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⏵ Course guide · Arizona ultra

Javelina Jangover Night Runs Course Guide

The Javelina Jangover is Aravaipa’s after-dark desert ultra on the rolling Pemberton Trail loop at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, and it is the finale of their summer Insomniac night series. It is not a climber’s race. It is a heat-and-headlamp race, run on smooth, fast desert single-track that you stack in 25K loops through a warm Arizona night. I will walk you through the loop and the night first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for the dark and the heat. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Javelina Jangover quick facts

Date
Saturday, September 19, 2026 (typically a mid-to-late September Saturday)
Location
Pemberton Trailhead, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, near Fountain Hills / Scottsdale, AZ
Distances
75K, 50K, 25K, 15K, and 7K, run as multiples of the Pemberton Trail loop (25K is one full loop)
Elevation gain
About 800 ft of gain per 25K loop (low about 1,800 ft, high point about 2,480 ft)
Start (staggered, after dark)
75K 5:00 PM · 50K 5:15 PM · 25K 5:45 PM · 15K 6:15 PM · 7K 6:45 PM
Cutoff
Course closes 7:00 AM; 75K must start the final loop by 2:00 AM, 50K by midnight
Series
The 6th and final race of Aravaipa’s summer Insomniac Night Trail Run Series; same course as the Javelina Jundred

These facts come from the official Aravaipa race site and UltraSignup. Check the current date, start times, cutoffs, and aid stations in the race-day details before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: where the Jangover is won and lost

Every distance runs on the same Pemberton Trail loop, about a 25K lap of rolling desert single-track and old jeep road with roughly 800 feet of gain per loop. The 25K is one loop, the 50K is two, the 75K is three, and runners switch direction each loop so the course never feels stale. There are two aid stations per loop: the start/finish and one out near the far side, roughly 8-plus miles apart. This is a runner’s course, so the race is won and lost on pacing, fueling, and how you handle the dark, not on any one climb.

The Pemberton loop: smooth and fast, but rockier than it looks

The Pemberton Trail is mostly buttery rolling single-track with long runnable stretches, a few old jeep-road sections, and some rocky, technical bits sprinkled in. In daylight it is the kind of trail you can really move on. The trap is the night. Under a headlamp the rocks, the ruts, and the loose gravel hide in the shadows, and tired legs late in the race catch toes they would clear easily when fresh. A good, bright light and a backup are not optional here.

Because the climbing is gentle and even, there is no natural place to hide and recover the way a long climb lets you on a mountain course. The flip side is that you can run almost all of it, which is exactly why people blow up: it is tempting to push the smooth early miles when the air finally cools, then pay for it loops later.

The loops and the alternating direction

Stacking the Pemberton loop is the whole game for the 50K and 75K. You come back through the start/finish aid at the end of each lap, which is a gift: it means you can stage a drop bag, restock, swap a light, and grab real food on a known schedule. Use it. Treat each loop as its own little race with a quick, deliberate stop in between, instead of letting the start/finish turn into a long sit-down.

Switching directions each loop keeps the course interesting and spreads the wear, but it also means the climbs and the runnable sections show up in a different order each time. Do not expect lap two to feel like lap one in reverse-memory; just run the terrain in front of you and keep your effort even.

The night and the heat between aid

This race exists to dodge the worst of the Phoenix daytime heat, but make no mistake, you are still running a desert course in summer. September evenings in the valley can start warm and stay balmy deep into the night, so the heat does not just switch off when the sun goes down. The aid is only twice per loop, with a gap of roughly 8-plus miles, so you have to carry enough fluid and calories to cover it rather than counting on the next table being close.

The other thing the dark does is mess with your head and your stomach. It is easy to stop eating and drinking when it cools off and you feel okay, and that is exactly how people end up depleted at 2 AM. Keep your fueling on a clock, not on feel, and the night becomes a lot more manageable.

Pacing strategy for a fast, flat-ish night ultra

With gentle, even rolling terrain and a loop you can almost entirely run, the Jangover rewards patience and an honest pace far more than big bursts. The mistake here is going out too hard on smooth trail in the cooling evening air, then fading through the small hours.

Pace the loops even, not the first lap fast

Because there is no monster climb to slow you down, it is easy to run the first Pemberton loop a notch too hard, especially once the temperature drops and the legs feel great. Resist it. Aim to run your loops even or slightly negative, holding a comfortable, conversational effort early so you still have legs at 1 and 2 AM. On rolling desert trail your grade-adjusted effort is what matters, so ease off the little climbs and let the gentle descents and flats give you free speed.

