Rocky 50, by USWE Trail Race
Races: 50 mi, 50k, 13.1 mi (1/2 Marathon), Youth 1 mi
When: February 8, 2025
Where: Huntsville State Park
565 Park Road 40 West, Huntsville, TX 77340
Closest bigger cities: Huntsville, Conroe, College Station, Houston
This race is on. Rain or shine or both!
Rocky Raccoon got so big back in the day, so we ended up splitting the 50 mile and 50km distances onto the following weekend. Later on, we also added a half marathon! So, now Rocky 50 is a stand alone event. If you want to run your first ultra, or you want to run a really fast and scenic trail race, this is your course. Rolling trails, lots of exposed tree roots, beautiful pine trees with their needles nestled under your feet, cool bridges, a gorgeous east Texas lake, wildlife galore, and a wonderful set of aid stations and experienced volunteers.
USWE & Tejas Trails: We are proud to be partnered with USWE for this event! Check out their amazing packs and other gear, and enjoy an exclusive discount for being a Tejas Trails racer (automatically offered if you click on our special link above)!
see what it all looks like
Race Day Results & Timing & Scoring
Start Options
We will have a mass start per distance. Sometimes we start more than one distance together, so pay attention to the Schedule for this event. We also leave the start line open for a little while longer for those who want to avoid the mass start, enjoy a more casual entry onto the course, and don’t care about overall awards.
Results and Live Split Updates
Click this button on race day to see updated results each time a runner passes a timing mat on the course and the final results. Timing mats are always at the start/finish/next lap line, and sometimes an additional mat is placed out on the course.
Timing and Scoring
The results page will show two times for each runner. “Gun Time” and “Chip Time”. Here’s what that means for you:
“Gun Time” is the time from the mass start (when the starter officially starts your distance) until when you cross the finish line. This is everyone’s “official time”, no matter when you enter the race course; and is the time that is used for all rankings and awards.
“Chip Time” is the time from when you actually cross the start line until the time you cross the finish line. This is not used for official times or award rankings. But if you begin after the Mass Start you can see this time in the results to know the time you actually covered the course in.
Race Schedule
EVERYTHING HAPPENS AT THE RACE SITE
TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY
All day, sun up to sun down pretty much = Setup (come hang out and help anytime)
FRIDAY
Anytime = Drop your own drop bags at aid stations (not monitored until race start)
10:00am-7:00pm = Place your drop bags you want us to deliver for you. (Raven Lodge front yard, next to appropriate sign, see Drop Bag section below for details and where we deliver)
3:00pm-7:00pm = Packet Pickup (with a little break for the Briefing) (in Raven Lodge)
5:00pm-5:30pm = Pre Race Briefing and Q&A (not mandatory) (Back porch of Raven Lodge)
SATURDAY
Packet Pickup:
6:00am-8:00am = all Races (in Raven Lodge)
12:45pm-1:00pm = Youth 1 Mile (at Finish Line tent)
Starts:
7:00am = 50 mi Mass / Competitive Start
7:30am = 50km Mass / Competitive Start
7:45am = 13.1 mi Mass / Competitive Start
8:00am = Start Line Closes
1:00pm = Youth 1 Mile Mass Start
Cutoffs:
4:40pm = Last Lap Cutoff for 50 miles & 50km
9:30pm = Final Cutoff (Course Closed)
Saturday all day and night (and Sunday morning) = (yes, we always need help; just pop up and ask anyone you see working or volunteering)
Course Information
RACE DISTANCES: 50 mile, 50K, 13.1 mile (1/2 Marathon)
ROUTE DETAILS:
The race starts on the edge of Lake Raven. It’s a beautiful layout with plenty of room for your team tent, drop bags, crew, and family and friends to enjoy! From there, you will wind your way around pretty much every nook and cranny of Huntsville State Park. Oftentimes, near the shore of the lake, usually gently rolling up or down with no steep climbs, and lots of roots. Lots and lots of roots.
50 Mile = 3 x 16.7 mile loops
50K = 1x 14.6 mile first lap, followed by 1x full 16.7 mile lap.
