Sleeping Giant Trail Runs
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Event overview
The Sleeping Giant Trail Runs take place at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, Connecticut on March 29, 2026. The event offers two distance options:
- 25K
- 50K (two loops of the 25K course)
Entry fees vary by registration period. A portion of registration proceeds supports the Sleeping Giant Park Association. The organizer’s refund policy states there are no refunds and no transfers of registration or bibs.
Course and logistics
Both races run the same 25K loop. The loop contains more than 3,000 feet of vertical gain and mixes carriage roads, rolling singletrack, and technical rocky singletrack. Each loop starts at the pavilion. The first 5 miles are mostly runnable rolling singletrack with some small rock scrambles. A steep rock scramble of roughly 500+ feet in 0.3 miles appears after mile 5. The course passes the Chestnut Trailhead aid station at about mile 8 and returns to that aid station near mile 12 before the final ascent to the Observation Tower. The route finishes via the Tower Path, a 1.5 mile carriage-road descent and a short paved section back to the pavilion.
Aid stations (2-3 on course) provide water and an electrolyte drink; the event is cupless so runners must carry their own bottle, pack, or cup. A downloadable GPX file for the 25K loop is provided. There is a hard cutoff for 50K runners to begin a second loop and an overall finish cutoff for all runners. Awards include a finisher medal and podium prizes for the top three overall male and female finishers. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
