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⏵ Course guide · Colorado ultra

Never Summer 100K Course Guide

The Never Summer 100K is one of Colorado’s real mountain ultras, a Gnar Runners race that loops through State Forest State Park in the Never Summer and Medicine Bow Mountains above Gould. It is about 65.7 miles with roughly 14,500 feet of climbing, and most of the day you are up between 10,000 and 12,000 feet on rough trail, alpine ridgeline, and old jeep road. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan that fits the altitude, the climbs, and the night. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Never Summer 100K quick facts

Date
Race weekend July 24 to 26, 2026 · 100K runs Saturday, July 25
Location
State Forest State Park, Never Summer & Medicine Bow Mountains, Gould, Colorado
Distances
100K (about 65.7 mi) and 60K (about 39.2 mi)
Elevation gain
100K: about 14,500 ft · 60K: about 8,100 ft · course runs 8,450 to 11,852 ft
Start
100K: Saturday 5:30 AM · 60K: Friday 5:30 AM · from the Gould Community Center
Cutoff
100K: 24 hr overall, with intermediate cutoffs (Summit mile 22.9, Ruby Jewel 31.6, Clear Lake 45.3, Canadian 51.5, Bockman 57.4) · 60K: 15 hr
Qualifier
Western States Endurance Run qualifier for 100K finishers under 23 hours

These facts come from the official Gnar Runners race site and the RunSignup listing. Check the current date, cutoffs, and aid stations in the race-day details before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: where Never Summer is won and lost

The 100K is a big loop through State Forest State Park, about 65.7 miles and 14,500 feet of climbing, with the high point near 11,852 feet and the whole thing averaging around 10,220 feet. It is not a course of one signature climb. It is climb a pass, traverse the high country, drop, then do it again, five times over, on terrain that ranges from smooth jeep road to rough rocky trail to honest-to-goodness boulder and tundra above treeline. You hit roughly 11 aid stations, and the gaps run from about 4 to 8 miles, with the longest carry from the start out to the first aid.

The early climbs: 7 Utes and North Diamond

The day opens with the 7 Utes climb, then North Diamond, and these early passes are where patient runners separate from the people who will be hurting later. It is tempting to climb hard while your legs are fresh and the sun is low, but you are already above 10,000 feet, and burning matches up here at the start is the single most common Never Summer mistake. Hike the steep parts, keep your effort honest, and save your enthusiasm for the second half.

Up top you get the Medicine Bow ridge between the Diamond and Montgomery aid, traversing around 11,000 feet with the big views and the full exposure that comes with them. The footing changes constantly, from runnable to rocky and slow, so this is as much about staying smooth and paying attention as it is about fitness.

The high middle: American Lakes, Kelly Lake, and the alpine

The middle of the course strings together the American Lakes and Kelly Lake climbs through the most remote, most beautiful, and slowest terrain of the day. Expect rough old logging roads, steep slope and uneven ground above the trees, muddy stretches and river crossings down low, and swampy sections on the way toward Bockman. This is high alpine running at its best and its most punishing, and your moving pace here will be slower than the mileage suggests. Do not panic when your splits balloon, that is the course, not you falling apart.

The stretch between Ruby Jewel and Clear Lake is the one to respect most: a long high-altitude haul with a lot of climbing on rough terrain, and it tends to land in the heat of the day. Get your fluid and calories right going into it, and keep an eye on the sky, because this is exposed country when the afternoon storms build.

The back half and the night: Clear Lake, Canadian, Bockman, home

After Clear Lake the race turns into a long grind to the finish through Canadian, Bockman, and the closing miles, and for most runners a big chunk of this happens in the dark. The climbing never really stops, the temperature drops hard once the sun is gone, and this is where the day is truly won or lost. The people who paced the early passes with discipline and kept eating are still moving here. The people who hammered the front end are walking it in.

Treat the night as its own race within the race. Have your headlamp and warm layers in a drop bag before dark, plan to keep eating even when you stop feeling hungry, and break the back half into aid-station-to-aid-station chunks so 65 miles never feels like 65 miles. If you have a pacer for the late section, this is where they earn their keep.

Pacing strategy for a high-altitude mountain 100K

With 14,500 feet of climbing spread across five passes and almost the entire course above 10,000 feet, Never Summer is about managing effort and altitude, not hitting a pace chart. Run the climbs by feel, hike the steep stuff early, and protect your legs for the night.

Pace by grade and altitude, not by the watch

Your flat-ground pace is meaningless on these climbs, and at 11,000 feet your heart rate runs higher for the same effort. Hold a steady, conversational output you can sustain up the grade, hike the steep pitches without ego, and let your moving pace be whatever the terrain gives you. The classic Never Summer blowup is pushing the early passes because the legs feel good, then unraveling on the long high traverse in the heat. Use a grade-adjusted pace to turn your real fitness into honest climbing and descending targets so you do not torch the first half.

