Labor Day Trail Challenge 50-Mile • 50K • Marathon • Half Marathon & Ruck • 8-Hour • Last Runner Standing

LABOR DAY TRAIL CHALLENGE

RUN FREE: RETURN OF THE BULL

The gates are open. The bull is loose. Run Free.  Conquer the Lost Pines on single-track trails along the Colorado River

 McKinney Roughs Nature Park, Cedar Creek TX 8-HOUR RELAY · HALF MARATHON & RUCK · MARATHON · 50K · 50-MILE  GAUNTLET: LAST RUNNER STANDING    

TRAILS Single-Track & Fire Roads

ECOSYSTEMS 4 Unique Biomes

SETTING Colorado River

About the Race

Trade the bullpen for the box canyons. Return of the Bull

You’ve been penned up all year. It’s time to break the fences. Kick off your Labor Day weekend with an unforgettable trail running experience at McKinney Roughs Nature Park, a stunning 1,140-acre preserve just 13 miles east of Austin along the Colorado River. Choose from seven events that wind through the park's rolling box canyons, wildflower meadows, and towering loblolly pine forests.

This is Central Texas trail running at its finest. You'll traverse four distinct ecosystems. Post Oak Savannah, Blackland Prairie, East Texas Piney Woods, and a lush riparian corridor, all in a single race. Expect technical single-track, scenic river overlooks, and the kind of terrain that makes every mile an adventure.

 

THE RIO COLORADO 250

The river you run above on Saturday is the one the series is named for.

Two hundred fifty kilometers with Fit Foundation in a calendar year earns the Rio Colorado 250 buckle. Not instead of your race hardware. On top of it. Every kilometer counts, including the ones you cover in the timed events.

That last part matters. The 8-Hour Solo doesn't credit you a fixed distance. It credits you what you actually walk, run, and grind out between seven in the morning and three in the afternoon. Some of you will put more on the board in one day than a 50K would give you.

Here is the calendar. Autumn Harvest on October 10. Fields of Gold on October 24. The Colorado River Run on November 27. Star of Texas on December 13.

Four events in nine weeks. September is the last quiet place to start.

The count begins at McKinney Roughs.

Return of the Bull marks the second chapter of the Rodeo Trail Run Series, following the inaugural Austin's Rodeo Trail Run at Grelle Recreation Area. All half-marathon, marathon, and 50K finishers receive a custom rodeo-style belt buckle and event shirt, the signature swag of the series.

Unleash the grit. Master the Roughs. Run Free.

Choose Your Distance

SEVEN EVENTS · ONE EPIC COURSE

POPULAR 🔥 HALF MARATHON & RUCK 13.1 Miles Intermediate

MARATHON 26.2 Miles Advanced

ULTRA 🐂 50K  or 50 Miles  Last Runner Standing Ultra Distance

⏱️

8-Hour  Run (Solo or Relay)

Choose-Your-Own-Adventure: Run or walk for 8 hours. You can also grab your favorite running partner, build your duo, and take on the 8-Hour Relay Challenge! This high-energy format strips away the pressure of a fixed distance and replaces it with a fast-paced, strategy-driven race against the clock.

STARTS 7:15 AM · 8 HOURS   GAUNTLET: LAST RUNNER STANDING Stop 3 of 4 · The Proving Ground

Beat September.
Own October.

Labor Day Weekend · 10:00 AM Start · Texas

Labor Day weekend is summer taking its last swing at Texas, and this is the stop where you swing back. One 2 mile loop, all race. From the 10 AM bell you run it once an hour. Twice from 6 PM. Three times from 2 AM. At 10 AM Sunday it locks there: three laps, 6 miles, on the hour, for as long as anyone keeps answering the bell.

The first eight hours are deliberately generous, and in September that is the whole idea. One lap an hour is walkable in the worst heat of the day, which means the field is still intact when the sun goes down and the race actually starts. Everyone gets to the interesting part. What happens after that is up to you.

Heat is the one variable an entire field feels at the same time, so nobody out here is having an easier day than you are. The corral becomes shade tents and ice and crews trading tricks between bells, and a loop that felt like a fight at four in the afternoon turns into a different loop entirely once the sun drops. Run the hot hours patiently and the night belongs to you.

Runners heading for the season finale treat Labor Day as the proving ground. It is the last data point before Fields of Gold and the one that tells you the most about what you will have left in October. Everything Labor Day teaches you, you get about six weeks to act on.

