Cave Creek Thriller
Cave Creek, United States • 20 Dec 2025
Cave Creek Thriller - December 20, 2025
The Cave Creek Thriller is a trail running event at Cave Creek Regional Park in Cave Creek, Arizona. The race was postponed from October 11, 2025 to December 20, 2025 due to saturated watershed and flash flooding risk. It is the first race of the Aravaipa Running Desert Runner Trail Series and offers four distances. Entrant limit is 500 runners.
- 50K - 31.2 miles
- 24K - 15.6 miles
- 11K - 7.3 miles
- 5K - 3.6 miles
Course and race logistics
The 50K and 24K are point-to-point courses that use sections of the Maricopa Trail and finish inside Cave Creek Regional Park; the 50K starts near Lake Pleasant and connects two regional parks. The 11K and 5K stay entirely within Cave Creek Regional Park on Go John, Quartz, and Overton Trails. Routes include steep, rocky, and sun-exposed singletrack. Key course stats for the 50K include about 2,810 feet total elevation gain and a maximum elevation near 2,518 feet.
Aid stations are provided roughly every 3 to 9 miles with water, electrolyte drink, sweet and salty snacks, and fruit; runners are advised to carry at least one bottle of water. The event is cupless - runners should bring a reusable cup or purchase one on site. Shuttle buses transport 50K and 24K runners from park parking to their start areas. Crews are allowed at the finish and at the Anthem aid station for the 50K. Pacers are not permitted. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.