Summit Line

⏵ Course guide · Northeast Ohio trail

Run With Scissors Course Guide

Run With Scissors winds through the rocks, roots, and fields of Cleveland Metroparks' Hinckley Reservation, offering a Half Marathon, Marathon, and Double Marathon that all start and finish at Ledge Lake Lodge with about 1,600 feet of climbing built into every loop. I will walk you through the terrain and format first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a repeating, technical Ohio loop course, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Run With Scissors quick facts

Date
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Location
Ledge Lake Lodge, 1151 Ledge Rd, Hinckley Reservation, Cleveland Metroparks, Ohio
Distances & starts
Double Marathon at 5:00 AM · Marathon at 7:00 AM · Half Marathon at 9:00 AM
Finish window
All distances finish around 9:00 PM; the Double Marathon carries a stated 16-hour cutoff
Terrain
Rocks, roots, and fields on repeating loops of Hinckley Reservation trail
Climbing
About 1,600 ft of gain per loop, per the official course description
Charity partner
Run to Share
Organizer
Fast Girls Running Company (Akron, OH)

These facts come from the official RunSignup event page. Start times, cutoffs, and course details can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics before you commit.

The course: the same technical loop, however many times you sign up for

Run With Scissors builds all three distances out of the same Hinckley Reservation terrain, run in repeating loops, so picking your distance means picking how many times you want to face the same rocks, roots, and fields.

Rocks, roots, and fields, with real climbing on every pass

The official course description calls this a moderately difficult route through Cleveland Metroparks' Hinckley Reservation, with rocks, roots, and open fields mixed throughout, and about 1,600 feet of elevation gain packed into every loop. That gain compounds with every additional loop the longer distances require, so the Double Marathon in particular asks your legs to handle both more mileage and meaningfully more total climbing than the Half or single Marathon.

Three start times, one shared finish window

The Double Marathon starts earliest at 5 AM, the Marathon follows at 7 AM, and the Half Marathon starts last at 9 AM, with all three sharing a finish window that lands around 9 PM. That structure gives the Double Marathon its full 16 hours, while the Marathon and Half Marathon get proportionally more time relative to their distance, which is the basis for the race's own hiker-friendly framing for those two options.

Ledge Lake Lodge as your home base

Every distance starts and finishes at Ledge Lake Lodge, so if you are running one of the multi-loop distances, you will pass back through the same base area repeatedly rather than navigating a true point-to-point course. Use that predictability to plan drop bags, gear changes, and crew meetups at a single, known location rather than guessing at logistics across a spread-out course.

Pacing strategy for a repeating technical loop

With about 1,600 feet of climbing on every loop, going out too hard on the first pass borrows directly from the legs you need for every loop that follows.

Respect the terrain from loop one

Rocks and roots do not care how fresh your legs are, and a twisted ankle on loop one ends your race just as surely as one on the final loop. Use a grade-adjusted pace target to set an honest climbing effort for the roughly 1,600 feet per loop, and treat technical footing as a hard speed limit rather than something you can push through on adrenaline.

Pace the Double Marathon against its own clock, not the Marathon's

The Double Marathon's 16-hour cutoff from a 5 AM start gives real margin if you respect the terrain, but it is a much bigger ask across repeated loops than a single Marathon's finish window. Build a realistic finish-time prediction off your actual fitness rather than assuming the single Marathon's pace simply doubles, since fatigue and technical terrain compound non-linearly across extra loops.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a cool late-October day

The Double Marathon's 5 AM start means the opening loops run in the dark and the cold, while the Half Marathon's 9 AM start lands in generally milder conditions by comparison.

Carbs and sodium for repeated climbing

Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, scaled down for the shorter Half Marathon, and keep sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range. Late October in northeast Ohio typically runs cool and can be damp, so your fluid needs may run lower than a summer race, but do not skip electrolytes just because you are not sweating heavily.

Use the shared start/finish for smart layering

Because every distance starts and finishes at Ledge Lake Lodge, and the longer distances loop back through repeatedly, stage layering changes there rather than trying to carry everything you might need for a pre-dawn-to-daylight transition. A dry base layer and a warm hat waiting for you at the lodge does more for a cold Double Marathon morning than any single fueling tweak.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a cool Ohio fall 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 Hinckley Reservation loop profile. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for repeated technical climbing, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Run With Scissors FAQ

What is Run With Scissors?

It is a trail race through the heart of Cleveland Metroparks' Hinckley Reservation, run by Fast Girls Running Company out of Akron, Ohio, offering a Half Marathon, a full Marathon, and a Double Marathon (52.4 miles) on repeating loops of the same technical terrain. All three distances start and finish at Ledge Lake Lodge and share the same finish window, which the organizers describe as hiker-friendly given how generous the time allowed is relative to the distance.

How hard is Run With Scissors?

The official course description calls it moderately difficult, winding through rocks, roots, and fields with about 1,600 feet of elevation gain per loop. That climbing repeats with every additional loop the longer distances require, so the Double Marathon in particular compounds both the mileage and the vertical significantly compared to the Half. Choose your distance with that repetition in mind rather than just the headline mileage.

What are the cutoff times for Run With Scissors?

All three distances share a finish window that lands around 9:00 PM. The Double Marathon, starting at 5:00 AM, carries an explicitly stated 16-hour cutoff, which lines up with that 9 PM finish. The Marathon (7 AM start) and Half Marathon (9 AM start) both have correspondingly more time relative to their distance, which is why the race markets itself as hiker friendly for those two options.

What should I expect from the Hinckley Reservation terrain?

Expect rocks, roots, and open fields in the same loop repeated for the longer distances, rather than new terrain the whole way. Cleveland Metroparks trail is generally well maintained but genuinely technical in the wooded sections, so if you are used to groomed park paths, budget extra time for careful footing, especially on later loops when your legs are tired and your attention starts to drift.

How should I fuel for Run With Scissors?

Late October in northeast Ohio can run cool and damp, and the Double Marathon's 5 AM start means the first loop or two will be in the dark and the cold. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and keep sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusting up if the day runs warmer than typical for the date. Because the course repeats the same loop, you will pass your drop point regularly, so use that predictability to plan layering changes as much as fueling. Build your specific numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.

Is Run With Scissors a good first marathon or ultra?

The single Marathon distance, with its 7 AM start and share of the same generous overall finish window, is a reasonable target if you have some trail experience and want a technical, hilly alternative to a road marathon. The Double Marathon is a much bigger commitment: real technical terrain, real elevation gain repeated across a 52.4-mile day, and a pre-dawn start. If you are newer to trail ultras, start with the single Marathon and use it to learn how the Hinckley terrain treats your legs before committing to the double.

Link this guide

Race directors and clubs: link or embed this guide anywhere. It stays current.

HTML link
<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/run-with-scissors">The Run With Scissors course guide</a>
Iframe embed
<iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/run-with-scissors" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Run With Scissors course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, and cutoffs 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.

The timeline

Get the week-by-week countdown for this race: when to build, when to peak, when to taper.

One email with the timeline, plus training notes for this race. Unsubscribe any time.