Events
Suffer Better 50K
Suffer Better 25K
Suffer Better 25K - FishSlappers Division
Suffer Better 5K
Place
12102 S Elk Creek Rd
Pine, CO US 80470
Description
We are stoked to once again invite you all to come run with us at Staunton State Park, off of Highway 285 near Conifer, CO, on October 11, 2025. We are even more stoked to again offer our special 25K Fishslappers edition (yes, it involves catching a fish!) and a new 5K run to our 50 and 25K race day offerings. Whichever distance you choose, rest assured you will be running on some of CO's best trails - lovely, flowing, and runnable single track - with some decent vert thrown in to keep you at least a little honest. And you will be helping raise real money to protect and preserve our exceedingly precious public lands and waters. As always, our Fall runs are a celebration of our public lands and waters, and a fundraiser for the good work of Conservation CO and Running Rivers to protect and preserve them.
Race Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
Start Time: Racers in the 50K will start at 7:30 am, with the 25K runners taking off at 8:30 am and the 5K runners blasting off at 10:00 am. We will be starting and finishing at the Lazy Parking lot, about 1.5 miles into the Park. There is limited parking available, and the park will be busy on a Fall day. So, please do your best to carpool (see below for the link to the carpool sheet) or, as the Park staff encourage stop by the Mountain View Park n Ride, just 6 miles from the start, and see if you can snag a few other runners for the ride into the Park.
We are a bottle-free event, so please bring your own bottles. We'll have both water and gNarly hydration drink at our aid stations, so you can fill up along the way.
Volunteers at the aid station can assist you as needed on the hydration front, and ensure you get the other food you need.
There are course maps, including gpx files for each distance on this website, along with a written description of the course, so do check them out. You can also download the Staunton Trail Map here: https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/Staunton/Documents/StauntonTrailsMap.pdf
Aid Stations. We'll have 4, all of which you'll hit 2X in the 50K: One on at the intersection of Bugling Elk and Staunton Ranch Trails (mile 4.6), one at the Old Mill (mile 7), one at the intersection of Dines Meadow and Staunton Ranch Trail (mile 10.6) and one at the Davis Ponds (mile 13.4).
Race Entry: 25K (both the regular run and the new Fishslappers division): 25K and 25K Fishslappers: $75; 50K: $110; and, 5K, just $25.
Like last year, this year's events are both crazy fun and challenging trail races, and a major part of our effort to raise awareness and funds to preserve and protect our precious public lands and waters. We value these special outdoor places and believe strongly that as outdoor athletes we have an obligation to ensure their protection. We ask/encourage/beg each of our runners to become fundraisers themselves and we have a special award for the runner who has raised the most $ by race day. With our new Fishslappers Division, we are also raising money for Running Rivers, so check them out too. Runners also have the ability to enlist their friends and colleagues to help raise funds for Conservation CO and Running Rivers. The more we all raise, the more good we do.
Cutoff Times:
50K: 9 and a half hours: You must reach the Aid Station, at Old Mill by 3:30 pm on race day (8 hours in) in order to finish by 5:30. If you reach this aid station after 3:30, our volunteers will not let you continue up the trail but have you simply go down the Old Mill trail to the finish. Please, listen to them and do as asked.
A note about distances: We are using the distances laid out by the park, but you should know that we've done each of these routes multiple times, using a variety of standard measuring tools and apps (Suunto, Apple, Strava) and we have yet to record the same distance twice! So, for the record, the stated distances are effectively 5K-ish, 25K-ish and 50K-ish.
25K: 8 and a half hours or no later than 5:30 pm.
Race Contact Info
Course Maps
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Due to major work at the Park this Summer and Fall, including the closure of the Mason Creek lot and trailhead, our Start/Finish area is moving to the Lazy V Parking lot (about 1.5 miles into the Park). This year's courses are all changing and will be posted as soon as they are approved by the Park. All course will still be using only trails within the Park!
Our apologies for that, but....
50K
After way too many conversations with the Park and what is and isn't available, we collectively agreed that the 50K will be 2 loops of the 25K route, but with the second loop the reverse of the first. We know that is not ideal but given all the things going on at the Park, it's a compromise they are willing to accept. At least you'll get to see it all from a different perspective.
GPX File: https://www.viewgpx.com/route/RaZa8KUP
25K and Fishslappers 25K
The new 25K course is shown below, along with a link to the gpx file. The course is as follows: Scout Line - MArmot Passage to Elk Falls Pond; Bugling Elk to Staunton Ranch to Borderline to Mason Creek to Dines Meadow to Staunton Ranch to Historic Cabins (2nd option) to Chase Meadow to Davis Ponds Loop to Chase Meadow to Historic Cabins to Staunton Ranch to Finish. According to our GPS the distance is 15.7 miles with 2630' of vert. Fishslappers will toss their flies at Davis Ponds (2 ponds). We've arranged it so fishslappers hit the ponds later in the run to avoid (well, hopefully) the risk of the ponds being frozen.
GPX File: https://www.viewgpx.com/route/RaZa8KUP
5K
The new 5K route will test you. It's up the Scout Line Trail and then right back down. The course is 3.2 miles with 762 feet of vert. See below for the trail and elevation.
The gpx file is here: https://www.viewgpx.com/route/kFuEZVGa
Staunton Trail Map
Just so you have it, we've included the basic Staunton Trail Map, showing both the trails and their respective mileage.
It's worth perusing this, along with the 25 and 50K course maps, just so you can orient yourselves in the park. You can also download the pdf below.
Click the icon below to download the attached PDF.
Fishslappers - Rules and Regs
For those of you electing to join the Fishslappers Division:
1) First, thanks for joining this fun addition to the day. What started 5 years ago with 5 or 6 whacky fisherfolk has consistently grown over the years, with over 30 entrants last year.
2) You must have a valid CO fishing license in order to join the FS division. You'll be asked to show that at check-in.
3) You must carry your rod, net and any fishing gear you expect to use for the entire 25K. Flies worked great last year - the ponds are chock full of little rainbows brookies.
4) A volunteer at the aid station will confirm your "catch" and check that box for you. Make sure that they see and check off that you caught the whopper you did.
5) We heard a rumor that there will also be whiskey at the aid station to "celebrate" your catch. The whiskey is, of course, optional.
Haiku
We know you all love trail running, that's why you are here. But we also know that sometimes the "fun meter" needs a little boost. So just to keep us all smiling, we've got our usual fun piece to add to your race day joy.
Haiku
We have a ton of amazing prizes from our incredible partners - everything from packs to hats to water bottles to mugs to..... Rather than just call out numbers, we'll be awarding prizes to those of you who can run and compose haiku at the same time. Unlike walking and chewing gum, which we all know makes one presidential material, composing haiku requires at least a little thought. We'll have cards and pens at the Elk Pond aid station for the 50K and 25K runners, and at the Start/Finish where you can pen your piece. What's a haiku you ask? Fair question:
"A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression."
It so fits with running and being outdoors - simple, intense and direct. Start there and have fun with it. We'll pick from the lot and ask you to read yours to claim your prize.
Race Participant Survey
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