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Ultras · US · PA

Blues Cruise

50K
Ran · this year's race is done.
Race dateOctober 4, 2026
Start8:00am
When20 days ago

Who's going to Blues Cruise?

Free. You can start with nothing.

Free, and always will be. NavRun makes money from race-day planning for runners who want it, never from this. Ultras change constantly, sometimes the morning of. Always confirm with the race director and the official website before you rely on anything here.
Distance The race
50K
Climb
not checked yet
Descent
not checked yet
High point
not checked yet
Time limit The race
9:00:00
Aid stations
8
Started
not checked yet
Finished
not checked yet
Finish rate
not checked yet
The course

Where it goes loop · 8 aid stations · rust marks a stop your crew can reach

A loop around Blue Marsh Lake, run clockwise in even years and counter-clockwise in odd years. Seven themed aid stations, staffed by local ultra runners.

The Ski Slope is the only major climb, 240 feet of vertical ascent. The course has one optional water crossing: splash through or use the bridge. Less than half a mile is public road, with two road crossings where runners must yield. The loop has fields, rolling hills and single track.

The race

What this one is

A 50K trail ultramarathon on a loop around Blue Marsh Lake near Reading, Pennsylvania, run by the Pagoda Pacers. The loop is very runnable: fields, rolling hills, single track and less than half a mile of public road. Themed aid stations are staffed by local ultra runners, and the nine hour limit makes it a good fit for runners newer to trail or ultramarathons. The loop runs clockwise in even years and counter-clockwise in odd years.

Getting in

Getting in Entry, lottery and what the race asks of you before race day.

Lottery
not checked yet
Lottery opens
not checked yet
Lottery draw
not checked yet
Field cap
not checked yet
Registration
UltraSignup ultrasignup.com
Qualifying
not checked yet
Minimum age
not checked yet
Transfers
not checked yet
Deferrals
not checked yet
Crew access, pacers and drop bags

The rules that shape your day Anything marked "not checked yet" is a gap in what we hold, never a no from the race.

Crew allowed
Yes pagodapacers.com
Vehicles per runner
not checked yet
Pacers
No pagodapacers.com
Muling
not checked yet
Drop bags
Yes pagodapacers.com
Cupless
Yes pagodapacers.com
Course marking
Fully Marked pagodapacers.com
Night running
not checked yet
Dogs
Not allowed pagodapacers.com
Headphones
not checked yet
Crew rules
Crew may not assist you anywhere other than the 3 designated aid stations. Spectators park in the lot, not along the road. pagodapacers.com
Pacer rules
No pacers. 50K races typically do not accommodate pacers. If you want to run with a friend they must also register. pagodapacers.com
Drop bag rules
Drop bags only at AS4 (Margaritaville). No unofficial drop bags. Write your name on your bag and leave it at the marked area near registration. pagodapacers.com
Cutoff philosophy
The nine hour limit is strictly enforced and the finish line closes at 5 PM. The cutoffs are slightly more generous than the 16:59 per mile average needed for the whole course, to allow for a shoe change or a bathroom stop. The race suggests being at least 30 minutes under a cutoff if you are moving steadily. pagodapacers.com
Aid stations

Every stop, and what you get there ● yes   ○ no   ? nobody has checked   – does not apply to this race

Mile Station Cutoff Crew access Bag Pacer Med To next
4.70 Blues Bros ? ● ○ ? ? 4.70
9.40 Fugawi ? ○ ○ ? ? 2.90
12.30 Oktoberfest ? ○ ○ ? ? 5.70
18.00 Margaritaville ? ● ● ? ? 3.80
21.80 Rat's Nest 2:20pm ○ ○ ? ? 3.30
25.10 Fleet Week 3:15pm ● ○ ? ? 3.10
28.20 Rocky 4:10pm ○ ○ ? ? 3.60
31.80 Finish line 5:00pm ● ○ ? ? ?
Driving your crew

Getting your people there 3 stops with directions the race published.

Blues Bros mile 4.70

From the start area turn right onto Palisades Drive, go 2.0 mi and turn right onto Rebers Bridge Rd. Go 1.5 mi and pass Ganley's Pub, on Brownsville Rd. Go approx. 0.4 mi and turn right onto State Hill Boat Ramp entry. Follow the road to the end. The AS is on the left side of the main parking lot. State Hill Boat Launch 599 Brownsville Rd, Wernersville, PA 19565

Parking. The AS is on the left side of the main parking lot at State Hill Boat Launch.

pagodapacers.com
Margaritaville mile 18.00

Exit the start-finish line driveway and turn left onto Palisades Dr and drive 1.0 mi, then left onto PA-183 (Bernville Rd) north. Drive 2.7 mi and turn left onto Old Church Rd. The parking lot (with porta potties) is on the left, shortly after you turn onto Old Church Road. For runner safety, park in the lot and not along the road.

