Trail Run at Sly Park (Fall)

The fall edition of the Trail Run at Sly Park is held at the Sly Park Recreation Area in Pollock Pines, and it’s held under special use permit with the El Dorado National Forest. The course follows the trails surrounding Jenkinson Lake through endless pine trees.
Most of the trails are single track with gently rolling hills, and other parts are flat and wide. Small portions of the course are on pavement. All of the races start with an easy quarter mile downhill on a gravel road followed by a very steep quarter mile climb on a single track trail. After the first half mile, the trails are relatively flat as they follow near the shore of Jenkinson Lake in a counterclockwise direction. There are some technical sections with plenty of rocks and roots.
The 5K course (538ft ascent) follows the same hiking trail as all other races for the first half of the distance and then makes a sharp right turn onto the horse trail for the return trip, which finishes by running the first half mile of the course backward. The 5K course is marked with yellow ribbons.
The 10K (866ft ascent) is an out-and-back course that follows the same hiking trail as every longer race and turns around right before the Park Creek bridge at the northeast edge of the lake. The 10K course is marked with pink ribbons.
The 8.5 mile course (984ft ascent) makes one complete loop around the lake on the hiking trail. The 8.5 mile course is also marked with pink ribbons.
The half marathon (1,739ft ascent) follows the same course as the 8.5 mile race and then runs an additional 4.6 mile loop.
The 18 mile course (2,539ft ascent) makes two complete counterclockwise loops around the lake. The first loop follows the 8.5 mile course on the hiking trail, and the second loop follows the 9.5 mile horse trail, which sometimes joins the hiking trail for short distances. The second loop is marked with orange ribbons.
The marathon course (4,032ft ascent) makes two complete counterclockwise loops around the lake, followed by one clockwise loop. The first loop follows the 8.5 mile course on the hiking trail, and the second loop follows the 9.5 mile horse trail. The last loop follows the horse trail backward.
The 50K race (5,000ft ascent) first follows the same course as the 18 mile race, which has a cutoff time of 12:45 PM. After 18 miles, runners turn around and follow the 9.5 loop clockwise around the lake, marked with orange ribbons. The cutoff time for 27.5 miles is 3:30 PM. A final 3.5 mile loop completes the full distance.
Aid Stations

There are two aid stations located on opposite ends of the lake, which all distances over the 10K will hit at least once, if not several times. One is at the start/finish area, and the other is at the Hazel Creek area. The 5K and 10K races do not reach the Hazel Creek area, so there is no aid station on the course for those distances.