Carlton, MN, United States · Saturday, July 25, 2026

Fixed Distance 50 mi

Minnesota Voyageur Trail 50 Mile Ultra

Race completed

80 km Distance

not publishedn/a Climbing

4.0 est Grit · Challenging

Calculated from 80 km alone — the organiser has not published an elevation profile. Read 4.0 as a floor, not a verdict.

46.6638° N, 92.4249° W © OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap

What the course asks

Time limit 13 hours 9:45 min/km average. Comfortable. Room to walk the climbs and stop at aid. Climbing is unpublished, so this pace is a ceiling on the effort, not a measure of it. Tighter than 79% of 50 mi races. Measured against 471 races of the same distance. Cut-off calculator →

Field size ~163 Mid-sized. Company early, well spread out by halfway.

DUV results for the 2026 edition (50mi) — finishers only. Starters are not published, so the field was at least this big and no finish rate can be given.

Typical conditions, July

Daytime high 27°C

Night low 15°C

Rainfall Showers likely

Daylight 15 h 11 m of light

Regional 2001-2020 average for July — NASA POWER, grid elevation 343 m. Not a forecast.

Results history

Year	Race	Finishers	Men's winner	Women's winner
2026	50mi	163	Paul Shol · 07:18:06	Mel Nelson · 09:48:00
2025	50mi	148	Jakob Wartman · 07:40:34	Lauren Mitchell · 08:23:12
2024	50mi	140	William Howard · 08:36:50	Amy Whelan · 10:05:28
2023	50mi	199	Justin Stewart · 06:38:34	Jill Wojta · 08:14:40
2022	50mi	175	Michael Quesnell · 07:06:43	Sara Conrad · 09:22:56
2021	50mi	111	Benjamin Drexler · 07:09:34	Gretchen Metsa · 08:07:06
2019	50mi	238	Adam Doe · 07:14:39	Margaret Ho · 08:23:26
2018	50mi	346	Benjamin Cogger · 06:40:34	Lila Planavsky · 09:12:40
2017	50mi	289	Neal Collick · 06:56:42	Ashley Nordell · 07:56:36
2016	50mi	271	Michael Borst · 06:47:23	Stacey Buckley · 09:12:51

The field grew 10% between 2025 (148) and 2026 (163). 19% of the 2026 field were women.

DUV results for the 2026 edition (50mi) — finishers only. Starters are not published, so the field was at least this big and no finish rate can be given.

The Aid Station

Course-specific beta from the community

👟 gear

With trail terrain, choose a shoe with moderate cushioning for optimal performance.

By UltraHub Expert

Gear for this race

Chosen for 80 km of trail.

Trail Running Shoes 80 km of trail — cushioning that is still there in the last quarter.
Race Nutrition 80 km of self-supported fuelling between aid stations.
Hydration Vests Flask capacity for 80 km, without the bounce.
Headlamps A 13 h limit puts you out there after dark.
GPS Watches Battery life first — a 80 km day outlasts most full-GPS modes.

Salomon

Aero Glide 4 Grvl

$159.95 ★★★★★ 4.5

Adidas

Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra

RunRepeat found the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra to be perfect for midfoot and forefoot strikers, while iRunFar noted that the shoe feels incredibly effici…

★★★★★ 4.5

Spring Energy

Awesome Sauce

Real food gel with 180 calories. Rice-based with natural flavors.

$4 ★★★★★ 4.6

Salomon

ADV Skin 12

Industry-standard 12L race vest with front flask pockets and minimal bounce.

$180 ★★★★★ 4.8

Petzl

NAO RL

1500-lumen reactive lighting headlamp with 15-hour runtime. Automatic brightness adjustment.

$150 ★★★★★ 4.7

Suunto

Vertical

Titanium GPS watch with solar charging, offline maps, and 140-hour GPS battery.

$630 ★★★★★ 4.5

All gear guides →

Overview

The Minnesota Voyageur Trail 50 Mile Ultra is a fixed-distance trail race in Carlton, MN, held in July. With 163 finishers at its latest edition, it has a larger field than 85% of 50-mile races, drawing from a peer group of 661 events.

Runners face a time limit of 13 hours for the 80 km course, which translates to a cutoff pace of 9.8 minutes per kilometer. This cutoff is tighter than 73% of 464 comparable 50-mile races. The course is described as an out-and-back on difficult, rough woodland trails, starting and finishing at Carlton High School.

Similar races

Other 50 mi trail ultras, closest in distance first.