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⏵ Course guide · North Carolina ultra

Triple Lakes Trail Race Course Guide

The Triple Lakes Trail Race is a 20-year Greensboro institution, run on the city watershed singletrack around Lakes Brandt, Townsend, and Jeanette out of Bur-Mil Park. It is rolling, rooty, beginner-friendly dirt with no real mountain to climb, which is why the 40 miler has become one of the friendliest step-up ultras in the Southeast. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan that fits a long, rolling, root-laced day. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Triple Lakes Trail Race quick facts

Date
Saturday, October 24, 2026 (late October each year)
Location
Bur-Mil Park, Greensboro watershed trails, Greensboro, NC
Distances
40 Mile (about 39 to 40 mi), Marathon, and Half Marathon (plus relays)
Elevation gain
40 Mile: roughly 2,300 to 2,500 ft, rolling (Half about 700 to 800 ft); gentle Piedmont terrain
Start
Half 8:00 AM · 40 Mile and Marathon 8:05 AM
Cutoff
40 Mile: course closes at 8:05 PM (about 12 hr), very generous
Qualifier
No Western States, Hardrock, or UTMB qualifier status listed by the race

These facts come from the official race site and the RunSignup race pages. The exact route, distances, and vert get tweaked year to year, so check the current date, cutoffs, and aid stations in the race-day details before you commit.

The course: where Triple Lakes is won and lost

This is not a race you win on a single climb, because there is not one. The 40 miler is essentially the half-marathon watershed loop run multiple times, weaving the Owls Roost, Nat Greene, Laurel Bluff, Osprey, and Townsend trails around the three lakes. Roughly 2,300 to 2,500 feet of total gain, but it comes in constant little rollers and short steep pops, never a long grind. The fight here is against the distance, the roots, and your own pacing discipline early on.

Rolling singletrack and a whole lot of roots

The footing is the story. These are natural mountain-bike and hiking trails, so you get smooth, runnable dirt broken up by exposed roots, the odd short steep hill, and intermittent peeks out at the water. It is forgiving compared to a rocky Western mountain race, and that is a big part of why people pick it as a first ultra. But roots do not care that you are tired, and late in the day when your feet are stinging and your focus is shot is exactly when you catch a toe. Pick your feet up. Stay present on the trail even when the miles get boring.

When it rains (and late-October North Carolina can absolutely deliver rain) those roots and the dirt around them turn slick. A wet year here is a different race: more mud, more careful footing, slower splits. Do not be surprised by it, and do not fight it. Just adjust your effort and keep moving.

The loop format is your friend, use it

Because the 40 runs as repeated loops, you come back through the start/finish area on a regular basis. That is a gift. You are never far from a drop bag, a crew member, or help if something goes sideways, and your people can see you every lap, which is huge for morale and great for families. Treat each pass through the hub as a tiny pit stop: top off fluids, grab the next block of calories, swap a headlamp in if the back half is going long.

The flip side of loops is the mental game. Running the same dirt three-ish times can wear on you, and the second loop is where a lot of folks quietly check out. Have a plan for it. Break the race into laps, not 40 miles, and give yourself a small job for each one.

Aid stations, generous cutoffs, and the dark

The course is well marked and well aided. There are multiple aid stations along the loop stocked with water and individually wrapped snacks, and they double as the relay handoffs, so support is frequent. The cutoffs are famously generous: the course closes around 8:05 PM, which is roughly 12 hours from the 40-mile start, so there is real room to walk it in if you need to. Still, I would carry my own staples and not rely entirely on aid spacing, because your stomach has opinions and the aid menu may not match them.

One practical note: a generous cutoff means slower finishers can be out there as the light fades. Late October in Greensboro means an early sunset, so pack a headlamp for the 40 even if you expect to finish before dark. Better to carry it and not need it.

Pacing strategy for a rolling, runnable 40

Because Triple Lakes is so runnable, the temptation is to race it like a long trail marathon. Do not. The course rewards patience and even effort, and the people who blow up here almost always went out too comfortable on lap one.

Start slower than feels right

On a gentle, rolling course your first lap will feel easy, and that is the trap. Bank discipline, not minutes. Run the early rollers by effort, power-hike the short steep pops even when you could run them, and arrive at the end of loop one feeling like you barely raced. The roots and the cumulative distance will collect their tax in the back half no matter what, so the goal is to still have legs when they come due. Use a grade-adjusted pace to turn your flat fitness into honest targets so you are not fooled by how smooth the early miles feel.