2 MILES One Loop, All Race The course never changes. Only how many times you run it before the bell.	1 → 3 Laps Per Hour One more lap added every eight hours. You do not get the easy version back.
96 MILES Just To Reach The Wall Reach it in September and you have done something almost nobody in the field will.	60 MIN The Hour Doesn't Stretch Heat buys you nothing. The bell rings on the hour whatever the thermometer says.

How it escalates

Same loop every hour. One more lap of it every eight.

Hours	Loop	Pace	On the clock	Total
1 to 8	1 lap / 2.0 mi	30:00	10 AM to 6 PM	16 mi
9 to 16	2 laps / 4.0 mi	15:00	6 PM to 2 AM	48 mi
17 to 24	3 laps / 6.0 mi	10:00	2 AM to 10 AM	96 mi
25+	3 laps / 6.0 mi	10:00	10 AM Sun onward	+6 every hour

From hour 25 the loop stops growing. Three laps, on the hour, at a pace that leaves you nothing unless you beat 10:00 for six miles. Every minute under that is a minute you get to sit down, and by then a minute is worth a great deal.

How to run the heat well

Use the first block	Eight hours of one lap an hour is the most recovery time you will ever get in a Gauntlet. Walk it, eat properly, stay ahead on fluids, and arrive at hour 9 with something in the tank instead of a heat debt.
The night block	The step to two laps comes at 6 PM, with dark arriving a couple of bells later. That is the block where the race sorts itself, and it rewards whoever was most disciplined during the heat.
Your crew	Ice, fluids, salt and a chair in the shade have to be ready before you get to the corral, not assembled while you stand over them. Whatever you save in the hour is yours to rest with.

Third of four

01 · Opener Canyon of the Eagles New Year's Day, Burnet

02 Bluebonnet Trail Run Spring, Marble Falls

03 · You are here Labor Day Challenge Labor Day weekend

04 · Finale Fields of Gold October, Marble Falls

Find out now what you'll have in October.

One stop left after this one. Everything Labor Day teaches you, Fields of Gold gives you the chance to spend.

Enter The Gauntlet → One name left standing. One title: Sole Survivor.

Course Highlights

WHAT AWAITS YOU ON THE TRAIL

Lost Pines Forest Run through towering loblolly pines and eastern red cedars, an isolated pocket of East Texas ecology		River Overlooks Scenic bluff-top views of the Colorado River from the Ridge and Bluff Overlook trails
Rolling Elevation Up to 469 ft of elevation gain on technical single-track through box canyons and ridgelines		Aid Stations Fully stocked with water, electrolytes, snacks, and encouragement. Our main aid station at the start/finish hub is fully stocked with hot food, fruit, pickle juice, cold drinks, and more. This is your primary fueling point each loop. On-course aid stations provide water and light supplies to keep you moving between loops. Plan to refuel at the hub each time you come through.
Wildlife Corridor Four ecosystems converge here, home to 250+ bird species and diverse Central Texas wildlife		Rodeo Series Buckle Every half-marathon, marathon, and 50K finisher earns a custom rodeo-style belt buckle from the Rodeo Trail Run Series

Race Swag & Awards

WHAT EVERY FINISHER TAKES HOME

TRAIL RUN RODEO SERIES Rodeo Series Buckle Custom belt buckle, signature of the Rodeo Trail Run Series. Every half-marathon, marathon, 50K & 50 miles finisher.

Event T-Shirt with rodeo series branding

LOST PINES Finisher Medal Custom design for all finishers

Awards

FOR THOSE WHO RIDE THE HARDEST

Overall Winners Plaque award for top male & female finisher in each distance event

FINISHER RODEO TRAIL RUN SERIES All Finishers Every half-marathon, marathon, and 50K runner who crosses the finish line within cutoff earns a Rodeo Trail Run Series buckle. Medals for other distances.

We Do Our Part

Why the eagle rides with the bull

In 1933 the country put an eagle in the window. Every business that signed on to a wage floor, a limit on hours, and an end to child labor hung a blue eagle placard out front, and the line printed under it was We Do Our Part. It is the most American thing ever put on a poster, and it is the right sentence for a race run on the weekend that honors work.

The bull gets you out of the pen. The eagle is what you carry home. Nobody does your part but you.

The Eagle Earns It An eagle does not scavenge somebody else's kill and call it a day. It hunts in the open where everyone can see. Same deal out here. There is no way to fake a 50K.

The Summer Was the Job You did not train for this in September. You trained in July and August, in Texas, before sunrise, on trails that never cooled off overnight. That was the labor. Saturday is what it was for.

Patience Is a Working Virtue Eagles perch for hours and move once, when it matters. Go out honest, hold something back, spend it late. Everyone who has gone too hard in the first hour has paid for it in the fourth.

