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⏵ Course guide · Nevada ultra

Trail Trashed Ultra Course Guide

Trail Trashed is Triple Dare’s desert race on the Sloan Canyon and McCullough Hills singletrack just outside Henderson, a short drive from the Las Vegas Strip. It runs everything from a 100 miler and a 50 miler down to a 5K, on a looped course that never stops rolling, with big open views and almost no shade. I’ll walk you through where this course gets hard, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for the punchy climbs, the heat, and (on the 100) the night. Free tools along the way let you dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Trail Trashed Ultra quick facts

Date
Typically March (2026 edition Sat, March 21, 2026)
Location
Hidden Falls Park / Amargosa Trailhead, Henderson, NV (Sloan Canyon NCA, Las Vegas area)
Distances
100 mile, 50 mile, marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K (plus relays and a kids mile)
Elevation
Trail system from about 2,400 ft, the longer races top out near 3,200 ft; lots of short punchy climbs
Course
Looped desert singletrack on the Amargosa, 601, and McCullough Hills trails
Start
Ultras off first in the early morning (an early-start option has been offered), shorter distances staggered after
Cutoff
Overall and intermittent cutoffs apply by distance; confirm the current ones with the race
Qualifier
No Western States, UTMB, or Hardrock qualifier status listed by the race

These facts come from the official Triple Dare race site and UltraSignup. The distance lineup, exact date, start times, cutoffs, and aid stations change year to year, so confirm the current race-day details before you commit.

The course: where Trail Trashed is won and lost

The race starts at Hidden Falls Park and the Amargosa Trailhead in Henderson and works the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, mostly on the Amargosa, 601, and McCullough Hills trails. The whole system sits between roughly 2,400 and 3,200 feet, and the longer races run a repeated loop back through a central staging and aid hub. No single climb is huge. The challenge is the rolling, repetitive profile and the exposed desert, lap after lap.

A thousand small climbs, not one big one

Do not let the modest elevation band fool you. Trail Trashed does not have a signature mountain, it has constant short punchy climbs and the matching descents, and on the long distances you do them over and over on the loop. That is where the race is decided. Run the early ups hard because each one feels small and harmless, and the bill comes due in the back half when those same little hills feel like walls.

The footing mixes wide groomed trail with rocky desert single-track, so quick feet matter and so does paying attention when you are tired. Hike the steep little pitches with intent, keep your effort even on the rest, and let the rolling terrain come to you instead of fighting every rise.

Heat and exposure, even in March

This is open desert with almost no shade, and the sun reflects off the rock and the trail all day. Even on a March race day the exposed stretches can heat up fast once the sun is up, and the air is bone dry, so you lose fluid you do not feel leaving. The long gaps between aid are where dehydration sneaks up on people. Carry enough to get across them and keep drinking on a schedule rather than waiting until you are thirsty.

Plan for the heat and the dryness from the first mile, not as something you react to mid-race. Sun sleeves, a hat, fluid you actually carry, and a sodium plan that climbs with the temperature all belong in your kit before you start.

The loop, the night, and the late-race lows

The ultras run a repeated loop back through a central hub, which is honestly a gift: your crew, your drop bag, and a full aid station come around on a rhythm, so you are never far from help and you can break the day into laps in your head. The flip side is mental. You see the same trail again and again, and on a hard loop late at night that sameness can grind on you more than the climbing does.

On the 100 miler the second half runs through the dark and into the next day. That is when the lows hit, the desert cold replaces the heat, and your pace naturally sags. Plan for it: a working headlamp and a backup, warmer layers in your drop bag, and a simple rule to keep eating and keep moving lap to lap. The runners who finish here are usually the ones who stayed calm through the loops, not the ones who were fastest early.

Aid, drop bags, and crew on the loop

Triple Dare staffs the central hub plus aid out on course, with the usual electrolytes, gels, and real food at the staging area, and the looped format means you pass that hub on a regular schedule. That makes drop bags and a crew genuinely useful here in a way they are not on a point-to-point race, so stage spare bottles, fuel, a light, and warm layers where you will roll past them.

The exact aid-station count and spacing shift year to year with the course layout, so do not assume the next aid is close out on a loop. Pull the current course map and aid plan from the race details, then build your carry around the longest exposed gap, not the average one.

Pacing strategy for a rolling, exposed desert ultra

With the vert coming from endless short climbs rather than one big one, Trail Trashed is about managing effort across the loops, not chasing a pace chart. Run by feel and by grade, hold something back for the heat and the night, and let the rolling profile come to you.

Run the rollers by effort, not by the watch

Your flat-ground pace means almost nothing on this terrain, because the trail is always tilting one way or the other. What matters is steady grade-adjusted effort: ease back and power-hike the steep little pitches without feeling bad about it, then run the runnable bits at an effort you could hold all day. The classic Trail Trashed mistake is hammering the early loops because no single hill is scary, then falling apart when the cumulative climbing and the heat catch up. Use a grade-adjusted pace to turn your real fitness into honest targets for the ups and downs, and you will not cook the first half.

