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March 1, 2025

Cross Timbers Trail Run

Course Information

All the details to familiarize yourself with the race course, including an overview, course maps, elevation profile, weather, trail hazards, course markings.

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LOCATION

Cross Timbers Hiking Trail,

Juniper West Trailhead,

 32843 U.S. 377

Gordonville, TX 76245

SURFACE RATING

Some rocks, roots, and ruts

ELEVATION RATING

Hilly. Steep and slow ascents/descents.

AID STATIONS

1 aid station stop for 5K.

3 aid station stops for Half Marathon.

7 aid station stops for the Marathon.

9 aid station stops for 50K.

Course Overview

Enjoy the rugged trails on the shoreline of Lake Texoma on the Texas side with the comfortable temperatures that come with being in Texas in February. We have distances to create an enjoyable day or a hard-fought challenge for anyone!

 

Lake Texoma is situated right on the border of Texas and Oklahoma. This lake is very popular, attracting 6 million visitors a year. Historically, hundreds of runners and walkers gather together every year to run the Cross Timbers Trail out-and-back along the lake's shore. It's a challenging wooded course with lots of roots, rocks, and hills to keep you challenged and engaged​

Course Layout

The course is two-way traffic.

  • 50K: 1 time out-and-back on the full trail, then 1 smaller loop on the 5 mile course.

  • Marathon: 1 time out-and-back on the full trail.

  • Half Marathon: 1 time out-and-back on a portion of the trail.

  • 5 Mile: 1 time out-and-back on a smaller portion of the trail.​

 

This course map shows the full out-and-back used for the marathon (1 time out and back). 5 Mile loops around where you see the "CB" on the map.

Course Map

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Elevation Profile

Garmin GPS devices aren't exact, but here is one elevation profile from a runner in 2016. This is a hilly course. Note that the new trail was created in late 2015 / early 2016, so any courses before 2016 will not reflect the current course. Click on this elevation profile to see it full screen.

Weather

The weather can be unpredictable, but hey, that's Texas for you!

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In the case of extreme weather… There are limits to what a trail can handle. Because this is land owned by the Army Corps of Engineers (a government entity), the personnel have the right to cancel the race before or during the event if they believe everyone's safety will be in jeopardy. We appreciate they are watching out for us, we understand the tough decision, and we hope the weather isn't extreme so they don't have to make that tough decision!

Average Temperatures

Low of 46 degrees F

High of 66 degrees F

Precipitation

May has an average precipitation of 3.7 inches (compared to 6.9 inches in May!)

Sunrise / Sunset

Sunrise: 6:52 am

Sunset: 6:27 pm

Trail Hazards

This is not an exhaustive list but some hazards to watch out for on the trail:

Trees and Roots

Rocky Terrain

Cliff Drop-Offs to the Side of the Trail

Steep Climbs

Course Markings

It is each participant's responsibility to watch carefully for course markings. We will be using a combination of

  • bright pink contractor tape flagging, with reflective tape on the ends to capture the light of your headlamp in the dark, that will be clothespinned to tree branches and bushes.

  • bright pink stake flags for major field sections that don't have bushes to attach ribbons to

  • arrow signs (left, right, straight)​

 

In spots where there's an intersection, just follow the flagging for the correct route to take if there are no arrow signs specifically. Flagging will be visible from where you are standing in the intersection.

 

Confidence flagging: For trail sections where there's no possible logical offshoot of a trail that you could take other than the one you are on, you may go as far as a half mile without flagging.

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If you ever get to a spot where you are completely unsure of where you are, backtrack on the path you took until you get to course markers. If you become utterly and completely lost, never ever go off trail. Sit down where you are and wait until someone gets to you.

Ultimately, you are responsible for knowing the course.

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