⏵ Course guide · Western New York
Mendon Trail Runs builds its 50K, Half Marathon, and 10K from the same rolling 10K loop through Mendon Ponds Park, a course with only about 300 feet of elevation difference top to bottom that somehow never goes flat. I will walk you through why that constant rolling adds up, then give you a pacing and fueling plan for the 50K's 8-hour window, with free calculators along the way.
These facts come from the official Rochester Orienteering Club race page. Check the current year details, cutoffs, and aid stations before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.
Every distance at Mendon is built from the same 10K loop. The 50K runs it multiple times, the Half Marathon opens with a short 1.1K loop before two full 10K laps, and the 5K follows the same route for its first 3.7K before splitting off toward its own finish.
The 10K loop runs almost entirely on trails and grassy fields, with the race's own materials calling it nearly all runnable and not particularly technical, aside from one fairly short rocky downhill section where footing gets tricky. The catch is the low point to high point elevation difference on the whole loop is only about 300 feet, yet the course notes are explicit that it is essentially never flat.
The Rochester Orienteering Club has run this event since 1994, and it doubles as one of the club's main fundraisers. That long track record shows in the details: marked junctions, traffic cones at road crossings, and a course that has clearly been refined over three decades of running it.
Each 10K loop crosses park roads twice, and runners are responsible for their own safety at those crossings even with course marking in place. Stay alert at those points regardless of how many loops in you are.
From an 8:00 AM start, your last loop must begin before 2:30 PM, and the full course must be finished by 4:00 PM. That is roughly 6.5 hours to start your final loop and 8 hours total.
A grade-adjusted pace target still matters here even though nothing on this course is steep, because the constant rolling nature adds fatigue that a flat pace goal will not predict. Treat the whole loop as gently undulating rather than assuming any stretch is a true flat recovery section.
The real deadline that matters on the 50K is not the 4:00 PM finish, it is whether you start your final loop before 2:30 PM. A vert-aware finish-time projection built from your early loop splits tells you honestly whether you are on pace for that specific checkpoint, with laps left to fix it if you are not.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Early November here tends to run cool, sometimes damp, which works in your favor for hydration but means layering matters more than usual for a race this length.
A fully stocked aid station sits about 3.5 miles into each loop, with a lighter water stop at the start/finish. Aim for 50 to 70 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and stage your own favorite foods in a drop bag at the aid station if the on-course spread of candy, chips, and pickle juice does not cover what you know works for you over 31 miles.
Keep sodium in the 300 to 500 mg per liter range given typically cool early-November conditions, adjusting upward only if the day runs warmer or sunnier than expected. Cool weather can mask dehydration, so do not skip fluids just because you do not feel thirsty.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a cool early-November 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, this exact rolling Mendon loop, and your projected lap splits, so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The 50K climbs an estimated 4,750 feet across repeated 10K loops through Mendon Ponds Park, and while none of the individual climbs are steep, the race's own course notes are blunt about it: the total elevation difference between the loop's low and high point is only about 300 feet, but the course is essentially never flat. That constant, gentle rolling adds up over 31 miles more than a single elevation number suggests.
Estimated climb by distance is 450 feet for the 5K, 950 feet for the 10K, 2,000 feet for the Half Marathon, and 4,750 feet for the 50K, all built from the same repeated 10K loop. The loop itself only spans about 300 feet between its lowest and highest points, so this is rolling terrain accumulated over distance rather than one defining climb.
The 50K gives you until 4:00 PM to finish from an 8:00 AM start, an 8-hour window, with a fully stocked aid station about 3.5 miles into each loop plus a water stop at the start/finish. Aim for roughly 50 to 70 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and plan your own favorite foods in a drop bag at the aid station, since the on-course selection (M&Ms, gummi bears, pretzels, pickle juice, and similar) may not cover every preference for 31 miles.
You must start your last loop before 2:30 PM, and the full course must be completed by 4:00 PM, both from an 8:00 AM start. That is roughly 6.5 hours to reach the start of your final loop and 8 hours total, a workable but not overly generous window for a rolling, never-flat 31-mile course.
The core 10K loop runs almost entirely on trails or grassy fields, marked at every junction with a short rocky downhill section where footing can get tricky. It has many rolling hills and is described by the organizers as nearly all runnable, not particularly technical, but never actually flat, with two crossings of park roads per loop that runners must navigate carefully.
The loop format helps: the 50K repeats a familiar 10K route, so by your third or fourth lap you know exactly what is coming, and the field cap of 350 keeps the event from feeling overwhelming. The rolling, non-technical terrain is approachable for a first ultra distance, though the constant up-and-down nature means even a "runnable" course will test pacing discipline more than a flat rail-trail 50K would.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/mendon-trail-runs">The Mendon Trail Runs course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/mendon-trail-runs" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Mendon Trail Runs course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>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.
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