Build a finish prediction that respects the rollers

Do not guess your Trail Trashed finish off a road time. The constant short climbs, the rocky footing, the heat, and (on the 100) the night all add real time, and a flat estimate will lie to you. A vert-aware finish prediction that accounts for this course’s rolling profile gives you a realistic window and lets you work back into the intermittent cutoffs, so you know how much buffer you actually have at each checkpoint instead of hoping.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for the heat, the dry air, and the distance

The desert is what tends to undo well-trained runners at Trail Trashed, so build your plan around heat and fluid loss from the start. On the long distances, carbohydrate, sodium, and water matter every bit as much as your fitness.

Carbs: steady, trained, and on a schedule

For an effort this long, aim for around 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and only push the higher end if your gut is trained for it. The dry heat kills your appetite and slows your stomach, so keep your intake steady and easy to get down instead of gambling on big late doses. On the 100 miler the hardest fueling window is the small hours when you feel terrible and do not want to eat, so set a timer and feed on the clock. Rehearse your exact race-day carb rate on hot long runs until 80-plus grams an hour feels normal, not like an experiment.

Sodium and fluid: plan for the dry desert gaps

In dry desert heat you sweat more than you realize and you lose a lot of sodium with it, so lean toward the high end, 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 cross the long, exposed, sun-baked stretches between aid instead of rationing to the next stop and arriving empty. Weigh yourself before and after a hot long run to find your real sweat rate, then build the plan around your own number rather than a generic one.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and the Trail Trashed desert heat with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.

Train for the conditions

Trail Trashed asks for rolling-climb durability, a heat plan, and (on the 100) the patience to run through the night on a loop. These guides go deep on the parts that decide your day.

⏵ Free calculators for this race

Run your Trail Trashed numbers with our free, no-signup tools, then let Summit Line tie them all together with your real fitness and this exact course.

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⏵ Train for it with Summit Line

Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact Trail Trashed course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the rolling climbs and the heat, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Trail Trashed Ultra FAQ

How hard is the Trail Trashed Ultra?

The name is a fair warning. Trail Trashed is a desert race on the Sloan Canyon and McCullough Hills singletrack outside Henderson, and while no single climb is enormous, the course never stops rolling, so the short punchy ups and downs add up fast over a long day. The trail system sits between roughly 2,400 and 3,200 feet, the footing mixes wide groomed trail with rocky desert single-track, and there is almost no shade, so heat and exposure are a real part of it even in March. The 100 miler also runs you through the night and well into the next day, and because the course is looped you face the same trail again and again, which is its own kind of hard. The shorter distances (marathon down to the 5K) are far more approachable, but the ultras ask for real climbing legs, a heat plan, and patience.

How much climbing is in the Trail Trashed 100 and 50 miler?

Triple Dare does not headline a single big mountain, and the published numbers focus on the elevation band rather than a total-gain figure: the trail system starts around 2,400 feet and the longer races reach near 3,200 feet at their high points. The climbing comes from volume, not one wall. You stack a lot of short, punchy ascents and the matching descents lap after lap on the 601 and McCullough Hills trails, so the vert quietly piles up over the loops. Treat it as rolling, repetitive desert climbing, and confirm the current per-distance gain with the race before you build your plan.

How should I fuel for the Trail Trashed Ultra?

Plan for a long, dry, exposed effort with very little shade, because heat and fluid loss are what tend to wreck people here, not calories alone. Most runners do well on roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, leaning to the high end only if your gut is trained for it, plus sodium that climbs with the heat, often the upper part of 300 to 700 mg per liter of fluid. Carry enough fluid between aid stops to cover the exposed desert stretches instead of rationing to the next one. On the 100 miler, remember the second half is mostly in the dark and into the next day, so keep eating on a schedule when your appetite quits. Run your own carb, sodium, and fluid numbers for your weight, goal time, and the forecast with the free ultra fueling calculator.

What are the cutoff times for the Trail Trashed Ultra?

Trail Trashed sets overall time limits by distance plus intermittent cutoffs along the way, so you cannot bank all your buffer for the end. The exact clock times shift year to year (and the early-start option for the long races changes the math), so I am not going to quote a hard number that might be stale. Pull the current cutoff chart from the official race details, then work backward from it with a margin so the heat, the dark, and the late loops do not put you behind the clock.

What is the course and terrain like at Trail Trashed?

The race starts at Hidden Falls Park and the Amargosa Trailhead in Henderson and runs the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, mostly on the Amargosa, 601, and McCullough Hills trails. Expect a mix of wide groomed trail and challenging rocky desert single-track, constant short climbs and drops, big open views of Las Vegas, Henderson, and the surrounding valleys, and almost no shade. The longer distances run a repeated loop back through a central staging and aid hub, so you pass your drop bag and crew on a regular rhythm. It is runnable in stretches, but the footing and the relentless rolling profile reward quick feet and steady effort over raw speed.

Is the Trail Trashed Ultra a good first 100 or first 50 miler?

It can be. The looped format is genuinely friendly for a first long ultra: aid, crew, and drop bags come around on a schedule, you are never far from help, and you can break the race into laps in your head instead of one huge unknown. The catch is the desert. The heat, the exposure, and the constant short climbs ask for specific prep, so train rolling terrain, rehearse your fueling and hydration in the heat, and get comfortable running through the night if you are taking on the 100. Do that work and the supportive loop course gives a prepared first-timer a real shot at the finish.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, date, distance lineup, cutoffs, and aid stations come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official Triple Dare race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.