Build a vert-aware finish prediction and work back into the cutoffs

Do not guess your Never Summer finish off a road or even a flatter trail time. The 14,500 feet of gain, the altitude, the rough footing, and the night all add real hours. A vert-aware finish prediction gives you a realistic window, and then you can work back into the intermediate cutoffs (Summit by 1:45 PM, Ruby Jewel by 4:30 PM, Clear Lake by 10:45 PM, and on through the night) so you know exactly how much buffer you have at each one. If Western States is the goal, plan against the 23 hour qualifier clock, not the 24 hour cutoff.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

  • Grade-adjusted pace calculator to turn your flat fitness into honest targets for the five climbs and the high traverses.
  • Race-time calculator for a vert-aware finish prediction on this course’s climbing, so you can plan against the cutoffs and the 23 hour qualifier mark.
  • Race-equivalent calculator to turn a recent race result into a Never Summer goal you can actually hold at altitude.

Fueling strategy for altitude, distance, and the night

Most runners are out on the Never Summer 100K for 14 to 24 hours, climbing all day at altitude and finishing in the cold and dark. That makes carbohydrate, sodium, and fluid every bit as important as your fitness, and the altitude only makes it harder to get food down.

Carbs: steady, and don't let altitude starve you

For an effort this long, aim for somewhere around 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and only push the higher end if your gut is trained for it. The real enemy here is altitude killing your appetite, so favor things you can actually swallow up high (liquid calories, gels, easy chews) and keep eating on a schedule rather than waiting until you feel hungry, because at 11,000 feet you may never feel hungry. Practice your exact race-day carb rate on long climbing days so 70 to 80 grams an hour feels routine, not like a gamble.

Sodium, fluid, and night calories: plan for the swings

You will sweat hard on the exposed afternoon climbs and then run cold through the night, so your needs move around. Lean on the higher end of sodium when it is hot and you are climbing, often around 500 to 700 milligrams per liter of fluid, more if you are a heavy or salty sweater, and keep drinking even when the cold night makes you forget to. Carry enough to cover the longer gaps between aid instead of rationing to empty. And plan for warm, real calories overnight, since broth, soup, and anything hot at the aid stations can save your race when everything sweet has turned your stomach. Weigh yourself before and after a big day to find your real sweat rate, then build the plan around your own number.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and the long Never Summer day and night 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 Never Summer course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the climbing and the altitude, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Never Summer 100K FAQ

How hard is the Never Summer 100K?

Never Summer is a true mountain 100K and one of the harder ones in Colorado, not a fast course you can muscle through. The 100K is about 65.7 miles with roughly 14,500 feet of climbing, and most of the day lives between 10,000 and 12,000 feet on rough trail, jeep road, high alpine ridgeline, and the odd boulder field. You climb five real passes, run exposed above treeline, deal with afternoon storms and a night section, and the terrain is genuinely slow in places. The 24 hour cutoff is generous on paper, but the altitude and the rough footing eat into your buffer, so steady climbing and a fueling plan that survives the elevation matter more than leg speed.

How much climbing is in the Never Summer 100K?

The 100K has about 14,500 feet of total elevation gain (and the same in descent) over roughly 65.7 miles, per the official Gnar Runners course numbers. It is stacked into several named climbs: 7 Utes early, then North Diamond, American Lakes, Kelly Lake, and Clear Lake, with high alpine traversing in between. The 60K covers about 39.2 miles with around 8,100 feet of gain. None of it is runnable in the road sense; it is climb, traverse, descend, repeat, mostly above 10,000 feet.

What are the cutoff times for the Never Summer 100K?

The 100K has a 24 hour overall limit with several intermediate cutoffs along the way: Summit at mile 22.9 by 1:45 PM, Ruby Jewel at mile 31.6 by 4:30 PM, Clear Lake at mile 45.3 by 10:45 PM, Canadian at mile 51.5 by 1:00 AM, and Bockman at mile 57.4 by 3:00 AM. The 60K limit is 15 hours. Because the intermediate cutoffs are spread through the day and night, you cannot bank all your buffer for the end, so plan your splits against each checkpoint. Confirm the current cutoffs in the official race details before you start.

Is the Never Summer 100K a Western States qualifier?

Yes. The Never Summer 100K is a Western States Endurance Run qualifying race, but with a catch: you need to finish under 23 hours, not just under the 24 hour overall cutoff. So if Western States is the goal, you are racing a 23 hour clock, not a 24 hour one, and that one hour matters when the altitude and the rough terrain are slowing you down. Always double check the current qualifier rules on the WSER and Gnar Runners sites, since qualifier standards and times can change year to year.

How should I handle the altitude at Never Summer?

The whole course sits high, averaging around 10,220 feet and topping out near 11,852 feet, so altitude is part of the race whether you live up high or not. If you are coming from sea level, get there early to acclimate or arrive as late as you can to beat the worst of it, and accept that your climbing pace and your appetite will both take a hit up high. Hike the steep pitches early instead of redlining, because going anaerobic at 11,000 feet is a hole you do not climb out of. Keep eating and drinking even when the altitude kills your appetite, since under-fueling up high is what turns a strong first half into a death march.

What is the weather like at the Never Summer 100K?

Late July in these mountains means big swings and real exposure. Afternoon thunderstorms are common, and getting caught above treeline on an exposed ridge during lightning is the most serious hazard on the course, so you want to be moving and aware up high in the early afternoon. Temperatures can swing 30 degrees or more between the high heat of the day and the cold of the alpine night, and snow or hail is possible up high even in summer. Carry your required layers, plan for cold after dark, and respect the sky when you are exposed.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, aid stations, and qualifier status 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.