20 Mile: 2,000 feet of vertical
Starting at 8:00 AM, the 20-miler covers a portion of the full lollipop with 2,000 feet of vertical gain, real climbing on mostly single track without the full time commitment of the 40.
⏵ Course guide · Blue Marsh Lake, Pennsylvania
Naked Bavarian Course Guide
Naked Bavarian runs a single-track heavy lollipop course along the north side of Blue Marsh Lake, with 4,000 feet of vertical on the 40 mile and 2,000 on the 20 mile, aid every 3 miles, and a German-themed finisher memento waiting at the end. I will walk you through the course, the shared 6:00 PM cutoff, and a pacing and fueling plan for whichever distance you choose, with free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
⏵ At a glance
Naked Bavarian quick facts
- Date
- Saturday, March 6, 2027, bibs available 6:30 AM
- Start times
- 40 Mile at 7:30 AM, 20 Mile at 8:00 AM
- Location
- Day Use Area, Lake View Pavillion, 1420 Palisades Drive, Leesport, PA 19533 (Blue Marsh Lake, north side)
- Cutoff
- 6:00 PM for all races
- Elevation
- 2,000 feet of vertical (20 mile), 4,000 feet of vertical (40 mile)
- Terrain
- 80% single track, 20% gravel road, lollipop layout (6.5 miles out, a 7 mile loop, 6.5 miles back)
- Aid stations
- Every roughly 3 miles: miles 3.5, 6.5, 10, 13.5, 16.5, and 20, with water, Gatorade, and carbs
- Entry fee
- 20 Mile $39, 40 Mile $49
- Registration deadline
- Monday, March 1, 11:59 PM ET
- Finisher award
- German-style finisher memento, plus awards by placement and age group
- Organizer
- Uber Endurance Sports
These facts come from the official Uber Endurance Sports race page. The start/finish sits in the Leesport-side day-use area of Blue Marsh Lake. Check the official page for the current year's details before you commit.
The course: a single-track lollipop along Blue Marsh Lake
Start and finish are at the Lake View Pavillion day-use area on the north side of Blue Marsh Lake. The layout is a lollipop: 6.5 miles out, a 7 mile loop, then 6.5 miles back, on a surface that is 80% single track and 20% gravel road.
40 Mile: 4,000 feet of vertical
Starting earlier at 7:30 AM, the 40-miler doubles both the distance and the vert of the 20, at 4,000 feet of vertical gain over the full lollipop shape. Expect the mix of single track and gravel road to repeat as the course structure asks you to retrace sections of the out-and-back portions.
Aid roughly every 3 miles
Stations sit at miles 3.5, 6.5, 10, 13.5, 16.5, and 20, each stocked with water, Gatorade, and carbs. That spacing means you are rarely more than a few miles from resupply on either distance.
Pacing strategy for the 6:00 PM cutoff
Both distances share a 6:00 PM cutoff, which gives the 40-miler a 10.5 hour window from its 7:30 AM start and the 20-miler a 10 hour window from its 8:00 AM start.
Respect the vert, use the gravel road to recover
With 4,000 feet of vertical packed into the 40 miler (2,000 for the 20), your single-track climbing sections will cost more time than a flat-course pace calculator assumes. Use the 20% gravel-road portion of the lollipop to settle your breathing and recover your legs between the technical single-track stretches, rather than treating the whole course as one uniform effort.
⏵ Free tools to plan your effort
- Race-time calculator to see what a given pace does to your finish time against the shared 6:00 PM cutoff.
- Race-equivalent calculator to turn a recent race result into a realistic goal for Blue Marsh Lake's single track and vert.
Fueling for an early-March Pennsylvania day
With water, Gatorade, and carbs at 6 aid stations roughly every 3 miles, you can lean on course support and carry less between stops.
A simple per-hour target
Aim for roughly 40 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour and sodium in the 300 to 500 mg per liter range as a baseline for the 40 mile distance, scaling down slightly for the shorter 20 mile option. Early March in Berks County, Pennsylvania can still be cold, so plan your layering and understand that fluid needs will likely run lower than a warm-weather race, while carbohydrate needs for the climbing stay the same.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight and an early-March Pennsylvania trail effort 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 Blue Marsh Lake's single track and 4,000 feet of vert. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the climbing legs this course demands, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
Naked Bavarian FAQ
How hard is the Naked Bavarian 40 mile?
The 40-miler carries 4,000 feet of vertical gain over a lollipop layout of single track (80% of the course) and gravel road (20%) along the north side of Blue Marsh Lake. That vert total over 40 miles is a moderate, steady demand rather than a single brutal climb, and the mostly single-track surface means technical footing matters more than raw grade.
What is the Naked Bavarian course like?
It runs as a lollipop: 6.5 miles out, a 7 mile loop, then 6.5 miles back, meaning the 40-miler effectively covers that lollipop shape and the 20-miler covers a portion of it. The surface is 80% single track and 20% gravel road along Blue Marsh Lake's north side, giving you real trail feel with enough gravel road mixed in to open your stride between technical stretches.
What is the cutoff for Naked Bavarian?
Both the 20 mile and 40 mile races share a 6:00 PM cutoff. With the 40-miler starting at 7:30 AM, that gives you a 10.5 hour window; the 20-miler starting at 8:00 AM gets a 10 hour window. Pace with the vert in mind (2,000 feet for the 20, 4,000 for the 40) rather than assuming flat-course pace will carry you through.
Is Naked Bavarian a good first ultra?
The 20 mile option is short of true ultra distance and gives you the same terrain and aid support as the 40-miler on a more approachable scale, with 2,000 feet of vertical and a 10 hour cutoff. If you are eyeing a first true ultra, the 40 mile with 4,000 feet of vert and aid stations roughly every 3 miles is a well-supported, moderate introduction to the distance.
How much aid support is there at Naked Bavarian?
Aid stations sit roughly every 3 miles, at miles 3.5, 6.5, 10, 13.5, 16.5, and 20, each offering water, Gatorade, and carbs. That frequency means you can run lighter and count on regular resupply rather than carrying a full day's nutrition yourself.
What do Naked Bavarian finishers get?
Every finisher receives a German-style finisher memento, with additional awards given by placement and age group. The race name and finisher swag both lean into the Bavarian theme, a distinctive touch for a Pennsylvania trail race.
Link this guide
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/naked-bavarian">The Naked Bavarian course guide</a>Iframe embed
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