Parking

* There is NO start line parking *
* There is NO finish line parking *

* All runners, all distances, must park at Brennan Park Rec Centre and board our pre-race and post-race shuttles to access their vehicles. *

We offer free shuttles from the finish line back to your vehicle post-race.

Registered Runners

REGISTRATIONS ARE NON-TRANSFERRABLE. Check our Registration page for further information.

Package Pickup Details
Rules & Regulations

Awards & Prizing

Beautiful custom awards for the top three male and female finishers in each race by Aravaipa Artworx. 

$500 cash prize for a new 50 km male or female course record.

Entry and travel package (flights, accommodations, and transfers) to the Gran Carrera del Desierto trail race in Mexico for the male and female 50 km winners. In case you don’t win, we have a 20% entry discount code for all runners: MAMSPGUEST.

Race Equipment

HEADLAMPS are NOT needed in the 50k distance, due to the start being right at sunrise.

Sunrise: 6:07am / Sunset: 8:25pm

PACERS ARE NOT ALLOWED
POLES ARE NOT ALLOWED

Aid Stations

Aid stations will have a selection of standard ultra running foods, such as:

• Näak gel, waffles, and energy drink mix
• water and Coke
• fruit such as oranges, bananas, watermelon
• potato chips (usually gluten-free)
• snacks such as salted pretzels, gummies, m&m’s, cookies, etc.
• salted potatoes
• other gluten-free options

Drop Bags

Drop bags are to be dropped off by you, on race morning, at the start line. 50km runners are allowed one drop bag which will be transported to Capilano U (formerly Quest), which is 23 kilometres into your run.

Finish Line Bags

Runners may leave a bag with us at the start line that will be transported to the finish line.

Cutoffs

AS 3: Capilano University (formerly Quest) – 12:00pm (5h45m)
AS 4: Garibaldi Road – 2:30pm (8h15m)
AS 5: Far Side – 3:30pm (9h15m)
FINISH – 5:45pm (11h30m)

Course Map

Download GPX File

Course Description

Updated August 14, 2025

The Squamish50 50 km course is a very challenging route as evidenced by the 11.5-hour cut off time. There’s not a lot of flat in this course BUT we have at least put those flatter sections at the very beginning and the very end, so you’ll be properly warmed up before you get into the guts of the course. This is a point to point race with entirely unique terrain from start to finish. 

Our race start is a destination all by itself. Alice Lake Provincial Park offers on-site camping, bathroom facilities and swimming in Alice Lake, which is flanked by mountains on all sides. A clear sight line back across the lake shows off Mount Garibaldi, the dominant peak in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Our start line is just outside of Alice Lake Provincial Park, near the highway turn off to Alice Lake itself, but 400 metres further along in the clearing at the end of the pavement. The race will begin by running briefly up the road, continuing past the Alice Lake turnoff, stay to the left through the roundabout and DO NOT turn into Alice Lake itself as you are heading towards the Four Lakes Trail system. 

You will first run past Stump Lake and then Fawn Lake before popping out onto the Bob McIntosh Trail. 

**NEW FOR 2025** 

A brand new “toad detour” trail has been constructed to ensure we no longer have to worry about closing trails in the race for the annual toad migration in the area. This new trail is double-wide, beautiful, and fast. Huge thanks to SORCA! This new trail is a bit of a shortcut vs our previous line, but don’t worry, we’ll give you all the distance back a bit later on, while climbing up Galactic. *insert evil laugh* 

The toad detour pops out near “Man Boobs”, and from here we go up, up, and up to gain access to the Ed’s Bypass area that you’ve all grown to love over the years. After topping out on Ed’s, you’ll launch back down a trail called Mad Hatter, which’ll eventually spit you back out onto “The Corners” where you can weave your way to your next aid station. 

You’re now on the Northside Connector gravel service road for a few kilometres, enjoy the last bits of runnable terrain before you head into the big nasty. Stay right at the Y split in the FSR, proceed approximately 1 kilometre further until you can pick up a trail on your left named Galactic Scheisse. This trail is located just a few hundred meters after you cross over a prominent water flow / bridge along the FSR. 

Welcome to your favourite part of the day! Galactic Scheisse tops out at over 3300 feet / 1000 metres. Given that your starting line is approximately 600 feet / 175 metres and you’ve only gained a minimal total amount up to this point, you should ensure you’ve grabbed ample supplies from your last aid station. The trail climbs at a steady grade that is indeed runnable by those challenging near the front. The total gain is over 2500 feet / 750 metres, and it plays out over approximately 4 kilometres of continued ascent. The great part about this climb, besides the challenge, is that it presents the most stunning views of the entire course, so it’s well worth your efforts! 

**NEW FOR 2025** 

As the SQ50 courses go through small evolutions, we do our best to keep the overall distance and run times the same. Given we have a new “toad detour” trail near Fawn Lake that removes a tiny bit of distance, we decided what better way to recapture that missing distance than to extend the Galactic Climb, just ever so slightly. Do not fret, friends, we promise the reward is worth the effort, as this small addition leads to incredible open rock bluff views down over Howe Sound. On a clear day, this might just end up being the most scenic part of the entire race! 

