HOKA Pacific Trails California by UTMB
HOKA Pacific Trails California by UTMB – 50K
Rancho San Fernando Rey
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The HOKA Pacific Trails California by UTMB 50K is the ultra-distance loop of the Pacific Trails weekend, run from Rancho San Fernando Rey. It covers 51 km with 1381 m of climbing and a high point of 795 m, spreading its effort across a series of rolling climbs and descents rather than one dominant summit. The result is a runnable but relentless day on open California trail that demands steady management from start to finish. The loop leaves the ranch at 268 m, climbs early to Loma Alta, then works through Old Man Mountain, Santa Cruz, Cow Camp and Boot Hill before descending via Horse Canyon back to the line. With eight checkpoints and two hard cut-offs, it is a course that rewards runners who read the mid-course terrain correctly and keep their fuelling and pacing honest through the exposed middle third.
The course: a long rolling loop from Rancho San Fernando Rey
The 50K starts at Rancho San Fernando Rey (268 m), a crew point, and shares its opening moves with the shorter race: out to Redrock at 5.3 km (367 m), then up to Loma Alta at 12.9 km (638 m). The first stretch is a runnable approach; Loma Alta is the first real climb and the joint high point of the day at 795 m, reached while your legs are still fresh. Beyond Loma Alta the course spreads out across its distinctive middle: Old Man Mountain at 20.3 km (497 m), Santa Cruz at 26.1 km (469 m), Cow Camp at 34.3 km (320 m) and Boot Hill at 41.2 km (298 m). This is a long, undulating section that steps generally downward while throwing repeated smaller climbs at you. The finish comes via Horse Canyon at 46.1 km (313 m) and back to the ranch at 51 km (268 m).
Where the race is decided: the early climb and the rolling middle
The first decisive effort is Loma Alta, the climb from Redrock (5.3 km, 367 m) to 638 m and on to the 795 m high point at 12.9 km. It is the single biggest sustained ascent, and because it arrives early it is easy to attack too hard. Since the total climbing of 1381 m is nearly double the 25K's on a similar footprint, the real challenge is that the vertical keeps coming after Loma Alta rather than ending there. The race is truly decided across the rolling middle from Old Man Mountain (20.3 km) through Santa Cruz, Cow Camp and Boot Hill. None of these are huge climbs individually, but the repeated ups and downs on tiring legs, in the open, are where runners either hold their rhythm or unravel. Manage effort like a metronome here: run the runnable, hike the pitches, and avoid the trap of surging on the descents and paying for it on the next rise.
Pacing and fuelling around the cut-offs
Two hard gates govern the day: Cow Camp at 34.3 km must be cleared by Sat 13:30, and the finish at the ranch (51 km) closes at Sat 17:00. Cow Camp sits two-thirds of the way round and after the bulk of the mid-course rolling, so it is the checkpoint to build your time budget toward; reach it with margin and the closing 16.7 km through Boot Hill and Horse Canyon gives a realistic window to finish. Aid spacing calls for planning. The longest committed carry is the block from Redrock (5.3 km) over Loma Alta to Old Man Mountain (20.3 km) and on to Santa Cruz, roughly the hardest 15 to 20 km of climbing on the course. Leave the early checkpoints well stocked with fluid and calories. The start and finish are both crew points, so use your crew at the ranch for the big resupply and drop, and aim to run the exposed middle self-sufficient and appropriately loaded for the heat.
Conditions to expect
As a Southern California coastal-range ultra, the 50K's defining condition is sustained sun and heat on open, chaparral terrain, made more consequential by the longer distance and the Saturday timing that pushes you deep into the warm part of the day toward the 17:00 finish cut-off. With the high point only at 795 m there is no altitude relief, so heat management and hydration are the make-or-break variables across the exposed middle. The terrain is runnable trail without extreme technicality, rolling between about 268 m and 795 m, which favours runners who can hold an efficient rhythm over many hours rather than pure climbers. Because the aid stations and both crew points are well distributed and the two cut-offs are spaced to give a fair chance, a disciplined runner who paces the Loma Alta climb conservatively and eats and drinks steadily through Old Man Mountain, Santa Cruz and Cow Camp will arrive at Horse Canyon with the legs to finish strong.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 268 m · —
5.3 km · 367 m · —
12.9 km · 638 m · —
20.3 km · 497 m · —
26.1 km · 469 m · —
34.3 km · 320 m · Sat 13:30
41.2 km · 298 m · —
46.1 km · 313 m · —
51 km · 268 m · Sat 17:00
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