⏵ Course guide · Oklahoma's oldest trail run
The Lake McMurtry Trail Run sends the 50K, 25K, 12K, and 5K around singletrack winding through the pines and along the shoreline near Stillwater, Oklahoma, with the longer distances adding an out-and-back to the lake's east side. I will walk you through the course and cutoffs first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official outlaw100.com/lake-mcmurtry page. Exact start time and entry fee were not published there at the time of writing, so confirm both before you register. Course markings and cutoffs can change year to year.
Every distance runs singletrack on the west side of Lake McMurtry, with the 50K and other longer options extending out to the lake's east side and back.
The west-side loop winds through pine trees with regular lake views, technical enough to keep your attention without demanding high-mountain fitness. The 50K adds roughly 2,600 feet of gain across the full distance, real but manageable vert for an Oklahoma trail course.
The 50K passes through 7 aid stations along the loop and out-and-back, including two visits each to Catfish Cove (miles 11 and 27) and the Start/Finish area. That repeat structure means you get to know your resupply points well before the race is over.
East Pavilion by 2:00 PM and Catfish Cove by 5:00 PM give the 50K field real feedback partway through the 12-hour window, well ahead of the 7:00 PM finish deadline. Use those two checkpoints as honest progress checks rather than waiting until you feel like you are running out of time.
With two intermediate checkpoints ahead of the 7:00 PM finish, you have built-in moments to sanity check your pace against the 12-hour window.
Rather than only watching the overall 12-hour clock, treat 2:00 PM at East Pavilion and 5:00 PM at Catfish Cove as your own pace gates. Falling behind either one early is a much easier problem to fix than discovering you are behind with only a few miles left before the 7:00 PM finish.
Pine-forest singletrack around a lake is not a fast, non-technical surface, so a grade- and terrain-adjusted pace target for the early miles keeps you from banking time you cannot actually hold once fatigue sets in on the out-and-back to the east side.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Seven aid stations along the 50K course is generous spacing, so build a per-hour plan and let the aid stations top it off rather than carrying everything yourself.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour while moving and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range. With aid available at Catfish Cove and the Start/Finish more than once, you can plan lighter carries between stations and top off more often than on a point-to-point course.
Mid-April in Oklahoma can start cool and warm up meaningfully by early afternoon, right around when the 50K field is working through the middle and later checkpoints. Shift your sodium and fluid intake upward as the day heats up rather than sticking to a single fixed number for the whole race.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a mid-April Oklahoma 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 training plan built around YOUR fitness and the technical lake-loop singletrack this course demands. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the durability your distance needs, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The course is described as moderately difficult: singletrack through pines and along the shoreline on the west side of the lake, with the 50K and other longer distances adding an out-and-back to the east side. Roughly 2,600 feet of gain for the 50K is real but manageable vert, and the race explicitly welcomes walking or hiking the full distance, which tells you a lot about how forgiving the format is meant to be.
The 50K carries a 12-hour overall time limit with two intermediate checkpoints: East Pavilion by 2:00 PM and Catfish Cove by 5:00 PM, with a 7:00 PM finish deadline. Those checkpoints give you real feedback partway through the race rather than leaving you guessing until the very end.
Expect singletrack winding through pine trees with regular lake views, a loop on the west side of Lake McMurtry for the shorter distances, and an out-and-back extension to the east side for the 50K and other longer options. It is technical enough to demand attention but not a high-mountain course, which is part of why it has stayed Oklahoma's oldest trail run for so long.
With 7 aid stations along the course, including repeat passes through Catfish Cove and East Pavilion on the out-and-back, you have frequent chances to restock. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour while moving and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusted for a mid-April Oklahoma day that can warm up meaningfully by early afternoon. Build your own numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator.
Yes to both. Trekking poles are permitted on the singletrack, and leashed dogs are welcome, two details that make this a genuinely approachable race for runners who want company or extra stability on the technical sections.
It has real advantages for a first ultra attempt: a generous 12-hour cutoff for roughly 2,600 feet of gain, intermediate checkpoints that tell you how you are doing partway through, 7 aid stations along the way, and an explicit welcome for walking or hiking the full distance if that is your plan. The singletrack around Lake McMurtry is technical enough to be a genuine trail experience without demanding high-mountain fitness.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/lake-mcmurtry-trail-run">The Lake McMurtry Trail Run course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/lake-mcmurtry-trail-run" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Lake McMurtry Trail Run course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The format, date, and course 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.
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