pace rather than one distant finish-line cutoff.
Clarkco State Park sits in east Mississippi and is described by the race itself as one of the hidden wonders of the state. The trails are wide and easy to navigate, which keeps the course beginner-friendly for foot placement, but the park's terrain is deceptively hilly, so do not mistake wide trails for flat ones. The park also offers on-site camping, cabins, and primitive sites if you want to make race weekend a stay rather than a day trip.
It has real first-ultra appeal: wide, easy-to-navigate trails, a repeating loop short enough that you are never far from the start/finish aid station, and a generous 10-hour time limit for the distance. The deceptively hilly terrain and four full loops mean you should not underestimate the cumulative fatigue, but the frequent aid access and the option to drop to a shorter distance and still receive a finisher medal make this a forgiving place to attempt your first ultra distance.
Link this guide
Race directors and clubs: link or embed this guide anywhere. It stays current.
<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/ivy-trek-ultra">The Ivy Trek Ultra 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, 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.