**Very important update from SORCA. This small new addition on Galactic involves detouring over to a parallel downhill mountain biking trail, and running up that for a short stretch before then jumping back out onto our historical route on Galactic proper. While we of course know that many runners like to pre-scout new areas, WE MUST ADVISE THAT THIS IS A HIGH SPEED DOWNHILL MTB TRAIL. As such, we have been asked to NOT SEND runners up past this small section that we use in the race, AND pay particular attention while you are on this new stretch, outside of race weekend itself, where we’ll be able to manage that downhill traffic. Any rider-to-runner conflict outside of race day will lead to this trail being removed from the race going forward. 

There is a slight reprieve once you top out, but shortly thereafter, you are thrust into an equivalent descent. Trails you’ll “run” include Upper Powersmart, IMBA Smart, Fred, and Word Of Mouth. The trails will start off as average technical and proceed into greater technicality as your legs fight through the impending fatigue. You are welcome!

**NEW FOR 2025** 

If you’ve run our race before, you’ll appreciate some of the new SORCA trail work that’s gone into this “Upper Powersmart” zone. It’ll be just as gnarly as ever, but with some fresh dirt and minor alterations, and upgrades. If you’ve not run our race before, just follow the flagging and try to keep your quads from imploding. 

As you get to the bottom of IMBA Smart, you’ll arrive at your next aid station located at the entrance to “Fred”. 

Once you exit Fred you have about 6 kilometers of mostly downhill singletrack until you arrive at the approximate 30 mile point of your race at Capilano University (formerly Quest). A full aid station, full facilities and your other drop bag await. 

Once you depart Cap U it’s back to the climbing again, doing a small loop of the University lands to gain a trail called “Home Run” that’ll bring you all the way up to the Climb Trail via beautiful singletrack. Note that this section has some steep bits and you are definitely going to thank me for that. 

If you’ve not been back to Squamish in a couple of years since last year, you won’t even recognize the new parking area at the entrance to The Climb Trail, as there’s now over 100 gravel parking spots located here, and The Climb Trail entrance has been shifted just slightly due to this construction work. Once you begin your climb up The Climb Trail you’ll pass a nice little waterfall after a few minutes and about a mile further along you’ll start to get some more open views back down valley towards Cap U and across to The Tantalus Mountain Range. You are climbing on singletrack until crossing over The Northside Connector and then continuing up the Upper Climb Trail.

Climbing, climbing, climbing you’ll top out as you find A.M. or the non politically correct name of Angry Midget. A.M. is a wonderful fall line running trail and though your legs might be screaming you’ll likely be doing the same out loud as you enjoy every step! As has always been the case, our superstar volunteer Alaia Alsharif will be at the top directing you back down AM, with her wonderful smile and coloured hair. Be sure to give her a high five and thank her for her endless dedication towards our races. 

At the bottom of A.M. cut left onto Ring Creek and follow it for a few hundred meters until you can cross over the Garibaldi FSR to access your next aid station. From here to the finish you’ll be following the same course as every other race distance. Once across the gravel road you’ll drop back onto singletrack. This will wind you down to a river crossing across a bridge known as “Darwin’s”. A short but steep climb awaits you on the other side and you’ll be taking your first right onto STP, which is the first moto-friendly trail you’ll be running on the day. Keep your ears peeled as a just in case. 

You get to drop down STP, climb back up on Bonsai, drop back down on Somewhere Over There, and then hit your final aid station of the day at the entrance to The Far Side. Kyle Conway and his crew have been captaining this aid station for about a decade now, and year after year they blow us away with their commitment towards a relevant theme of the time, from Game of Thrones, to The Barkley Marathons, to Ted Lasso. You never know what they’re going to do next! One thing is for certain, they’re gonna take great care of you and ensure you have the energy, calories and support to put in your final push to the finish line.

Departing the aid station, you turn onto Fartherside and then S&M Connector. Enjoy this open slightly graded descent but don’t worry, you’re not done with your climbing just yet!

**LAST-MINUTE CHANGE FOR 2025**

Crossing under the powerlines you take right onto the boardwalk and then a left onto Endo, but only briefly before you turn right onto Seven Stitches as you slowly climb up to Pipe Trail. From Pipe Trail you are closing in on your final climb of the day, up Mountain Of Phlegm. Don’t fuss over the name though, as we’ve saved some mountain views for last climb of course! Do a shoulder check as you top out here and you’ll spot Nch’ḵay̓ / Garibaldi dominating the skyline above town. From the top of Mountain Of Phlegm, which is a short but steep climb, it’s ‘almost’ all downhill to your finish line. Almost.

Take Summer’s Eve into The Smoke Bluffs, blaze past the rock climbers and boulderers until you end up in the parking lot at the bottom. It’s time to get those legs to turn over on some flat stuff finally, as you’re only a few kilometres from celebrating your achievement in our beer gardens! (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options await). 

Along the water, through Rose Park, under the highway and down to Junction Park, at the O’Siyam Pavilion, where you can finally lay down and call it a day! Treat yo’self to an Alice and Brohm ice cream, you’ve earned it! 

In case you’ve made it this far and haven’t deduced this just yet… this is NOT an easy course, but if you train hard you’ll be one of those receiving a coveted finisher’s medal and finish line hug, high-five, or fly-by, your call!