Parking. Park in the lot on Old Church Rd, not along the road.

pagodapacers.com
Fleet Week mile 25.10 cutoff 3:15pm

Exit the start-finish line driveway and turn left onto Palisades Dr and drive 1.0 mi, then left onto PA-183 (Bernville Rd) north. Drive 2.7 mi and turn left onto Old Church Rd. The parking lot (with porta potties) is on the left, shortly after you turn onto Old Church Road. For runner safety, park in the lot and not along the road.

Parking. Park in the lot on Old Church Rd, not along the road.

pagodapacers.com
Same race, other lines

Other distances and other years

Other distances
Blues Cruise Relay (50K)
What it looks like out there

Somebody has been out there with a camera the tables say the climb is long. these say what long feels like.

Nobody has been out there with a camera or a microphone yet. A gap means nobody has found it, not that it is not out there. Seen a course preview or a film of this one? Send us the link.

Add to this page

What you know every one of these is read by a person before it changes anything

Ran this race? Tell the next runner what you know.

Nobody sees it until we have read it. No account, no sign-in.

Leave blank if it applies to the whole race.

Leave blank if it is not about one particular stop.

Optional. Something like “Cal Street, mile 62 to 78”.

Write it the way you would say it to someone at the start line.

Optional, and it decides nothing. It only tells the next runner where this is coming from.

Optional.

Optional, and never shown on the page. Only so we can ask you a question about this note.

Leave this field blank.

See something wrong or out of date? Suggest an edit.

This changes nothing on the page on its own. Somebody checks it against the race first.

Optional. Filled in for you when you start from a specific line on the page.

Copy it as it appears, so we can find it.

The corrected value.

Required. Where it came from: the race email, the runner manual, what you saw on the day.

Optional.

Optional. A screenshot or a photo of the sign works.

Optional, and it decides nothing.

Optional.

Optional, only so we can come back to you about this correction.

Leave blank if it is about the whole race.

Leave blank if it is not about one particular stop.

Leave this field blank.

Were you out there? Say which stops a text got out from.

Nobody sees it until we have read it. No account, no sign-in.

Optional, and it decides nothing.

Which stops did a text get out from?

Leave a stop blank if you did not try, or do not remember.

  • Blues Bros mile 4.7
  • Fugawi mile 9.4
  • Oktoberfest mile 12.3
  • Margaritaville mile 18.0
  • Rat's Nest mile 21.8
  • Fleet Week mile 25.1
  • Rocky mile 28.2
  • Finish line mile 31.8
Optional. Never shown.
Seen a course preview or a film of this one? Send it over.

Somebody watches it before it goes anywhere near this page. What we are after is footage of this course, on the ground. If it would be just as true of any other race, it is not this.

Required. A line is plenty. Where the climbs are, what the footing does, what the last twenty miles look like.

Optional, and it decides nothing.

Optional.

Optional, and never shown on the page. Only so we can ask you a question about this one.

A YouTube link, a race report, a photo gallery, whatever it is.

Optional, and we credit them on the page.

Leave this field blank.

Have the GPX? Send us the link.

We want the address of the file the race publishes, not the file. We download it from there so the page can say where the line came from.

The page or file on the race's own site.

Optional, and only so we can ask you a question about it.

Are you the race director? Get in touch and we'll make it right.

We read every one of these and we write back. Every fact here carries the source it came from, and the way a wrong one gets fixed is a person checking it against what you tell us.

Required, because this is a conversation and we write back.

Tell us what is wrong, out of date, or missing on this page. We read every one of these and we will get back to you.

Optional.

So we know who we are writing back to.

Optional. Director, assistant, comms, whoever you are.

Leave this field blank.

Where this came from. Every fact on this page records its source and when we last checked it: 112 sources for this race. Hover a source link to read the sentence it came from.
36% of what we track for a course is filled in. The rest says "not checked yet" rather than guessing.
See something wrong or out of date? Suggest an edit
Ran this race? Tell the next runner what you know
Were you out there? Say which stops a text got out from
Got footage of this course? Send us the link
Are you the race director? Get in touch and we'll make it right.
Anything else: [email protected]

Ultras change. We will tell you when this one does.

Cutoffs move, races get postponed, lotteries open and close. We read the race's own sources and record where every fact came from. Put your email in and we will send you what changed, and where we read it.

No account, and nothing to cancel.

What happens to your email. Nothing else. I do not sell it, and I will not send you anything except this race changing. One click gets you out.

I keep this catalog because the information is scattered and hard to trust. Telling you when it moves is the same job.

Ultras change. We will tell you when this one does.

Cutoffs move, races get postponed, lotteries open and close. We read the race's own sources and record where every fact came from. Put your email in and we will send you what changed, and where we read it.

No account, and nothing to cancel.

What happens to your email. Nothing else. I do not sell it, and I will not send you anything except this race changing. One click gets you out.

I keep this catalog because the information is scattered and hard to trust. Telling you when it moves is the same job.