The 50K race starts at 7:00AM FRIDAY at the same time as the 100/50 milers on the Bonneville Speedway and runs out to near an old “lone post”, an oddly placed post set deep into the flats, and then reverses the course to the finish.
There is an 10 hour cutoff for an official finish, and all finishers making the cutoff receive the "mini-buckle" finishers medal.
As a general description; you'll be running on the salt and compacted salt-sands for roughly 15.5 miles, then reversing the course. This is one of the flattest "trail" courses in existence. The course starts and finishes at the same location, so runners won't have to worry about shuttling vehicles or themselves.
Course Marking
The course marking is very straight-forward and easy to follow. From the Start to Aid 2 we use re-bar with orange duct tape & purple flagging. Through this section, the course is marked every 1/10 mile. 50k runners will need to ensure they've checked in at “Lone Post” to ensure they get credit for making the full distance.
Course Directions
The course begins at the end of the Bonneville Speedway access road on the staging area for the Speedway. Once the “gun” goes off, head north following the flagging along the Speedway for 10 miles, passing a Honey-Bucket portable toilet around mile 5, to Aid Station 1 at 10 miles.
You’ll be running on nearly 6 feet of solid salt for this entire section!
The surface is generally quite hard, similar to hard-pack dirt. However, if there’s been any moisture, it can be very sticky and you can accumulate some salt cakes on the bottom of your shoes… just keep running and it’ll fall off eventually.
From Aid 1 (Salt Flats), head north following the same flagging for almost three more miles, and then turn slightly east following the same flagging about another 3 miles where you’ll reach Aid Station 2 (Now NO Post), at 15.5 miles. You’ll have transitioned off the salt and will now be on the classic firm sand of the salt basin. It’s a little like running on the beach near the water line.
From NO Post, you will reverse course and run back the way you came grabbing some water at Aid 1, and then making the long trek back to where you began the run a few hours earlier. An unmanned water station is located near the Honey-Bucket portable toilet will be placed at 26 miles to ensure you can wash all that salt down.