Eight Hours Is a Workday

You clock in at seven. You keep showing up lap after lap. What you have at three is exactly what you put in, and there is no shortcut in a timed format. Only the willingness to go back out one more time.

Earn it in the heat. Take it home in your hands.

The Eagle Award

Ultra Champions · Labor Day Weekend ULTRA ONLY

The Gauntlet Last Runner Standing (at ultra distance), top male and female finishers in the 50K and 50 Mile take home an eagle trophy. It is the one award on this course you cannot get by being fast for an hour. Every other distance is recognized with the standard overall awards.

Course Records

McKinney Roughs · Set at the Inaugural, 2026

First year on this course. Every mark below is standing there waiting for somebody to take it.

Distance	Record Holder
50 Mile	Jonathan Gardner · 14:51:43
50K	Andrew McGregor · 6:17:51
Marathon	Kimberly Pilcher · 4:57:24
Half Marathon	Nicole Bitter · 2:00:30
10K	James Bales · 38:56
5K	Noah Bales · 19:26
8-Hour Timed Run CHIP TIMED AT THE 50K MARK	Natalie Harvey · 50K in 6:54

The Crossover Rule

Every 8-Hour runner is chip timed at the 50K mark. If you cover 50K faster than the registered 50K field, the overall 50K award is yours. It runs one way only. A registered 50K finish does not count toward the 8-Hour award, because the 8-Hour is scored on total distance for the full eight hours.

Records are made to be broken. Come take one.

Race Details

EVERYTHING ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW

Day	Labor Day Weekend (Saturday)
Start Time	7:15 AM for ultra distances and 8-Hour; 8:00 AM Half-Marathon & Ruck; Last Runner Standing 10:00 AM
Location	McKinney Roughs Nature Park
Address	1884 State Hwy 71 West, Cedar Creek, TX 78612
Surface	Dirt / Single-Track Trail
Chip Timed	Yes
Stroller Friendly	No (Trail course)

Getting There: Located on Hwy 71 just 13 miles east of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Look for the distinctive rock wall entrance with windmill on the south side of the highway. Free parking available in the main lot with additional overflow parking.

Nearby Accommodations: Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa is adjacent to the park. Additional hotels available in Bastrop (8 miles east). Make a weekend of it, race Saturday, relax Sunday and Monday.

Rodeo Trail Run Series

The Labor Day Trail Challenge is the second event in the Rodeo Trail Run Series. Ran the Austin Rodeo Trail Run at Grelle in March? You're a series veteran. New to the rodeo? Welcome to the herd. Either way, you'll earn one of the two signature series buckles and shirt when you cross the finish line.

LABOR DAY TRAIL CHALLENGE  McKinney Roughs Nature Park · Cedar Creek, TX  Sponsor Opportunities Available Fit Foundation Half Marathon Ruck 13.1 miles. Same trail. Weight on your back.

Rucking is covering ground with a loaded pack. Same course as the half marathon, same start, same finish line, same cutoff. The only difference is what you are carrying and who you are racing.

Ruckers are scored as their own division with their own results and their own awards. You are not competing against the runners and they are not competing against you.

Minimum pack weight 20 lb  ·  30 lb 20 lb if you weigh under 150 lb. 30 lb if you weigh 150 lb or over. The rules

• Weigh in before the start. Bring your pack to the start area at least 30 minutes before your wave. We weigh it, we tag it, you go.
• Water does not count. Your hydration, food, phone and layers are on top of the minimum. The weight is dry weight.
• Any weight is fine. Ruck plates, bricks, sand, books, dumbbells. It has to be secure and it has to stay in the pack for the whole course.
• You finish with what you started with. Weight is checked again at the finish. Anything under the minimum moves you out of the ruck division.
• Carry it yourself. No handing your pack off, no dragging, no wheels.
• Run, walk, or anything between. There is no rule about how you move, only about what you carry.
• Rucking counts toward your Run the River mileage exactly the same as running. Thirteen point one miles is thirteen point one miles.

First time rucking?

A loaded pack on a trail is harder than the same distance on your feet, and most people go out too quick. A few things that help:

• Train with the weight before race day. Even two or three loaded walks makes a difference to your shoulders.
• Get the load high and tight against your back. Weight that sits low and swings will wreck you by mile six.
• Wear the socks and shoes you have already tested. Rucking changes how your feet hit the ground.
• Pack the weight so it cannot shift. Movement inside the pack is the most common reason people stop.

Same trail. Same finish line. Considerably more of it on your back.