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⏵ Course guide · Nevada ultra

Silver State 50/50 Course Guide

The Silver State 50/50 is a high-desert mountain ultra on Peavine Mountain above Reno, and it is one of the oldest trail ultras on the West Coast, going back to 1986. It is built around a long climb to the Peavine high point near 8,000 feet, miles of excellent single track at altitude, and May weather that can throw heat or snow at you in the same week. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan for the climbing and the thin air. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Silver State 50/50 quick facts

Date
Saturday, May 16, 2026 (41st annual, founded 1986)
Location
Rancho San Rafael Park, Reno, NV, up onto Peavine Mountain
Distances
50 mile, 50K (about 31 mi), and a trail half marathon (13.1 mi)
Elevation gain
50M: about 9,000 ft · 50K: about 5,500 ft · Half: about 1,800 ft
Starts
50M 6:00 AM · 50K 7:00 AM · Half 8:00 AM
Cutoff
50M: 8:15 PM (14 hr 15 min) · 50K: 8:15 PM (13 hr 15 min), with intermediate cutoffs at Long Valley and Peavine
Qualifier
Not a listed WS, Hardrock, or UTMB qualifier, but a classic Western States and Tahoe Rim Trail tune-up

These facts come from the official race site and UltraSignup. 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 Silver State is won and lost

Everything starts and finishes down at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno, then climbs up onto Peavine Mountain on dirt and rock single track. The 50 mile is roughly 9,000 feet of climbing with two trips into the high country, the 50K is about 31 miles and 5,500 feet, and both share the same brutal-honest high point near 8,000 feet. This is high-desert running at altitude, so the air is thinner than the map makes it look.

The long climb to Peavine: patience early, or pay later

The day is built around the sustained climb up the flanks of Peavine to the high point near 8,000 feet, and that is where the race gets won or lost. Coming from the valley floor you gain a lot of altitude, and pitches hit grades around 15 percent, so the move is to hike the steep stuff efficiently and keep your effort even. If you run the early grade hard because the legs feel fresh and the crowd is buzzing, the altitude collects that debt with interest later.

Up high the course rolls through pine and open high-desert slopes with big Sierra and Carson Range views, and on a clear day it is genuinely beautiful. The footing is real, though. Loose rock, dust, and exposed ground reward quick feet and paying attention as much as fitness does.

The descents and the second climb (50 mile)

The way down off Peavine is fast and fun if you saved something, but long descending on loose rock beats up your quads, and the 50 mile makes you go back up into the high country a second time. That second climb, on tired legs in the afternoon, is the real test of how well you paced the morning. People who banked too much early effort turn the back half into a long, grinding survival march.

Practice controlled, runnable descending and some real climbing on tired legs before race day. Being able to keep your legs turning over downhill late, when your quads are cooked and you have already been up high once, is what separates a steady finish from a death-shuffle to the line.

Altitude, exposure, and the May weather lottery

This is the part newcomers underestimate. The course tops out around 8,000 feet, so even strong sea-level runners feel the thin air on the climbs, and the exposed high ground gives you nowhere to hide. The 50 mile runs around 10 aid stations and the 50K around 8, but the gaps up high can be long and sun-baked, so carry enough fluid and calories to get across them instead of trusting that the next aid is close.

Then there is the weather, which is its own event. Silver State in mid-May has been sunny and into the 90s with people running dry down low, and it has also served up cold rain, wind, mud, and lingering snow up top. Watch the forecast all week and build your kit and your fluid plan for both ends of it, because Peavine gets a vote no matter what your training said.

Pacing strategy for a high-altitude climbing ultra

With thousands of feet of climbing stacked onto thin air, Silver State is about managing effort, not chasing a pace chart. Run the climbs by feel, give the altitude its due, and respect those intermediate cutoffs at Long Valley and Peavine.

Pace the climbs by grade, not by the watch

Your flat-ground pace is meaningless on the Peavine climb, and at altitude it lies to you even more. What matters is grade-adjusted effort: hold a steady output you can actually sustain up the grade and hike the steep pitches without guilt. The classic Silver State mistake is running the first climb too hard because it feels easy in the cool morning air, then unraveling up high or on the second climb. Use a grade-adjusted pace to turn your real fitness into honest climbing and descending targets, and then ride the thin air a touch more conservatively than the number suggests.

