Don’t be fooled, this marathon course is a challenge, but a gorgeous run through the mountains, earning its tagline – “Beautifully Brutal”.  The race starts at Ohana Mountain Ranch in the Buckhorn Canyon running on a dirt road for the first 1/4 mile to Buckhorn Road (paved). The first 10 miles go through the Buckhorn Canyon past mountain ranches and along Stove Prairie Creek, just after mile 10 you will turn right into the Poudre River Canyon and continue down along the Cache La Poudre River to the finish line at the base of the canyon.

Prepare yourself for the first 5 “hilly” miles with the steepest uphill grade (13.7%) ~1.6 miles into the course. When you get to Stove Prairie School, 5.3 miles into the course, at the junction of Buckhorn Road and Rist Canyon Road you will cry tears of joy as the course begins its first major decent dropping 300+ feet over the next 2 miles. Be prepared at mile 7.2 for another uphill section, relatively short (0.4 miles) but steep, gaining 175 ft and hitting a 10% grade. Now the real fun starts as you’ve conquered the uphills and now get to pickup the pace and enjoy the downhill all the way to the finish line… Well almost. This might not be worth mentioning, but you have one last small hill at Mile 21 for 0.2 miles gaining just under 30ft in elevation on a 1-3% grade up to the entrance of Gateway Natural Area. Then it’s downhill for another couple miles until it flattens out from mile 23-25, and finally the LAST mile has a little more downhill to the finish. Be sure to take a look at the course profile and plan your training and race strategy accordingly.