Squamish 50

The Squamish 50 has run on the trails above Howe Sound since 2012, fourteen years by 2026, and Coast Mountain Trail Running built it around a dare: race 79.5 km on the Saturday, get up on the Sunday and race another 52 km. That double is the 50/50, it is scored on combined time, and it is what the event is known for.

Both races finish at Junction Park in Squamish, and the terrain is the local network rather than anything alpine: steep, rooty, mostly singletrack coastal mountain trail, with 3,500 m of climbing in the 50 mile and another 2,500 m in the 50 km. The caps are small enough that the whole event sells out months ahead, and the race is no longer a Western States qualifier, because that lottery now counts only races of 100 km and longer.

Two courses on the trail network above Howe Sound, both finishing at Junction Park in Squamish. The 50 mile starts there too; the 50 km the organiser calls point to point, starting up the valley near Alice Lake. The 50 mile is 79.5 km with 3,500 m of climb and closes at 10:30 p.m. on the Saturday, 17 hours after its 5:30 a.m. start. The 50 km is 52.0 km with 2,500 m of climb against 2,750 m of descent, and closes at 5:45 p.m. on the Sunday, 11 and a half hours after its 6:15 a.m. start. The 50/50 is both races on consecutive days, about 130 km, and carries no separate limit of its own: the two individual cutoffs govern it.

First come, first served on Race Roster, with no lottery, no waiting list and no transfers. The organiser's rule is that once a distance sells out, that is it. The 2026 cycle opened on November 14 and closed on August 13 or at the cap, whichever came first, and every distance sold out: 350 places in the 50 mile at $295, 625 in the 50 km at $250, 200 in the 50/50 at $395 and 600 in the 23 km at $105. Volunteering earns advance registration for the following year. The minimum age is 12, with parental consent required to 18, and there is no qualifying standard.