You’ve been penned up all year. It’s time to break the fences. Kick off your Labor Day weekend with an unforgettable trail running experience at McKinney Roughs Nature Park, a stunning 1,140-acre preserve just 13 miles east of Austin along the Colorado River. Choose from seven events that wind through the park's rolling box canyons, wildflower meadows, and towering loblolly pine forests.

This is Central Texas trail running at its finest. You'll traverse four distinct ecosystems. Post Oak Savannah, Blackland Prairie, East Texas Piney Woods, and a lush riparian corridor, all in a single race. Expect technical single-track, scenic river overlooks, and the kind of terrain that makes every mile an adventure.

THE RIO COLORADO 250

The river you run above on Saturday is the one the series is named for.

Two hundred fifty kilometers with Fit Foundation in a calendar year earns the Rio Colorado 250 buckle. Not instead of your race hardware. On top of it. Every kilometer counts, including the ones you cover in the timed events.

That last part matters. The 8-Hour Solo doesn't credit you a fixed distance. It credits you what you actually walk, run, and grind out between seven in the morning and three in the afternoon. Some of you will put more on the board in one day than a 50K would give you.

Here is the calendar. Autumn Harvest on October 10. Fields of Gold on October 24. The Colorado River Run on November 27. Star of Texas on December 13.

Four events in nine weeks. September is the last quiet place to start.

The count begins at McKinney Roughs.

Return of the Bull marks the second chapter of the Rodeo Trail Run Series, following the inaugural Austin's Rodeo Trail Run at Grelle Recreation Area. All half-marathon, marathon, and 50K finishers receive a custom rodeo-style belt buckle and event shirt, the signature swag of the series.

Unleash the grit. Master the Roughs. Run Free.

Choose Your Distance

Course Highlights

Awards

Race Details

Rucking is covering ground with a loaded pack. Same course as the half marathon, same start, same finish line, same cutoff. The only difference is what you are carrying and who you are racing.

Ruckers are scored as their own division with their own results and their own awards. You are not competing against the runners and they are not competing against you.

• Weigh in before the start. Bring your pack to the start area at least 30 minutes before your wave. We weigh it, we tag it, you go.
• Water does not count. Your hydration, food, phone and layers are on top of the minimum. The weight is dry weight.
• Any weight is fine. Ruck plates, bricks, sand, books, dumbbells. It has to be secure and it has to stay in the pack for the whole course.
• You finish with what you started with. Weight is checked again at the finish. Anything under the minimum moves you out of the ruck division.
• Carry it yourself. No handing your pack off, no dragging, no wheels.
• Run, walk, or anything between. There is no rule about how you move, only about what you carry.
• Rucking counts toward your Run the River mileage exactly the same as running. Thirteen point one miles is thirteen point one miles.

A loaded pack on a trail is harder than the same distance on your feet, and most people go out too quick. A few things that help:

• Train with the weight before race day. Even two or three loaded walks makes a difference to your shoulders.
• Get the load high and tight against your back. Weight that sits low and swings will wreck you by mile six.
• Wear the socks and shoes you have already tested. Rucking changes how your feet hit the ground.
• Pack the weight so it cannot shift. Movement inside the pack is the most common reason people stop.