13.1 Mile = 1x 13.1 mile modified lap, showcasing the best of the trail system and fun bridges.
Below is a link to a GPX file and elevation profile image of the current 50 mile course. Please note, the course can slightly change last minute, based on unexpected trail changes or conditions outside our control. And this file and profile image may not get updated immediately.
Also note, this file only shows the route for a single lap of the 50 mile course, and does not include the shorter modified first lap for the 50K.
Expect about 900 feet of elevation gain and equal loss in the full loop.
Profile Image represents one single full lap
Course Markings
We go above and beyond on our course markings, and have become known around the world for it. We will have orange Tejas Trails caution tape blocking off any open intersections; yellow arrows stapled to stakes, signposts, fences, and trees; and hundreds of confidence markers between. You never have to navigate or use a map.
Course markings are not color-coded per distance. When you get to an intersection where a shorter distance breaks off from the longer main loop, there will be signs with distances on them pointing the appropriate ways. Simply follow the signs with your distance on them. If you don’t see your distance, you just missed your turn. Don’t ever cross caution tape. It usually is required that we keep the caution tape on the ground, but it’s always obvious, and will act as a guardrail for you at open intersections.
Also for any of our races that take place in dark hours, all our markings have high grade reflectors in them, so the course actually becomes even easier to follow in the dark!
Now of course, you can get off course… So if you’re new to trail running, you have to train your brain to keep looking up; and especially don’t trust the person in front of you. We have a special “Lemming Award” for those who blindly follow someone else off course and then get mad at us.
Aid Stations
We will be providing full Aid Station support. We’ll be sure you have hot and cold options, and we’ll do our best to take care of you with our usual Texas hospitality.
We also encourage everyone to drop their own drop bags and small ice chests before the race.
The route lays out in a manner where it is easy to access all aid stations, and allow drops to be made anytime on Friday. Your crew will have easy access to you at multiple locations around the course. See Drop Bag section for more details.
Special Note about “Bridge Aid Station”:
13.1 Mile Notes: This is setup specifically for you half marathoners. It will be a basic water re-fill station only. There may be gels and snacks there too, but don’t necessarily count on anything other than water on this one. You’ll hit this once outbound and once inbound. We will pack up the snacks and drinks at the cutoff shown on the Aid Station Chart below.
50K & 50mi Notes: You may see “Bridge Aid Station” during the morning to early afternoon. But this is a temporary aid station for the half marathoners. So, do not expect or rely on this aid station.
Cutoffs:
Last Lap Cutoff = 4:40pm for 50mi and 50K
Final Cutoff (Course Closed) = 9:30pm all distances.
Drop Bags
Delivery Details:
We will only take drop bags to Dam Nation for the 50 milers and 50km.
Bring Dam Nation Drop Bags to the Raven Lodge during packet pickup on Friday if you want us to deliver them.
Drop Bags will be taken on Friday night at 7:00pm. This is your only chance to get a bag to Dam Nation via our services. No Exceptions.
You may drop your bags anytime on Friday, all the way until late into the night. Be mindful of sleeping campers if you do drive around later at night.
We ask you do not place your own Drop Bags on Saturday morning if at all avoidable, to help keep driving traffic down around the park. If you really need to, you are allowed to though. Just be mindful of sleeping campers.
Return Details:
Drop bags will be returned to the Lodge Saturday night after Dam Nation Aid Station closes down and our crew makes it back. Sometimes this is later at night (9pm or even later). If you must have it before then, then don’t send a bag out via our services. Or know you or your crew can go get it anytime throughout the event on your own. It’s a short hike in from the far end of Coloneh camping area. Look for the big trail map at the trailhead. Also, please do not intentionally leave your bag or camping chair or tent. You are not doing us a favor “donating” your stinky stuff.
Raven (Start/Finish/Next Lap) Drop Bags Details:
You can setup your Raven (Start/Finish/Next Lap) bags or ice chests, pop up tents, etc. anytime on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday morning.
