RacesPacific Northwest
Squamish 50
Demand
4 out of 5
How much it asks
Worth
4 out of 5
Worth the flight + fee
Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
Scorecard · is it worth it?
Worth the flight if the mountains match what you want.
The card
We score the Squamish 50 miler, not the 50K and not the festival. Demand is 4 because fifty miles of Coast Mountain trail around Squamish, with roots, rock, dense climbing, and the Chief as the backyard rather than the postcard, is a mountain day. It is not 5 because it is still a day, at modest altitude, in a town you can reach from Vancouver International. It is not a 3 because this is not a runnable lakeside 50 with a mountain logo. The Pacific Northwest technicality is the demand. Altitude is a 2. Technicality is a 4. Those two numbers together are the card.
Worth is 4, destination. People fly to Vancouver and drive Howe Sound for this granite, and they should if they wanted this sport. The scenery is a 5: Chief, sound, Coast Mountains that actually look like mountains from the trail. Logistics are easier than a wilderness 100. That is in the dim, not a skip. Organization confidence is medium. squamish50.com is the public face of a long-running weekend.
The next edition is August 14, 2027. If you wanted a Canadian 100, this is the wrong distance. If you wanted a 50K, look at The Rut or Speedgoat depending on whether you wanted scrambling or circuit overlay. If you wanted a North American mountain 50 that is actually a destination, this is the one next to White River, with more granite in the photographs and a border crossing in the logistics. Destination, not regional: the flight from California is a real choice, and the Chief justifies it. Not an icon. Not a skip.
Who it is for
Mountain-trail runners who want a technical 50 miler under the Chief and will take a Vancouver flight to get it.
Who should skip
Anyone who wanted a 100, or anyone who will be unhappy on Pacific Northwest roots for 50 miles.
Elevation
Tap or hover for miles, clock, and aidft
Night = sunset 8:30pm to sunrise 6:02am at the start (Aug 15), mid splits.
Bottom ticks are aid. Longest gap 7.0 mi.
Finisher pace · 2024
Median finishers (~50th percentile of 366 finishers). Not a predicted you. · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Alice Lake 12.5 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.5 h
- Elapsed
- 2.5 h
- Clock
- 8:00 am
1.5 h slack
Corners (1) 17 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.1 h
- Elapsed
- 3.6 h
- Clock
- 9:06 am
2.1 h slack
Corners (2) 22.5 mi
- Aid–aid
- 3.3 h
- Elapsed
- 6.9 h
- Clock
- 12:24 pm
0.5 h slack
Garibaldi Road 38.5 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.9 h
- Elapsed
- 9.8 h
- Clock
- 3:18 pm
3.2 h slack
Far Side 43 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.5 h
- Elapsed
- 11.3 h
- Clock
- 4:48 pm
2.7 h slack
Finish 49.5 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.1 h
- Elapsed
- 13.4 h
- Clock
- 6:54 pm
3.6 h slack
Local clock derived from published start + finisher splits, not a forecast.
Finishers only (DNFs missing, so the real back of the field is slower).
- Start
- 8 ft2 m
- Finish
- 10 ft3 m
- Net
- +2 ft+1 m
- Longest climb
- 2,046 ft624 m
Start and finish are within 400 ft. Treat net as a loop.
Weekend
Official handbook facts
- Start
- 05:30
- Crew
- 6.5, 12.5, 32.5, 43 mi
- Drop bags
- 17.1, 22.3, 32.2 mi
- Poles
- Forbidden
- Kit
- Required · Headlamp >100 lumens at start; needed again after 6 pm at Farside.
Squamish 50 2026 athlete guide (50 mile) · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Field
Last editions · 50M scored distance
Field evidence: who showed up, who finished, how long. DNF is that evidence, not a difficulty score. Public results, scored distance only.
2026
- Starters
- 344
- Finishers
- 299
- DNF
- 13%
- Win
- 7:50:55
- Median
- 13:11:20
2025
- Starters
- 376
- Finishers
- 327
- DNF
- 13%
- Win
- 7:39:26
- Median
- 13:27:27
2024
- Starters
- 400
- Finishers
- 366
- DNF
- 8%
- Win
- 7:17:54
- Median
- 13:23:51
50 Mile field from Startline Timing tables with finish times and DNF rows. Starters = finishers + DNF. Linked from squamish50.com/results.
Overall field only. Not a pro or sponsored subset.
Climate
Typical August at the start area · historical race-week weather
- Typical high
- 82°F (28°C)
- Typical low
- 60°F (15°C)
- Typical precip
- 2.5 in (64 mm) / August
- Days with rain
- 25% of days
- High point
- 3,937 ft (1,200 m)
2015–2024 August means at the start / massif. · Open-Meteo ERA5 / climate · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Dimensions
Ten 1–5 scores with a one-line why. Organization has a separate confidence tag.
Supporting dimensions · organization confidence medium
We score the 50 miler, the mountain day on this weekend, not the 50K undercard.
On the order of 11,000 ft of gain in 50 miles. Coastal mountains, dense climbing.
Roots, rock, the Chief's backyard. Technical Pacific Northwest trail, not a towpath.
Mid-August in Squamish: can be perfect, can be a furnace, can be smoke. Not alpine winter.
Coastal BC. The air is not the problem. The trail is.
Vancouver airport, a drive up Howe Sound. Easy by mountain-ultra standards, still a destination.
A deep North American mountain-trail field. Not an icon 100.
Long-running, publicly documented, a weekend that knows what it is. Medium-high from the public record.
A destination 50 if you wanted this granite.
The Chief, Howe Sound, Coast Mountains. This is why the 50 is a destination.
| Dimension | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
Distance & format How much does the advertised distance and format actually ask? | 4 out of 5 | We score the 50 miler, the mountain day on this weekend, not the 50K undercard. |
Vertical How serious is the climbing, not just the mile marker? | 4 out of 5 | On the order of 11,000 ft of gain in 50 miles. Coastal mountains, dense climbing. |
Technicality Hands, poles, route-finding, or just a long dirt road? | 4 out of 5 | Roots, rock, the Chief's backyard. Technical Pacific Northwest trail, not a towpath. |
Climate Heat, monsoon, ice, or a friendly summer afternoon? | 3 out of 5 | Mid-August in Squamish: can be perfect, can be a furnace, can be smoke. Not alpine winter. |
Altitude Does the air change the race, or is it a talking point? | 2 out of 5 | Coastal BC. The air is not the problem. The trail is. |
Logistics How hard is the weekend around the race: travel, crew, lodging, rules? | 3 out of 5 | Vancouver airport, a drive up Howe Sound. Easy by mountain-ultra standards, still a destination. |
Prestige & field Does the start list and history change what the weekend feels like? | 4 out of 5 | A deep North American mountain-trail field. Not an icon 100. |
Organization From public evidence, does the event look competently run? | 4 out of 5 | Long-running, publicly documented, a weekend that knows what it is. Medium-high from the public record. |
Value Entry fee, travel tax, and lottery friction versus what you get on course. | 3 out of 5 | A destination 50 if you wanted this granite. |
Adventure & scenery Would you fly for the place even if nobody kept score? | 5 out of 5 | The Chief, Howe Sound, Coast Mountains. This is why the 50 is a destination. |