HOKA Kodiak Ultra Marathons by UTMB
HOKA Kodiak Ultra Marathons by UTMB – 50K
The Village of Big Bear Lake → The Village
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The HOKA Kodiak Ultra Marathons by UTMB 50K is a high-altitude mountain race staged out of The Village of Big Bear Lake in Southern California's San Bernardino Mountains. Over 48 km it climbs 1090 m, but the number that defines it is elevation: the course never drops below roughly 2072 m and tops out at 2491 m near Snow Summit. Thin air, not vertical gain, is what turns this into a genuine ultra test. The loop starts and finishes in The Village, punches straight up to Snow Summit in the opening kilometres, then rolls across a high plateau past Bluff Lake and Camp Osito before dropping through Aspen Glen and home. It is a course of long runnable stretches at altitude rather than relentless steep climbing, which changes how you have to pace and fuel it.
The course: a high loop from The Village
The 50K begins in The Village at Big Bear Lake (2073 m) and immediately heads for high ground. The first aid, Snow Summit Crew Access, comes early at 3.2 km (2129 m) and is a crew point, giving supporters one clean shot at you before you climb into the mountains proper. From there the route pushes up to Snow Summit at 9.8 km (2476 m), close to the day's high point of 2491 m. Beyond Snow Summit the course settles into its middle section: Bluff Lake at 23.3 km (2319 m) and Camp Osito at 31.6 km (2297 m) sit on a high, relatively even shelf between about 2300 and 2500 m. This is where the race is run at a rolling tempo rather than a grind. The finishing quarter drops to Aspen Glen at 37.2 km (2093 m) before returning to The Village at 46.4 km (2072 m), the low point of the loop.
Where the race is decided: altitude and the Snow Summit climb
The obvious effort is the opening climb from The Village (2073 m) to Snow Summit (2476 m), roughly 400 m of gain in under 10 km. Because it comes early and takes you straight to the course's high point at 2491 m, it is easy to overcook while the legs feel fresh, then pay for it across the long plateau. Hike the steep pitches and let your breathing, not your ambition, set the pace here. The subtler decider is the altitude itself. With the entire route above roughly 2072 m and much of it near 2300 to 2500 m, aerobic ceilings are lower than most runners are used to. The rolling terrain between Bluff Lake and Camp Osito looks runnable on paper, but at this elevation sustained running costs more than it would at sea level. Runners who arrive with some acclimatisation, or at least a conservative early effort, hold together far better through the back half.
Pacing and fuelling around the cut-offs
Two hard gates shape the day: Camp Osito at 31.6 km must be cleared by Sat 14:30, and the finish at The Village (46.4 km) closes at Sat 18:00. That leaves a generous window for the final 14.8 km from Osito home, which is largely descending toward Aspen Glen and The Village, so a runner in reasonable shape has room to walk the climbs and still finish inside the limit. Use the aid stations strategically. Snow Summit Crew Access (3.2 km) and Aspen Glen (37.2 km) are crew points, and the finish is too, so plan your biggest resupplies around those. The long carry to watch is the stretch from the early aid through Snow Summit, Bluff Lake and Camp Osito: that is a big block of high-altitude running, so leave the early aid with enough fluid and calories to cover it. Altitude blunts appetite, so favour steady, easy-to-stomach calories over big infrequent feeds.
Conditions to expect
Big Bear sits high in the San Bernardino Mountains, and mountain weather here swings hard between warm, exposed sun on the open plateau and cooler air up near Snow Summit at close to 2500 m. The combination of altitude and Southern California sun means both dehydration and sudden temperature drops are in play, so pack for range rather than for the temperature at the start line in The Village. The terrain rewards runners who are comfortable moving efficiently on rolling, runnable mountain trail rather than pure climbers. Expect firm forest and ridge trail with long stretches where you can hold a rhythm, punctuated by the sharper Snow Summit climb early on. Because the start, Snow Summit Crew Access, Aspen Glen and the finish are all crew-accessible, this is a friendly course to run with a support plan, letting you travel light between the mid-course aids at Bluff Lake and Camp Osito.
Race HOKA Kodiak Ultra Marathons by UTMB – 50K with Crux
Get the strategy, fuelling and crew plan dialled for this exact course — built from the real route, climbs and cut-offs. Your first race is free.
Plan this race — freeCourse profile
Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 2073 m · —
3.2 km · 2129 m · —
9.8 km · 2476 m · —
23.3 km · 2319 m · —
31.6 km · 2297 m · Sat 14:30
37.2 km · 2093 m · —
46.4 km · 2072 m · Sat 18:00
More races
More UTMB World Series Major
More in United States
Similar distance (50–100 km)
Racing HOKA Kodiak Ultra Marathons by UTMB – 50K?
Get a complete race strategy — pacing, fuelling, crew plan and the crux moments — built on this exact course.
Plan your race in Crux →Strava is your training. Crux is your races.