There is plenty of room to choose from. It is first come, first serve. You’re free to place your items anywhere along the start chute within 1/4 mile of the Start Line. No limits on sizes. The park will not let you pitch an enclosed camping tent here though. Please spread out. We will not be providing Drop Bag service at Raven A.S. However, you still must label these bags as well. Please note, we will not be monitoring anything in that area. This is a public use state park. Tejas Trails is not responsible for your personal belongings.
Volunteering
We fully recognize we could not (and would not want to) put on any of these events without your help. Volunteers breathe life into these events. You make them personal for people. We no doubt need you and love this component to our business. So, know that we will always do everything we can afford to do to help you enjoy your time out there in the trenches helping those runners achieve their goals and dreams.
As a volunteer, you get:
Park entry fees and Camping fees paid for (if your role requires you to sleep at the park)
Food while you are volunteering
Shirt, hat, race swag, etc.
Loads of good memories
All the gear you need to successfully accomplish your task
We can always use help, specifically for: course marking, packet pickup, aid stations, course sweeping, teardown, and more!
Please note, for this event, we are not able to offer free race credits like we do for our other events. There are simply too many people helping make this one happen. If we gave away that many entries to other races, we wouldn’t be able to keep our race entry fees as low as we do. Thank you for helping us continue to make this historic trail run happen year after year!
Swag & Stuff
Your race entry comes with a bunch of good stuff! You’ll get the comfort of our world-renowned course markings so you don’t have to worry about getting lost. You’ll get our notorious staff and volunteer support (and probably leave with new friends you met at an aid station or the finish line)! We will offer a plethora of aid station food and drink options, as well as finish line drinks. There will be a relaxing race hub area with backyard games and toys for kids to play with for your spectators, friends, and family. We also typically have a food truck at the finish line serving a variety of good food and drink options, including an accommodating menu of most food allergies and vegan options.
You can also expect awesome gear you’ll actually want to wear, and a truly unique medal that you’ll be proud to have. Those who sign up before the shirt cutoff (when we actually have to put the shirt order in) will receive a nice shirt. Sometimes long sleeve, short sleeve, sleeveless, tank top, or something else we find that’s cool and different from the year before. Those who register after that date will receive a cool non-size specific item, such as a hat, beanie, arm warmers, scarf, drink ware, or something else we find.
If you don’t like the swag item you received, you may swap your item after the final Packet Pickup is over (when we have ensured everyone got the item they signed up for). You can also purchase the other item(s) if you like all of them. This will all happen from the Tejas Trails merchandise tent when it’s onsite, and otherwise will be made available at the Packet Pickup Tent or the Finish Line Tent.
Also, for our longer events, sometimes we offer a “Premium Garment” that you can upgrade to during the Race Registration steps.
Please note, we don’t always get the shirt color we had planned these days, as things are goofy with shipping and fulfilling. If the shirt color changes, sometimes we have to change the design colors too. But you can count on a quality item.
Timing & DNF
Chip Timing
All races will be chip timed. Chips will be attached to an ankle strap, picked up on race morning only at the event venue, and must be worn on your ankle during the race. Chips are likely to not work if worn anywhere other than your ankle.
Once you finish, we will have a bin for you to place your chip into. Our head timer will take care of it from there.
Please reference the “Start Options” section above for exact details of how we are utilizing “Gun Time” vs “Chip Time”, depending on which Start Option you choose during registration.Check Out
If you leave the race for any reason before completing the full race distance, you must turn in your timing chip. If we have your Chip, then we know you have left the course & we won't go looking for you all day & night.
DNF (Did Not Finish)
If you decide to not finish the distance you registered for, you may get a finisher medal to commemorate the miles you did finish; but you will be a DNF in the results; and you will not be in contention for awards for the shorter distance category.
Split Time Collection
Some races may have mid-point reads to help us track progress during the race. If you see a timing mat on the course, make sure you run over it.
Pacers
Pacers are allowed after 4:40pm (last lap cutoff). 60 and older may have a pacer their whole race. Pacers must start and end at an aid station. Only one pacer with a runner at a time. No mule-ing. All pacers must complete free registration.
Overall Awards
We love celebrating our top finishers! However, we don’t have awards ceremonies at most of our events. But all the top finishers will receive some really great stuff!
