Fields of Gold Last Runner Standing • 50K • Marathon • Half Marathon & Ruck • 12 Hour • 10K • 5K

Fit Foundation · Texas Hill Country

Fields of Gold
Trail Run

Shaffer Bend Recreation Area · A celebration of fall's golden glory

Saturday, October 30, 2027

Race Options

Stop 4 of 4 on The Gauntlet circuit

Last One Standing:
The Gauntlet

Saturday 7:00 AM · $149 $169

No set distance. No finish line. One yard every hour until one runner is left, and the yard gets longer as the day turns.

Start at 7:00 AM Saturday on the 5K loop and run it once an hour through the gold. At 7:00 PM the yard becomes the 5 mile loop and stays there the whole night. At 7:00 AM Sunday it doubles to two 5K laps and locks there, on the hour, for as long as anyone can answer the bell.

The rules

• You must be inside the corral when the bell rings. No late starts.
• Any yard not completed inside the hour ends your race.
• Check in at the start and finish line on every lap, and at every manned station.
• No personal aid, pacing or company on course while a yard is in progress.
• Headlamp required from the 7:00 PM yard onward. Backup light recommended.
• Every mile counts toward the Rio Colorado 250.

One title, one name: Sole Survivor. Everyone else is recorded with their total yards, as the format requires.

Golden 50K

8:15 AM to 9:00 PM · $99.99 $109.99

31.1 miles, 12 hours 45 minutes

The ultra distance on a course that earns it: golden grasslands, wooded valleys and scenic overlooks, run as repeating loops so your crew and drop bag are never far away.

Gold Marathon

8:15 AM to 8:00 PM · $79.99 $89.99

26.2 miles, 11 hours 45 minutes

A trail marathon through the best of the fall color, with a generous cutoff and enough climbing to make the overlooks feel earned. Poles are recommended.

Gold Half-Marathon

8:30 AM to 5:00 PM · $69.99 $79.99

13.1 miles, 8 hours 30 minutes

The looped course winds through river views and gentle inclines. Challenging but achievable, and the best single lap of fall foliage on the property.

Gold 10K

7:30 AM to 11:00 AM · $39.99 $49.99

6.2 miles, 3 hours 30 minutes

A scenic route through the park's most photogenic autumn vistas. Long enough to feel like a trail race, short enough to still make brunch.

Two golden hours, one day

Golden Hour 5K

Photographers call the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset the golden hour, and at Shaffer Bend in late October they are the two best hours of the year. Run one, or run both. Either can be run or rucked.

Its own division, its own awards

Half-Marathon Ruck

8:30 AM to 7:00 PM · $99.99

13.1 miles. Same trail. Weight on your back.

Rucking is covering ground with a loaded pack. Same course as the half marathon and the same 8:30 AM start, with two extra hours on the clock because a loaded pack earns them. The 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.

The rules

• Weigh in before the start. Bring your pack to the start area by 8:00 AM. We weigh it, we tag it, you go.
• Water does not count. Hydration, food, phone and layers sit 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 mileage exactly the same as running. Thirteen point one miles is thirteen point one miles.

First time rucking?

A loaded pack on 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 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.

Check In Every Loop

Every runner. Every distance. Every loop. You must check in at the start and finish line each time you complete a loop, and at every manned aid station you pass.

It counts your race

Your loops, your mileage and your placing all come from those check-ins. A loop nobody recorded cannot be added back afterward.

It keeps you found

Check-ins are how we know where everyone is. If you stop appearing, we come looking, which is exactly what you would want at 3 AM.

Check out before you leave

If you stop for any reason, tell the start and finish line in person before you go. Do not leave the park without checking out.

Night Trail Running Safety

• Headlamp, required, with fresh batteries
• Backup light source, recommended
• Reflective clothing or vest

• Personal hydration system
• Cell phone for emergency communication
• Race director's number saved before you start

What Makes This Special

Peak Fall Color

Late October at Shaffer Bend is when the native grasses turn and the trees follow. The date is chosen for it.

Fields of Gold

Expansive meadows of native Texas grasses that shimmer like gold in the autumn light. The race is named for what you run through.

Harvest Celebration

Post race festivities, seasonal aid station food, and a finish line that stays open until everyone is in.

Course Highlights

Rio Colorado Ultra Slam

Every Fit Foundation finish counts toward the Rio Colorado 250. Complete 250 km across our races and the buckle is yours, on top of your individual race awards.

Timed events count the distance you actually cover, so the 12-Hour and the Gauntlet can each put a large number of kilometers on the board in a single weekend.

A run with purpose

In partnership
with Fitworks

Fit Foundation and Fitworks work together so that every Fields of Gold distance is open to every athlete. That partnership is not a line in a program. It is the Exceptional Athlete Division, the adapted course, the free guide registration, and the sweeper who stays out there until the last athlete is in.

Learn more about their work at myfitworks.org.

Your entry directly pays for:

Race Experience

With Fitworks

Exceptional Athlete Division

Your path. Your pace. Your run.

Take the time you need

• Early start: from 7:45 AM, ahead of most of the field.
• Extended cutoff: 7:00 PM, well beyond the standard cutoff for these distances.
• The extended cutoff never runs past park closing or sunset.

Every finish counts

• The same finisher medal as the full field.
• Listed in the Exceptional Athlete results for your distance.
• Your distance counts toward the Rio Colorado 250.

Saturday, October 30, 2027

Reserve your spot for
this golden autumn

Pick your distance, or pick no distance at all. Every mile supports adaptive athletes and celebrates the best color of the Texas year.

Early pricing ends January 31, 2027.