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

Do not guess your Silver State time off a road 50 or a flat 50K. The 9,000 feet (or 5,500 for the 50K), the altitude, and the loose footing all add real time on the clock. A vert-aware finish prediction that accounts for this course profile gives you a realistic window, and then you can work backward into the Long Valley and Peavine cutoffs so you know exactly how much buffer you should have rolling through each one instead of finding out the hard way.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

  • Grade-adjusted pace calculator to turn your flat fitness into honest targets for the long Peavine climbs and the descents.
  • Race-time calculator for a vert-aware finish prediction on this course’s climbing, so you can plan against the Long Valley and Peavine cutoffs.
  • Race-equivalent calculator to turn a recent race result into a Silver State goal you can actually hold at altitude.

Fueling strategy for altitude and a long day

The 50K is a long day and the 50 mile can run most of a 14-hour clock, all of it at altitude with long exposed gaps up high. That makes carbohydrate, sodium, and fluid every bit as important as your fitness, and the thin air can mess with your appetite.

Carbs: steady, trained, and easy on the stomach up high

For an effort this long, aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and only push the top end if your gut is trained for it. Altitude and afternoon heat both blunt your appetite and slow your stomach down, so keep intake steady and easy to swallow rather than gambling on big late doses you will not be able to choke down on the second climb. Practice your exact race-day carb rate on long climbs so 80-plus grams an hour feels normal, not like a science experiment at 7,500 feet.

Sodium and fluid: plan for heat, altitude, and the long carries

If the day turns hot, lean toward the high end on sodium, often around 500 to 700 milligrams per liter of fluid, and more if you are a heavy or salty sweater. Just as important, carry enough fluid to get across the long, exposed stretches up high instead of rationing to the next aid and arriving empty. Altitude quietly dries you out faster than you expect, so weigh yourself before and after a hard long run to find your real sweat rate, then build the plan around your own number instead of a generic chart.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and the Silver State altitude 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 Silver State course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the altitude and the climbs, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Silver State 50/50 FAQ

How hard is the Silver State 50/50?

It is a genuinely hard high-desert mountain ultra, not a fast point-to-point. The 50 mile climbs and drops somewhere around 9,000 feet on Peavine Mountain and the 50K runs roughly 31 miles with about 5,500 feet of gain, all on dirt and rock single track that sits at real altitude above Reno. The big difficulty multipliers are the elevation, the long sustained climb to the Peavine high point near 8,000 feet, and weather that can swing from snow to mid-90s heat in the same week of May. The overall cutoff is 8:15 PM for both distances, so steady climbing and smart fueling matter way more than raw leg speed.

How much climbing is in the Silver State 50/50?

The official race lists about 9,000 feet of ascent and descent for the 50 mile, about 5,500 feet for the 50K, and about 1,800 feet for the trail half marathon. It is not one single wall, it is a long grind up the flanks of Peavine to the high point and a lot of rolling high-desert trail with pitches that hit grades around 15 percent. The 50 mile sends you up high twice, which is what makes the back half so honest.

What are the cutoff times for the Silver State 50/50?

Both the 50 mile and the 50K share an 8:15 PM overall finish cutoff, which is 14 hours 15 minutes for the 50M and 13 hours 15 minutes for the 50K. There are intermediate cutoffs you have to respect along the way: the Long Valley aid station (50 mile, around mile 25) and the Peavine aid station (both distances) enforce hard turnaround times in the early and mid afternoon. You cannot bank all your buffer for the finish, so confirm the exact intermediate cutoffs in the current race-day details before you start.

What is the weather like at Silver State in May?

Wildly unpredictable, and you have to plan for both ends of it. Some years it has been sunny and into the 90s with runners cooking and running out of water down low, and other years it has been cold rain, wind, mud, and even icy snow still lingering up near the Peavine high point. Because the course tops out around 8,000 feet, the high country can be a different season than the start line in town. Watch the forecast all week and pack a kit that covers heat and a real mountain storm, because Peavine gets a vote.

Is the Silver State 50/50 a Western States qualifier?

The race does not list itself as a formal Western States, Hardrock, or UTMB qualifier, so do not count on it for lottery tickets. What it absolutely is, though, is one of the classic Western States and Tahoe Rim Trail 100 tune-up races, and it has been used that way by Sierra and Nevada runners for decades. The altitude, the long climbs, and the late-May timing make it a near-perfect dress rehearsal for a summer mountain hundred. Always check the current qualifying-race list on the official lottery site if a qualifier is what you actually need.

Should I do the 50 mile or the 50K?

If this is your first ultra at altitude, or your first ultra at all, start with the 50K. You still get the real Peavine climb, the high-desert single track, and the same finish-line atmosphere, but with about 5,500 feet of gain and a 13-plus hour cutoff there is a lot more room. The 50 mile, with roughly 9,000 feet and two trips into the high country, is a big step up that rewards people who have trained long climbs and time on their feet. Pick the distance you can fuel and pace honestly, not the one your ego wants.

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.