Build a finish prediction and work back to the cutoffs

Do not guess your Jangover finish off a road time. The night, the heat, the desert footing, and the aid spacing all add real minutes, even on a runnable course. A finish prediction that accounts for this terrain gives you a realistic window, and then you can work back into the hard loop deadlines: leaving on the last 75K loop by about 2 AM, or the last 50K loop by about midnight. Knowing your per-loop budget keeps a slow patch from quietly turning into a missed cutoff.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for the heat and the dark

Whether you are out for a couple of hours on the 25K or most of the night on the 75K, the desert heat and the after-dark appetite drop make carbohydrate, sodium, and fluid as important as your fitness. Aid is only twice a loop, so you carry your own buffer.

Carbs: steady, and keep eating after dark

Aim for around 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and only push the top of that range if your gut is trained for it. The sneaky part of a night race is that once the air cools and you feel comfortable, it is easy to forget to eat, and depletion creeps up on you in the small hours. Put your fueling on a timer and take something every 20 to 30 minutes whether you feel like it or not. Practice your exact carb rate on warm long runs so 80-plus grams an hour feels routine, not like a gamble at midnight.

Sodium and fluid: it is still the desert at night

You keep sweating in a warm desert night, so do not let the dark fool you into rationing. Lean toward the high end on sodium, often around 500 to 700 milligrams per liter of fluid, and more if you run salty. Carry enough to cover the roughly 8-plus mile gap between aid stations rather than showing up empty, then top off fully at the start/finish every loop. Weigh yourself before and after a hot evening long run to find your real sweat rate, and build the plan around your own number instead of a generic one.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and the Jangover heat 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 Pemberton loop profile, and your projected loop splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the heat and the night, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Javelina Jangover Night Runs FAQ

How hard is the Javelina Jangover Night Runs?

The Jangover is more about heat, footing, and the all-night clock than about climbing. The Pemberton Trail loop is rolling desert single-track and old jeep road with only about 800 feet of gain per 25K, so nobody is grinding up a mountain here. What makes it hard is running through a September Arizona night that is still warm well after dark, navigating rocky desert trail by headlamp, and stacking loops (two for the 50K, three for the 75K) when your body wants to be asleep. The course closes at 7:00 AM, so steady, well-fueled loops matter far more than raw speed.

How much climbing is in the Javelina Jangover?

Not much by ultra standards. Each 25K Pemberton loop has roughly 800 feet of elevation gain and the same coming back down, on rolling terrain that tops out around 2,480 feet and starts near 1,800 feet. So the 50K is around 1,600 feet of gain and the 75K is around 2,400 feet, spread evenly across smooth, runnable desert trail. There is no single big climb to fear; it is a runner’s course where the challenge is keeping your legs and your stomach moving through the night.

What are the start times and cutoffs for the Jangover?

Starts are staggered through the evening so everyone is out on course in the dark: the 75K goes off around 5:00 PM, the 50K around 5:15 PM, the 25K around 5:45 PM, the 15K around 6:15 PM, and the 7K around 6:45 PM. The whole event has to be off the course by 7:00 AM. To stay in it, the 75K runners need to leave on their final loop by about 2:00 AM and the 50K by about midnight. Confirm the exact times in the current race-day details, since Aravaipa can adjust them year to year.

How should I fuel for a hot desert night ultra like the Jangover?

Treat it as a warm, several-hour night effort where your appetite lies to you. Most runners do well on roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, leaning to the higher end if your gut is trained for it, and you have to keep eating even when the cooler night air tricks you into thinking you do not need it. Sodium should run high because you keep sweating in the desert heat after dark, often the upper end of 500 to 700 mg per liter of fluid, more if you are a salty sweater. Aid is only twice per loop, so carry enough to cover the roughly 8-plus mile gap. Run your own numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator.

What is the terrain and weather like at the Javelina Jangover?

The Pemberton Trail is mostly smooth, rolling desert single-track with some old jeep road and a few rocky, technical sections, run almost entirely on unpaved trail. It is a fast, friendly surface in daylight, but at night the rocks and the loose stuff hide in the shadows of your headlamp, so quick feet and a good light matter. Mid-September in the Phoenix area is still hot: temperatures can sit well into the warm range at the evening start and stay balmy through the night. The race exists specifically to dodge the worst daytime heat, but you are still running a desert course in summer, so heat management is part of the plan.

Is the Javelina Jangover a good first 50K or 75K?

It is one of the more approachable ultras to target, mostly because the climbing is gentle and the loop format lets you drop back to your start/finish aid every 25K. The catch is the night running and the heat, which are genuinely new stressors if you have never trained for them. If you want this as a first 50K or 75K, practice running by headlamp on real trail, do some warm long runs to teach your stomach to eat in the heat, and rehearse your loop routine so the start/finish stop is quick. Train those specifics and the friendly course and 7:00 AM cutoff give most prepared runners room to finish.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, start times, 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.