In 365 days · Sat, Oct 30, 2027
Don't let race day sneak up
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Saturday, October 30th, 2027
706 County Road 343A,, Marble Falls TX
Ultra · Marathon · Half · 10K
56–76°F · some rain risk
See last 10 years
On this date: rain 2 of the last 10 years
2025
40–68°F
dry
2024
72–86°F
dry
2023
40–49°F
rain
2022
51–72°F
dry
2021
45–78°F
dry
2020
42–66°F
dry
2019
38–51°F
rain
2018
66–79°F
dry
2017
51–78°F
dry
2016
66–85°F
dry
Best months to race in Texas →
About this race
Trail Run
Marble Falls, TX 78654
Experience the transformation of the Texas Hill Country as autumn paints the landscape in gold, amber and crimson. Fields of Gold runs through some of the most spectacular fall scenery in Central Texas, with nine ways to take it on and one event that has no distance at all.
No set distance 7:00 AM Until one runner remains $149 $169 Sign up → Gold 12-Hour Endurance
As far as you can 8:15 AM 8:15 PM $119 $139 Sign up → Golden 50K
31.1 mi 8:15 AM 9:00 PM $99.99 $109.99 Sign up → Gold Marathon
26.2 mi 8:15 AM 8:00 PM $79.99 $89.99 Sign up → Half-Marathon Ruck
13.1 mi, loaded 8:30 AM 7:00 PM $99.99 Sign up → Gold Half-Marathon
13.1 mi 8:30 AM 5:00 PM $69.99 $79.99 Sign up → Gold 10K
6.2 mi 7:30 AM 11:00 AM $39.99 $49.99 Sign up → Golden Hour 5K, Morning
3.1 mi, run or ruck 7:30 AM 11:00 AM $29.99 $39.99 Sign up → Golden Hour 5K, Night
3.1 mi, at sunset 6:15 PM 7:15 PM $29.99 $39.99 Sign up → Exceptional Athlete (Fitworks)
5K, 10K, Half and Marathon 7:45 AM 7:00 PM $25 to $35
Guides free See below →
Prices shown are current early pricing and increase after January 31, 2027.
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.
Hours Yard Pace to hold On the clock 1 to 12 5K (3.1 mi) 19:19 /mi 7 AM to 7 PM Sat 13 to 24 5 mile 12:00 /mi 7 PM Sat to 7 AM Sun 25+ 2 × 5K (6.2 mi) 9:39 /mi 7 AM Sun. The Wall.Anyone still running when The Wall opens on Sunday morning has covered 97.3 miles: a full day on the 5K and a full night on the 5 mile. From there the yard stops growing and simply repeats, and the only question left is who can keep finding 9:39.
- 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.
Enter The Gauntlet →8:15 AM to 8:15 PM · $119 $139
No set distance. Winner determined by total miles covered. Aid stations and support throughout.
- At 7:15 PM the main trail loop closes. Nobody goes out on the main course after that.
- From 7:15 PM, remaining runners switch to a 1 mile basecamp loop to add final mileage.
- You must cross the mat before 8:15 PM for a loop to count. A loop in progress at 8:15 PM is not recorded, so time your last one carefully.
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.
Sign up →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.
Sign up →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.
Sign up →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.
Sign up →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.
7:30 AM to 11:00 AM · $29.99 $39.99
Family friendly, flat enough for every ability, through meadows still holding the dew. The whole field is out there with you.
Sign up →6:15 PM to 7:15 PM · $29.99 $39.99
The same 5K as the sun goes down over the fields, inside a one hour window. Bring a headlamp: you will likely finish in the dark.
Sign up →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.
- 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.
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.
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.
Call out your bib number and wait for the event staff to confirm it back to you. It takes three seconds and it is not optional. This applies to the 5K through the Gauntlet, to runners and ruckers alike, and to every lap of the day and the night.
Your loops, your mileage and your placing all come from those check-ins. A loop nobody recorded cannot be added back afterward.
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.
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.
Your safety is our priority. Anyone out after dark, which means the Gauntlet from 7:00 PM, the 50K and Marathon in their final hours, the night Golden Hour 5K, and the 12-Hour after sunset, must carry:
- 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
Late October at Shaffer Bend is when the native grasses turn and the trees follow. The date is chosen for it.
Expansive meadows of native Texas grasses that shimmer like gold in the autumn light. The race is named for what you run through.
Post race festivities, seasonal aid station food, and a finish line that stays open until everyone is in.
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.
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:
- Free guide and companion entries so no athlete has to choose between support and cost
- The adapted course, built and staffed as a real race course rather than an afterthought
- Registration assistance for athletes who could not otherwise enter
- Guide and buddy training for the volunteers who run alongside
- A finish line that stays open, with sweepers past the standard cutoff
- The same medal for everyone who crosses it
Every participant receives a custom harvest themed finisher's medal, a race shirt with original autumn artwork.
Custom finisher medal Race shirt Post race harvest celebration Peak autumn courseFit Foundation welcomes athletes with exceptional abilities at every race. Register as a Fitworks Adaptive Athlete, choose your course, and take the time you need to finish. All Exceptional Athlete events run from 7:45 AM to 7:00 PM.
Every fee includes your bib, chip timing, aid stations and finisher medal.
You pick your course when you register and may switch until race morning check-in closes.
- 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.
- 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.
How to register: choose your Exceptional Athlete (Fitworks) event, confirm the honor statement, and answer the course and early start questions. No medical documents are needed. Running with a guide? Add them as a free Guide registration.
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.
Register NowEvent management. Fields of Gold Trail Run is managed and organized by Fit Foundation in partnership with Fitworks.
Note: because fall color is seasonal, this event is scheduled during peak color time. Trail conditions are weather dependent and routes may be adjusted to protect natural areas.
Course map
Train with a club
Run clubs near Marble Falls to train with before race day.
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