Rothrock by UTMB
Rothrock by UTMB – 50K
Tussey Mountain Ski and Recreation
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The Rothrock by UTMB 50K covers 53 km with 1481 m of positive climbing, starting and finishing at Tussey Mountain Ski and Recreation. It is a mid-distance ultra whose signature is not one giant climb but a relentless series of ridge crossings, the profile ticking up and down between roughly 400 m and 737 m for the whole day. With a high point of only 737 m, this is not an altitude race. What defines it is the repetition: nine aid points strung across a rolling ridge-and-valley course, each climb short but stacked on the last. Runners who treat it as an easy 50K because the peak elevation looks modest tend to get caught out by the cumulative vertical. Manage the sawtooth well and it is one of the more rhythmic ultras on the calendar; manage it badly and the back half turns into a grind.
The Course and Terrain
The race is a large loop out of Tussey Mountain Ski and Recreation, which serves as both start and finish (both marked as crew points at 0 km / 400 m and 53.3 km / 400 m). From the start the route works north and east across a network of ridges, touching North Meadows at 9 km (573 m), Beer Tap at 15.2 km (621 m), Treaster Kettle at 18.7 km (435 m), Bear Meadows at 24.9 km (558 m), Sand Springs at 32.5 km (600 m), Pine Swamp at 37.4 km (425 m), Shingletown Gap at 44.3 km (440 m) and Laurel Run at 49.1 km (590 m) before dropping back to the finish. Read those numbers as a sequence and the shape of the day becomes clear: there is no sustained ascent to settle into and no long runnable descent to recover on. Instead the course repeatedly gains a hundred-plus metres to a ridge, gives it back into a gap, and climbs again. The total of 1481 m D+ is spread across at least half a dozen distinct rises, so the legs never get a single consistent effort to lock into - they are asked to switch between climbing and descending muscles over and over.
Where the Race Is Won and Lost
The two climbs that shape the race both come after halfway, when accumulated fatigue is already in the legs. The pull out of Pine Swamp (425 m at 37.4 km) up toward Laurel Run (590 m at 49.1 km) is the last major elevation gain of the day, roughly 165 m of net climb packed into the closing quarter of the course, and it arrives exactly when runners are most tempted to switch off. Immediately before it, the drop from Sand Springs (600 m at 32.5 km) to Pine Swamp costs you altitude that then has to be re-earned. The earlier climb from Treaster Kettle (435 m at 18.7 km) up to Bear Meadows and on toward Sand Springs is where the field usually strings out, because it is the first real test after the opening ridges. The smart move is to hold something back through the first 20 km - Beer Tap at 15.2 km sits at the high shoulder of the early course (621 m) - so you have the legs to run, not walk, the Pine Swamp to Laurel Run rise. Descents into the gaps (Treaster Kettle, Pine Swamp, Shingletown Gap) are where time is quietly lost by runners who brake hard on tired quads; controlled, quick-footed downhill running here banks more time than pushing the climbs.
How to Pace and Fuel It
The published data lists no intermediate cut-offs, which means the constraint is your own energy management rather than a clock at each station. Aid is well spaced, generally every 5 to 8 km: the longest gaps are Bear Meadows to Sand Springs (7.6 km) and Sand Springs to Pine Swamp (4.9 km, but over the awkward descent), so carry enough fluid and calories to cover roughly 90 minutes of ridge running between stops. Because the effort is stop-start, aim to eat little and often on the descents and flatter ridge tops when your stomach is calm, rather than trying to fuel mid-climb. Treat the Treaster Kettle (18.7 km) and Pine Swamp (37.4 km) gaps as natural reset points - both sit low on the profile, so you arrive after a descent and leave into a climb, making them ideal places to take on solid food and top up water. With crew access at the start/finish only, plan a self-sufficient day: what you carry and grab at aid stations is what you get for the full 53 km.
Conditions to Expect
This is a ridge-and-valley course, and that geography drives the conditions. On the exposed ridge tops (Beer Tap, Bear Meadows, Sand Springs, Needles-style high shoulders around 600 m) you are open to wind and sun, while the gaps and swamp-named crossings - Bear Meadows, Pine Swamp - sit lower and can hold damp, cooler air and slower, softer footing. The constant transition between high open ground and low sheltered ground means layering and footwear choice matter more than the modest peak elevation suggests. The repeated short descents into rocky gaps put a premium on foot placement late in the race, when concentration fades. Because the high point is only 737 m, weather is more likely to be about heat, humidity and underfoot conditions than altitude or cold. Come prepared to run a technical, rolling 53 km where the challenge accumulates gradually - respect the second half, keep fueling through the low points, and the finish back at Tussey Mountain rewards a patient, evenly paced effort.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 400 m · —
9 km · 573 m · —
15.2 km · 621 m · —
18.7 km · 435 m · —
24.9 km · 558 m · —
32.5 km · 600 m · —
37.4 km · 425 m · —
44.3 km · 440 m · —
49.1 km · 590 m · —
53.3 km · 400 m · —
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