Bluebonnet Trail Run: The Million Bluebonnets Run

Benefits: HKRS Cedar Park's Fall and Spring Youth Running Programs

One run. One million bluebonnets. One epic finish line.

Experience the Beauty of Texas Bluebonnets in Full Bloom!

A million reasons to run! Join us for the Bluebonnet Trail Run, where nature's most spectacular display of millions of Texas bluebonnets provides the backdrop for an unforgettable running experience. Set against the stunning shores of Lake Travis at Turkey Bend Recreation Area, this event offers something for everyone - from serious trail runners to families looking for outdoor fun.

Race Details:

Choose your adventure:

• 50M, 50K, 26.2M, 13.1M & 10K Trail Run - Challenge yourself on diverse terrain featuring lake views, wooded paths, and breathtaking bluebonnet meadows. Camping sites are available which you can reserve here
• 5K Trail Run - Enjoy a moderately challenging route perfect for recreational runners of all levels

Course Records:

• 50 Miles: Segundo de los Heros Monereo (M) 10:34:52 and Beatriz de los Heros de Uriarte (F) 10:34:52
• 50K: Kate Taylor (F) 4:49:50 and Diego Romero (M) 5:51:39
• Marathon: Anthony Peguero (M) 4:38:12 and Nat Taylor 5:18:12
• Half- Marathon: Tim Parr1:38:41 (M) and Felicia Lombardi (F) 2:10:37

Why Participate?

• Stunning Scenery: Experience bluebonnet season in one of Texas Hill Country's most beautiful natural settings
• Community Spirit: Connect with fellow nature and running enthusiasts
• Support Local Youth: Your optional donations directly benefit the HKRS Cedar Park's youth running programs
• Beautiful Course: All routes are designed to showcase the natural beauty of Turkey Bend
• Custom Medal: All participants receive a unique finisher's medal 

A Run with Purpose

Your registration directly supports HKRS Cedar Park. After deducting event expenses, net proceeds from the Bluebonnet Trail Race will be donated to HKRS Cedar Park. These funds will support youth running programs in Cedar Park, including equipment, registration assistance for families in need, and program development. Your participation helps ensure every child has the opportunity to participate in healthy, active lifestyle programs - building confidence, friendships, and lifelong healthy habits.
You can also donate directly to HKRS Cedar Park here

How does your money help?

Limited financial resources, lack of access to youth sports programs, social isolation, and barriers to healthy lifestyle activities are just some of the challenges young people face in accessing running programs. Through HKRS Cedar Park's 5-week fall and spring running series, and having a supportive community presence, HKRS Cedar Park helps kids build confidence, develop healthy habits, and overcome obstacles to active living. HKRS Cedar Park is part of a nationally recognized organization. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit it offers registration assistance to ensure all children can participate regardless of their family's financial situation, and anyone can access their programs including families new to running. All of their programs are welcoming, inclusive, and tailored to each individual child's age and ability level. Your money helps to do this.

Note: Due to the seasonal nature of bluebonnets, this event is scheduled during peak bloom time. Trail conditions are weather-dependent, and routes may be adjusted to protect natural areas.
The Bluebonnet Trail Run is managed and organized by Fit Foundation volunteers in aid of Healthy Kids Running Series Cedar Park youth programs. 
Register today and secure your spot for this unique Texas Hill Country experience!
 

Fit Foundation
Half Marathon Ruck
13.1 miles. Same trail. Weight on your back.

Rucking is covering ground with a loaded pack. Same course as the half marathon, same start, same finish line, same cutoff. The only 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.

Minimum pack weight
20 lb  ·  30 lb
20 lb if you weigh under 150 lb. 30 lb if you weigh 150 lb or over.

The rules

• Weigh in before the start. Bring your pack to the start area at least 30 minutes before your wave. We weigh it, we tag it, you go.
• Water does not count. Your hydration, food, phone and layers are 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 Run the River mileage exactly the same as running. Thirteen point one miles is thirteen point one miles.

First time rucking?
A loaded pack on a 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 the 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.

Same trail. Same finish line.
Considerably more of it on your back.

THE GAUNTLET (LAST ONE STANDING)
Stop 2 of 4 · The Spring Stop

The hill country is at its kindest.The Gauntlet isn't.

Spring · Marble Falls, TX
By the time The Gauntlet reaches Marble Falls, the bluebonnets are out and the hill country is doing the one week of the year it puts on a show for. The course is not interested. Same rules as every stop on the circuit: 4 miles at 15:00 pace to open, then the ground shifts under you every eight hours until The Wall locks at 7 miles and 8:34 pace, on the hour, for as long as you can answer the bell.
Spring gives back the daylight the opener took, and charges for it. Warm afternoons, cold nights, and enough wind moving through the hills to make the same loop feel like two different courses depending on when you run it. The scenery is the best on the circuit. It stops mattering somewhere around hour 20.
This is the stop where the field sorts itself out. Runners who found their limit at Canyon of the Eagles come back knowing exactly what The Wall costs and how much of themselves it takes just to reach it. Everyone else finds out here, in the dark, with a loop that got longer three times since they felt fresh.

4 → 7 MI
The Ramp
The loop grows three times before it locks. You do not get the easy version back.

8 HRS
Between Escalations
Long enough to settle in. Short enough that settling in is a mistake.

176 MI
Just To Reach The Wall
Nobody arrives at hour 33 fresh. That is the entire point of it.

1
Sole Survivor
One title, one name. Everyone else is recorded with their yard count.

How it escalates
Same bell every hour. Different race underneath it.
HoursLoopPaceRunning total1 to 84.0 mi15:00 /mi32 mi9 to 165.0 mi12:00 /mi72 mi17 to 246.0 mi10:00 /mi120 mi25 to 327.0 mi8:34 /mi176 mi33+7.0 mi8:34 /mi+7 every hour

Everyone who reaches The Wall has already run 176 miles through three different versions of this race. From there it stops being a race and becomes a question of who can keep finding 8:34 with less and less left to find it with.

Two kinds of runner line up here

Ran the opener
You already know what the 6 mile block does to a body that has been out there sixteen hours. The question is whether knowing it makes you patient early or makes you flinch.

First Gauntlet
The opening hours will feel too easy, and that is the trap. Bank the easy loops without spending anything. The race you are training for does not start until hour 17.

Second of four

01 · Opener
Canyon of the Eagles
New Year's Day, Burnet

02 · You are here
Bluebonnet Trail Run
Spring, Marble Falls

03
Labor Day Challenge
Labor Day weekend

04 · Finale
Fields of Gold
October, Marble Falls

Prettiest stop on the circuit.Same wall at the end of it.
Three stops left after this one, and the board only remembers who was last to stop.
Enter The Gauntlet →
One name left standing. One title: Sole Survivor.