⏵ Course guide · Continental Divide Trail, Montana
The Divide Trail Race runs 50K and 25K distances on the Continental Divide Trail and Thompson Park outside Butte, Montana, climbing Skeebogan and Blacktail Ridge before a strict first-loop cutoff tests your early pace. I will walk you through the course and the named climbs, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built around that cutoff. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official RunSignup event page. Check the current year details before you commit. Race logistics can change year to year.
Starting at 5,900 ft at Lower Eagles Nest in Thompson Park, the route mixes genuine Continental Divide Trail singletrack with Thompson Park trails and a section of old rail corridor.
Three named climbs define the effort. Skeebogan gains 600 ft over 1.5 miles, a steep, direct test early in the race. Blacktail Ridge adds another 500 ft of climbing, and the Orman Camp Loop is a 450 ft gain-and-loss section that keeps you working even after the bigger climbs are behind you.
The course crosses old railroad trestles and passes through train tunnels, remnants of the corridor's rail history, plus two road crossings. The Milwaukee Trail section runs on crushed gravel and descends 300 ft over three miles, a welcome change of pace after the climbing.
50K runners face a genuinely firm cutoff: complete the first loop by 1:30 PM, 4.5 hours after the 9:00 AM start, or you are removed from the event. This is not a soft guideline. The overall completion deadline for the day is 6:00 PM.
The 50K's first-loop cutoff is the single biggest pacing constraint on this course. Everything else you plan should work backward from getting through that checkpoint with real margin.
A 4.5 hour first-loop cutoff for the 50K means you cannot afford to ease into Skeebogan and Blacktail Ridge the way you might on a race with a softer early checkpoint. Use a race-time prediction to check whether your planned climbing pace actually clears 1:30 PM with margin to spare.
Once you are through the first loop and cutoff, the manned resupply at Pipestone Pass (6,500 ft) is your chance to reset: refuel properly, check your splits against the 6:00 PM overall deadline, and settle into a pace you can hold through the Milwaukee Trail descent.
⏵ Free tools to plan your effort
With aid at mile 1 (water), mile 8, mile 15, and mile 23, plus the Pipestone Pass resupply, you have solid support, but the gaps between stops are long enough that you still need your own per-hour plan.
A reasonable starting point for a 50K in this altitude and climbing profile is 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour while moving and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusted for late July heat at elevation in the Butte area.
Treat the manned resupply at Pipestone Pass, 6,500 ft up, as your best chance to properly refuel before the Milwaukee Trail descent and the run to the finish. Do not just top off water, eat a real amount there.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and the Butte-area climate 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 Skeebogan, Blacktail Ridge, and the strict 4.5 hour first-loop cutoff. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the climbing fitness this course demands, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The route follows the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) combined with Thompson Park trails outside Butte, Montana, starting at 5,900 ft. Named climbs define the effort: Skeebogan gains 600 ft in 1.5 miles, Blacktail Ridge adds another 500 ft, and the Orman Camp Loop is a 450 ft gain-and-loss section. You will also cross old railroad trestles, pass through train tunnels, and run a crushed gravel stretch on the Milwaukee Trail that descends 300 ft over three miles.
The 50K has a firm 4.5 hour cutoff (1:30 PM from a 9:00 AM start) to complete the first loop, and runners who miss it are removed from the event, a genuinely strict early checkpoint rather than a soft guideline. The overall completion deadline for the day is 6:00 PM.
The named climbs, Skeebogan, Blacktail Ridge, and the Orman Camp Loop, add up to real, sustained vertical gain rather than one single crux, and the strict 4.5 hour first-loop cutoff for the 50K means you need a genuinely fit, honest early pace, not a conservative warm-up. The mix of CDT singletrack, old rail trestles, and a crushed gravel section also asks for comfort across varied footing.
The 25K is a reasonable entry point if you want a taste of the CDT and Thompson Park terrain without the 50K's strict first-loop cutoff. The 50K, with its firm 4.5 hour checkpoint, suits a runner who already trusts their climbing fitness rather than someone testing the ultra distance for the first time.
There is water at mile 1, full aid at mile 8 for both distances, and for the 50K, additional full aid at miles 15 and 23, plus a fully manned resupply station at Pipestone Pass, 6,500 ft up. That gives 50K runners a meaningful resupply point roughly two-thirds through the race.
Registration runs entirely through RunSignup: $80 for the 50K, $70 for the 25K, or a $100 race pass bundle. There is no separate dedicated race website, so RunSignup is also the best place to reach the race director with questions.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/the-divide-trail-race">The The Divide Trail Race course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/the-divide-trail-race" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="The Divide Trail Race course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course, cutoffs, and logistics 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.
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