We will have some fun, special, handmade overall awards to hand out when you cross the finish line. Volunteers will check results as you cross, but sometimes there’s a delay since our events are mostly remote. So, if you think you may be in contention for one, please ask before leaving.
Please note, we do not mail awards to anyone who leaves without their earned award. If there is any signal, you can also look up how you did on the results page (found in the pre-race email and at the top of this event webpage).
For this race, we will be awarding Top 3 male and Top 3 female, and Top Masters (50 & Older).
There are special awards handed out uniquely for the Tejas 250, Tejas 300, and Tejas 400.
For anyone who completes 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, etc. km or miles at the same event, we give away special fleeces for you to make others jealous with.
Families & Youth Run
Tejas Trails is for families! We have a few things going on to help everyone have fun on race weekend.
For you runners who are trying to figure out how to train and race while trying to be a good friend, partner, spouse, or grandparent.
For you family members and friends who are trying to support your runner, but get bored out of your minds trying to keep your young ones safe and busy.
Our goal is for the runner’s family and friends to have fun things to do, enjoy hanging out, exercise, play in the woods, and create great life-long memories together. Bottom line, we want families to grow closer together because of Tejas Trails events. So, we will provide things like family discounts, yard games, practically free youth races, and a family-friendly environment.
One of our favorite parts of our events is the Youth Trail Run. The course will be around a mile, and at most events it’s possible to run less for our really young racers! You can register your child on the main Reg button at the top of this page. It is an untimed race, and every runner receives a race bib and finisher medal.
We will also have a bunch of backyard games setup around the Race Hub. Just look for the ‘Fun and Games’ flag, and dig through the totes to find some fun toys and games for all ages.
Getting Here
Everything happens at the Huntsville State Park, in Huntsville, TX.
Specifically at Raven Lodge by the edge of the lake, across from the park’s main boat ramp.
When you pull into the park, you’ll check in at the Park’s HQ. Non-racers will need to have $7 per day cash ready to hand them. All race registrants must show your registration confirmation email to prove you are racing. We took all racers’ park fees during the online registration process and will pay the park your day use fees for you. You are covered for Saturday and Sunday. If you plan to stay longer than the race days, you do need to let their office staff know and pay for those additional days onsite.
Only caveat to that is, if you are entering the park on Friday late afternoon to evening to only pick up your packet, drop off your drop bags, and maybe attend the pre-race briefing; you will be allowed to go through without paying for that day. But you need to be respectful of their extra permissions you’re receiving and leave relatively quickly.
Once through the Park HQ, continue straight ahead. You’ll soon see the lake in front of you and a large parking area on your left. Do not park on the grass anywhere or you’ll get ticketed. Only on paved parking spaces. Raven Lodge is in front of you a little to the left next to the playground. Everything is happening around there.
Camping & Lodging
We are proud to be partnered with Powered by Halo to provide discounted rooms at two hotels (one in Bandera and one in the nearby town of Boerne). Please see the button below to see what’s available. This will not only provide you with a nice stay, but also be a lot of fun as other racers and crews will be in the same hotel with you to get excited (and nervous about your race) with! Oh and you’ll also get to enjoy some extra perks just for staying at these choice hotels!
CAMPSITES, RV SITES, & SHELTERS IN THE PARK
The park has allowed us total use of the park on race days! So, we are booking reservations for campsites, RV hook-up sites, and screened shelters through a new system. See the buttons below to book your campsite for Friday and Saturday nights. Please note that your reservation includes both nights, even if you only want one of the two nights. If you don’t get a reservation, you cannot camp at this park. Car parking in regular parking spots is not allowed at Texas state parks. Also know that you cannot book your Friday and Saturday night campsites through the normal TPWD reservation system. However, if you are wanting any night other than Friday or Saturday night, you do need to do that through their normal TPWD reservation system.
IMPORTANT INFO FOR CAMPING RESERVATIONS:
Click the big blue button below to see which sites are available and to get one reserved.
If everything is booked, you still have a chance. Simply click the “CAMPSITE REQUEST & SHARING” button, and fill out the quick form.
We will contact you asap and let you know if we are able to find a match with someone else who has enough room for you and your party at their site.
