⏵ Course guide · Sandia foothills, Cedar Crest, New Mexico
The Turquoise Trail Ultra runs entirely on singletrack through Gutierrez Canyon Open Space in the Sandia foothills near Cedar Crest, New Mexico, with rock gardens and juniper terrain underfoot. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan for the 52K, 26K, or 13K. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
Date, location, and start windows come from the race's RunSignUp listing. The organizer's own site blocks automated fetches, so confirm current-year course details directly at runningwildevents.com before you commit.
All three distances run on singletrack loops through Gutierrez Canyon Open Space, a foothills setting east of Albuquerque with genuinely technical footing.
The course is described as entirely singletrack, weaving through rock gardens and juniper stands typical of the Sandia foothills. Expect a rocky, technical New Mexico trail day rather than smooth forest running, particularly if you are stacking multiple laps on the 52K.
RunSignUp lists the 52K as running from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and both the 26K and 13K from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Treat these as the available window for your distance and confirm with the organizer whether the closing time also functions as a hard finish cutoff.
Without a confirmed elevation figure, lean on the terrain description, rock gardens and juniper on repeated loops, to set a realistic pace rather than assuming a flat mileage split.
On a loop course like this, your first lap tells you more about your realistic pace than any flat-mileage estimate would. Rock gardens slow you down more on tired legs than on fresh ones, so start conservatively and use the early laps to calibrate what you can actually sustain across the full 52K, 26K, or 13K window.
⏵ Free tools to plan your effort
Cedar Crest sits at real elevation in the Sandia foothills, and a February race day there can swing from cold at the 8:00 AM start to comfortable by afternoon.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour on the 52K and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, and layer for a cold start at foothills elevation that warms up as the day goes on. This is a cupless race, so your hydration plan needs to account for carrying or refilling your own vessel at every aid stop.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a February New Mexico day 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 kind of rocky, technical footing this foothills course demands. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the durability your distance asks for, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The most recently scheduled edition ran February 21, 2026, and that date has already passed. Running Wild Events has not yet published a date for the next edition. This is historically a February race, so plan on a similar winter weekend, but confirm the exact date once it posts on runningwildevents.com.
The course is entirely singletrack through Gutierrez Canyon Open Space in the Sandia foothills, with rock gardens and juniper terrain rather than smooth forest trail. A total elevation gain figure is not independently confirmed here, so treat the terrain description as your guide: expect a technical, rocky New Mexico foothills day rather than a fast, groomed one, especially on the 52K.
RunSignUp lists start windows rather than a separate published cutoff: the 52K runs 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (a 10-hour window) and the 26K and 13K both run 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM (a 9-hour window). Confirm whether that window is also the official finish cutoff on the current race page before you build a tight pacing plan around it.
Yes. Bring your own cup or hydration system, since the race runs without disposable cups on course.
The 13K is a solid non-ultra sampler if you want to see the rocky, singletrack terrain before committing further, and the 26K is a reasonable first-ultra step up. The rock gardens and juniper underfoot mean this is a more technical New Mexico trail day than a groomed course, so it rewards runners comfortable on uneven footing, but the loop format and generous start windows keep the logistics forgiving.
With no independently confirmed elevation figure and rocky, technical singletrack underfoot, plan your fueling around realistic time on feet rather than a fast-course assumption. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour on the 52K and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, and remember this is a cupless race, so your hydration plan needs to account for carrying your own vessel. Use the free ultra fueling calculator to build your own numbers.
Link this guide
Race directors and clubs: link or embed this guide anywhere. It stays current.
<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/turquoise-trail-ultra">The Turquoise Trail Ultra course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/turquoise-trail-ultra" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Turquoise Trail Ultra course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, and entry rules 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.
The timeline
Get the week-by-week countdown for this race: when to build, when to peak, when to taper.
One email with the timeline, plus training notes for this race. Unsubscribe any time.