⏵ Course guide · East Mississippi trail race
The Great Scorpion Trail Run sends the 50K, 25K, and 12.5K out from Bonita Lakes Park in Meridian, Mississippi, starting on a wider jeep trail before narrowing into singletrack, now in its 10th year. I will walk you through the course and start times first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official greatscorpiontrailrun.com site. Cutoff times, entry fee, and overall elevation gain were not published there at the time of writing, so confirm all three directly. Course markings can change year to year.
All three distances start together near the boat landing area at Bonita Lakes Park before the field spreads out onto the course proper.
The race begins on a wider jeep trail, giving the field room to settle into position before the course tightens into singletrack. That opening stretch is worth using deliberately: find your rhythm and your spot in the field before the trail forces single-file running.
The 50K goes off first at 6:30 AM, the 25K follows at 7:00 AM, and the 12.5K starts at 7:15 AM. If you are running a shorter distance, expect to see faster 50K runners coming back the other way or passing you later in your race.
Two official aid stations with water coolers come around on every loop, but the race is explicit that runners should also carry their own water bottle and nutrition rather than depending entirely on aid. Treat the on-course water as a supplement to your own plan, not the whole plan.
With no specific cutoff times published at the time of writing, confirm the current year's time limits directly with the race, then plan your pacing around whatever number you get back.
The wider opening stretch invites a fast start, especially in a crowded field. Hold back through that section and let your pace settle once you are into the singletrack, where the terrain itself will naturally moderate your effort.
Once you have the current year's official cutoff for your distance, run it through a race-time projection based on a recent comparable effort. That gives you a concrete pace target instead of guessing at what "moderate singletrack" actually demands from your legs.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
With aid at two stations plus whatever you carry yourself, build a per-hour plan that leans on your own bottle rather than counting entirely on the course.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour while moving and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range. Since you are asked to carry your own water bottle and nutrition, plan what you are bringing before race day rather than assuming the two aid stations will fully cover you.
Early January mornings in east Mississippi typically start cool, so plan your early-race layers accordingly, then be ready to shed them as the day warms and your effort builds. Adjust your fluid intake upward if the afternoon ends up warmer than the morning suggested.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal distance, and an early-January Mississippi morning 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 the jeep-trail-to-singletrack demands of Bonita Lakes Park. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the durability your distance needs, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The three distances stagger their starts by 15 minutes: the 50K goes first at 6:30 AM, the 25K follows at 7:00 AM, and the 12.5K starts last at 7:15 AM. That staggering is worth planning around if you are running with friends entered in a different distance.
You start on a wider jeep trail near the boat landing area before the course narrows into singletrack. That opening stretch gives the field room to spread out before the trail tightens up, which is a genuinely useful detail to know if you are worried about early bottlenecks on a crowded start.
Official elevation and cutoff figures were not published on the race's site at the time of writing, so treat the course as a moderate singletrack trail effort at Bonita Lakes Park rather than assuming a specific vert number. The event has run for ten years, a track record that generally means a well-marked, well-supported course rather than an experimental one.
Two official aid stations with water coolers come around on every loop, but the race explicitly asks runners to also carry their own water bottle and nutrition rather than relying entirely on aid. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour while moving and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusted for an early-January Mississippi morning that can still run cool at the start. Build your own numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator.
Specific cutoff times were not published on the official race pages at the time of writing. Check the current year's race info or FAQ page directly, or reach out to the organizers, before you count on a specific time limit for your distance.
The staggered starts, two on-course aid stations passed every loop, and a decade of the race being run all point toward a well-organized, first-timer-friendly event. Because official cutoff and elevation numbers were not published at the time of writing, a first-time 50K runner should confirm those specifics directly with the race before committing, but the format itself, jeep trail into singletrack at a local park, reads as approachable rather than extreme.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/the-great-scorpion-trail-run">The The Great Scorpion Trail Run course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/the-great-scorpion-trail-run" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="The Great Scorpion Trail Run course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The format, date, and course 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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