A Recap of the Marin Ultra Challenge 50K – 2026

Pre-race jitters were kicking in as I packed my bag to fly to San Francisco. I had thoughts of self-doubt, fear of the unknown and hoping I did not forget anything I would need for the race. This is my standard inner-dialogue before any longer trail race. I have done this plenty of times before, but my thoughts always get away from me. I knew when I signed up for this race that it would be a challenge. I could handle the mileage but the elevation gain of 6,300’ was going to be a stretch. The only thing that calmed my nerves is knowing that this race is meant to be a glorified training run, to see where I am at in my training-  my strengths and weaknesses before my 50 miler in May.

I found a convenient Airbnb in Sausalito and it was great, minus Marty, the German Sheperd that decided to bark for an hour, making sleep a little hard. I think I managed 6 decent hours of sleep before my 5am wake-up call. I had my clothes and gear laid out and ready to go, I knew where I was grabbing coffee on the way and I had brought my standard pre-run breakfast of sourdough and honey.

I arrived at the Muir Woods National Monument Park just after 6am, it was dark and chilly. I did not get into town early enough to pick up my bib the day before, so I had to check-in at the race, which was easy and quick. The race for both the 50 miler and the 50K had less than 400 runners total, making it a smaller event. The start/finish line had a good number of bathrooms and porta-potties, so pre-race bathroom stops were less stressful – a big bonus if you have experienced the long lines at other races.

The race started with an immediate climb up the mountain (hill) to an incredible view of the sunrise and partial view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The climb is about 2 miles to the top and on a mix of fire road and a little singletrack. When you reach the top, you take a wide singletrack down the backside of the mountain, and into an open valley area for 1.5 miles before starting to climb again. As you leave the valley of Muir Woods Park, you climb up the hill and to the first aid station. The aid station is well stocked with pretzels, gels, candy and potatoes. You cross the road and climb up the hill and to a view overlooking the ocean, and the beautiful San Francisco skyline. The hills are green and wildflowers line the trail. The trail wraps around the hills near some of the homes in the Marin hills and dips into tree covered areas and back onto the open fire roads.

The trail starts heading toward the Pacific Ocean and somewhere in between the rolling hills there is aid station #2, which honestly I feel like miles 6-14 were a bit of a blur. Between aid station #2 and #3 the trail hugs the cliff, giving you a clear view of where you are headed. The trail has some steep areas but is mostly rolling hills. The weather is still perfect, and it is nothing but blue skies. People are out hiking the trails, so you occasionally need to stop or hug the sides. Aid stations 3 and 4 are at Muir Beach, which is perfect for any friends and family that want to support you, without driving all day. There is a 7 mile loop that goes between aid station 3 and 4 for the 50K runners. It starts with a small bit on the road but dips onto a rolling trail which is nicely shaded for around 50% of it. At this point, I was happy to have any shade. The weather started heating up; this made the run a lot more pleasant. The loop starts to climb up and around the mountain, leading to a longer, much appreciated, downhill portion before making it back into Muir Beach parking lot.

Although the trail only retraces the last 2-3 miles, you return to aid station #2, for your final stop at mile 24. Again, the repeat of aid station makes it nice for friends to come support you. I was starting to really feel the miles at this point and the fresh cut watermelon that you could dip in salt, made me happy… that and the ice water sponge they would wring out over you to cool you down. The temperature was definitely warm the last 10 miles, making the cooling stations and hydration the biggest focus. The last 4-5 miles were a slog for me and it was just managing energy up the hills and running when possible that kept me at a decent pace.

Since I already ran the last portion of the course, at the beginning, I knew what to expect. This helped me set personal goals and increase my speed down the hill and to the finish line. The last bit of the trail had a decent amount of people just there hanging out for the day, so it involved a bit of dodging and weaving but with the finish line in sight, kept my motivation high. It was the slightest uphill finish but a very short distance, so I was able to give it a sprint finish. Right across from the finish is Rodeo beach, a beautiful place to relax, enjoy some post-race beverages and snacks.

In the end, I was very pleased that I chose to do this run. I thought the location was incredible, the weather could not have been better and it was easy to make a weekend trip of it, with San Francisco right there. If I had any complaints, it would be that there could have been a few more trail markers, as I did stop a few times, not sure if I was still going the right way.