⏵ Course guide · East Texas Piney Woods ultra
Rocky 50 sends its 50 mile field around three 16.7 mile loops near the shore of Lake Raven at Huntsville State Park, rolling singletrack thick with roots and roughly 1,250 feet of gain per lap. I will walk you through the loop structure first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a repeated, root-heavy course, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Tejas Trails race page. Check the current year details, cutoffs, and aid stations before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.
The race starts on the edge of Lake Raven, then winds through pretty much every corner of Huntsville State Park. The 50 mile runs three full 16.7 mile loops, the 50K runs a shorter first lap plus one full loop, and the half marathon uses its own modified lap.
Huntsville State Park rolls gently up and down near the lakeshore with no steep climbs, gaining roughly 1,250 feet per full 16.7 mile lap. The defining feature is the footing, not the elevation: lots and lots of exposed tree roots throughout the pine forest, the kind that punish tired legs and lapses in attention late in a long day.
Because the 50 mile repeats the same 16.7 mile loop three times, your first lap tells you almost everything about the rest of your day. Root-heavy trail that felt manageable fresh gets genuinely tricky by lap three, so bank technical-footing focus, not just fitness, for the closing miles.
Tejas Trails runs full aid station support with hot and cold options, and the course is laid out so crew can access most stations easily. You are also encouraged to drop your own bags and small ice chests before the race, so you can build a hybrid plan of aid-station food and your own staged supplies at key points on the loop.
The 14.5 hour overall window (7:00 AM start, 9:30 PM close) is generous, but the 4:40 PM last lap cutoff means you need a clear read on your pace well before the finish clock becomes the limiter.
A grade-adjusted pace target captures the gentle rolling terrain, but the root-heavy singletrack costs time in a way elevation numbers alone will not show. Build a buffer into your target pace for the technical sections, especially by lap three when fatigue makes root-dodging harder.
A vert-aware finish prediction built off your real first-lap split, projected across all three laps, tells you honestly whether you are on pace to beat the 4:40 PM last lap cutoff with room to spare. Check that projection early enough in the race to actually adjust your effort.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Mid-February at Huntsville State Park typically runs cool to mild, which is a real advantage on a race this long compared to the summer heat many Texas ultras deal with.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour on the 50 mile and 50K. Full aid station support plus the option to stage your own drop bags and ice chests means you can build a genuinely varied fueling plan rather than relying on generic aid food alone.
Sodium in the 300 to 500 mg per liter range covers most runners on a cool February day, pushing toward 700 mg per liter if the afternoon warms more than expected. Cooler weather means your sweat losses are typically lower here than on a hot-weather Texas ultra, but still plan a real number rather than winging it.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight and a cool February 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 and this exact root-heavy, repeated-loop course profile. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for technical footing over distance, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
It is a fast, runnable ultra by East Texas standards, but the roots make it more demanding than the modest elevation numbers suggest. Each 16.7 mile lap climbs roughly 1,250 feet, gently rolling near the shore of Lake Raven with no steep pitches, but the trail is thick with exposed tree roots that punish anyone running on autopilot late in the race. The 50 mile stacks three of those laps back to back, so cumulative fatigue and root-dodging focus, not any single climb, decide how your day goes.
Each full 16.7 mile lap gains roughly 1,250 feet, and loses the same amount, per the official course elevation profile. The 50 mile runs three full laps, so total gain lands around 3,750 feet across the distance. The 50K runs a shorter 14.6 mile first lap followed by one full 16.7 mile lap, and the half marathon uses its own modified 13.1 mile lap, so its climbing total is proportionally less.
Mid-February in East Texas usually runs cool to mild, which helps on a race this long. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour on the 50 mile and 50K, and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range. Tejas Trails provides full aid station support with hot and cold options, and encourages runners to drop their own drop bags and ice chests before the race, so plan a mix of aid-station food and your own staged supplies rather than relying on one or the other.
The last lap cutoff is 4:40 PM for both the 50 mile and the 50K, meaning you need to be starting your final lap by then. The overall course closes at 9:30 PM for every distance. With the 50 mile starting at 7:00 AM, that gives a 14.5 hour window, which is generous for the terrain as long as you respect the 4:40 PM checkpoint along the way.
No. Rocky Raccoon 100 grew large enough that Tejas Trails eventually split the 50 mile and 50K distances onto their own separate weekend and later added the half marathon, and Rocky 50 is now a fully standalone event with its own registration, schedule, and cutoffs at the same Huntsville State Park venue. If you are looking for the 100 mile or 100K race, that guide covers Rocky Raccoon 100 specifically.
Yes, it is one of the more approachable 50 mile courses around. Rolling terrain with no steep climbs, a generous overall cutoff, familiar Tejas Trails aid station support, and a repeated-loop format that keeps you close to your own gear all make this a solid first-50-mile choice. The main adjustment for first-timers is training on root-heavy technical footing, since that is what actually slows you down here, not the hills.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/rocky-50">The Rocky 50 course guide</a>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.