Predict your finish, then race the laps

Do not guess your Triple Lakes time off a road marathon PR. The rooty footing, the repeated rollers, and 7-plus hours on your feet all add real minutes that a flat road time will not show. Build a vert-aware finish prediction for this course, then divide it into per-lap targets and a checkpoint plan so you always know how much buffer you have against that 12-hour close. Racing the laps instead of the whole 40 keeps the day from feeling like an ocean.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a long day on your feet

The 40 miler is a long outing, often 7 to 11 hours of moving, and the cool fall weather quietly hides how much you are burning. Fuel it from lap one, because the hole you dig early is the one you cannot climb out of late.

Carbs: steady from the start

Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and push the higher end only if your gut is trained for it. The frequent aid and the loop format make it easy to keep topping up, so there is no excuse to fall behind. The classic 40-mile mistake is feeling great and undereating for the first few hours, then bonking on the final lap when you cannot catch up. Set a timer or eat at every aid pass, and practice your exact race-day carb rate on long runs so 80 grams an hour feels routine, not like an experiment.

Sodium, fluid, and the cool-weather trap

Match your sodium to your sweat, generally somewhere around 300 to 700 milligrams per liter of fluid, and more if you run salty or the day turns warm and humid, which October in the Piedmont sometimes does. The trap in cool weather is drinking too little because you do not feel thirsty, then arriving at the back half flat and crampy. Weigh yourself before and after a long run to find your real sweat rate, and keep sipping on schedule even when it is chilly. Carry your own go-to staples too, since aid-station snacks are great until mile 30 when nothing sounds good.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a long rolling 40 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 Triple Lakes course profile, and your projected lap splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for a long rolling 40, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Triple Lakes Trail Race FAQ

How hard is the Triple Lakes Trail Race 40 miler?

By ultra standards it is on the friendlier end, which is exactly why it has a reputation as a great first 40 miler. The course is rolling Greensboro watershed singletrack around Lakes Brandt, Townsend, and Jeanette with only short steep hills and roughly 2,300 to 2,500 feet of total climbing over the 40 miles, so there is no big mountain to break you. What makes it hard is the distance itself, the roots underfoot, and the long day on your feet. The cutoff is generous (the course closes around 12 hours after the start), so most prepared runners who keep moving and keep eating will finish.

How much climbing is in the Triple Lakes Trail Race?

Not much by trail-ultra standards, and that is the point. The 40 miler stacks up somewhere in the range of 2,300 to 2,500 feet of gain across the whole distance, spread out over constant small rollers rather than any single climb. The half marathon loop carries roughly 700 to 800 feet, and the 40 miler is essentially that loop run multiple times. Confirm the current year on the official Strava course map, because the exact route and vert get tweaked from year to year.

How should I fuel for the Triple Lakes 40 miler?

Plan for a long day, often somewhere around 7 to 11 hours of moving for the 40, and fuel like it from the first loop. Most runners do well on roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, leaning toward the higher end if your gut is trained for it, with sodium to match your sweat. The aid stations are frequent and well stocked with water and wrapped snacks, but I would still carry your own staples so you never go more than a few miles without calories. Run your own numbers for your weight and goal time with the free ultra fueling calculator.

What are the cutoff times for the Triple Lakes Trail Race?

The 40 miler has a generous overall limit: the course closes at 8:05 PM, which is about 12 hours from the 8:05 AM start. The race is known for accommodating cutoffs that make it welcoming to first-time ultrarunners and marathoners stepping up, and because it runs as repeated loops you pass the start/finish area regularly. Always confirm the current overall and any loop or aid-station cutoffs in the official race-day details before you commit.

What is the terrain and weather like at Triple Lakes?

The course is almost entirely natural singletrack on the Greensboro watershed mountain-bike and hiking trails, rolling with short steep pitches, plenty of exposed roots, and intermittent views out over the lakes. The footing is beginner-friendly compared to a rocky mountain race, but the roots make it tricky when it is wet, and rain can turn sections slick and muddy. Late October in Greensboro is usually cool and pleasant for running, often crisp in the morning and mild by afternoon, though the back of the field can be finishing in the dark, so pack a headlamp for the 40.

Is the Triple Lakes Trail Race a good first ultra?

Yes, it is one of the better first-ultra picks in the Southeast, and a lot of people choose it for exactly that reason. The climbing is gentle, the footing is forgiving, the course is extremely well marked and well aided, the cutoffs are generous, and the loop format means you are never far from help or a drop bag. It is also great for crew and family because they can see you each lap. Train the distance and rehearse your fueling, and the 40 here is a very achievable step up from the marathon.

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.