Palo Duro Canyon 50 Miler: Learning What 50 Miles Feels Like
I've run for most of my life.
What started with soccer eventually turned into road races, marathons, and Ironman events. Endurance sports have always been part of who I am, but standing at the starting line of the Palo Duro Canyon 50 Miler felt different.
Fifty miles is a long way. Especially when most of your training happens around White Rock Lake in Dallas, where elevation gain is hard to come by and canyon walls don't exactly exist.
Yet that's exactly what drew me to the race. It felt big. It felt uncomfortable. And it felt like something worth pursuing.
Why Palo Duro?
For those who haven't been, Palo Duro Canyon is one of the most unique places in Texas. Located near Amarillo and often referred to as the "Grand Canyon of Texas," it attracts hikers, trail runners, cyclists, and outdoor enthusiasts from across the state.
The race winds through red rock formations, rugged trails, long climbs, and wide-open canyon views that make you forget you're still in Texas.
The course featured three loops: 20 miles, 15 miles, and 15 miles.
At the start of the day, 50 miles feels almost impossible to comprehend. You know where the finish line is. You just can't quite imagine yourself getting there yet. That's part of the appeal.
Training For A Canyon From Dallas
One of the funny realities of preparing for this race was that I spent most of my training in Dallas.
Many of those miles were logged around White Rock Lake in Dallas, one of my favorite places to train. Loop after loop. Early mornings. Long runs before the city woke up.
The challenge wasn't building fitness. The challenge was preparing for terrain that simply doesn't exist here. No matter how many miles you run around Dallas, there is only so much you can do to simulate a canyon.
For anyone familiar with White Rock Lake, you know it offers consistency, community, and plenty of miles. What it doesn't offer is 3,000 feet of climbing.
At some point, you simply have to trust your preparation and see what happens. This is something I think about in our work as well — as we explore in our article on long-term investing, the discipline of showing up consistently and trusting a process over time is often what separates those who reach their goals from those who don't.
The Race Gets Real
Like most endurance events, the early miles felt manageable. The legs felt good. The weather cooperated. The excitement of race day carried everyone forward.
Then the miles started accumulating. The climbs became a little steeper. The descents became a little rougher. The aid stations became a little farther apart. And somewhere along the way, the race shifted from being about fitness to being about persistence.
That's usually where endurance sports become interesting. The physical challenge is obvious. The mental challenge is harder to explain.
A Team Effort
One of the biggest misconceptions about endurance sports is that they're individual accomplishments. This race was anything but.
My fiancée, Bri, served as my crew chief for the entire event. Every time I came through an aid station she was there helping refill bottles, grabbing ice, organizing nutrition, helping me change clothes, and making sure I had everything I needed before heading back out onto the course. As the day wore on, those small things became incredibly important.
For the final 15-mile loop, one of my best friends, Alexx, joined me on the trail. At that point in the race, having someone alongside you matters. The conversations help. The encouragement helps. And sometimes simply having another person there is enough to keep moving forward.
This is something I think about in our work with clients as well. Having a trusted advisor alongside you during important decisions — someone who helps you stay focused on the planning process even when conditions get difficult — can make a meaningful difference over time.
Looking back, some of my favorite memories from the race have nothing to do with the finish line. They're the moments shared with the people who helped make the finish possible.
Learning What You're Capable Of
One of the reasons I enjoy endurance sports is that they create opportunities to learn things about yourself that are difficult to discover anywhere else.
Fifty miles gives you a lot of time to think. A lot of time to reflect. A lot of time to negotiate with yourself.
There were moments during the race when I felt great. There were moments when I didn't. There were moments when the next aid station felt impossibly far away. But every time I reached one, the solution remained the same.
Keep moving. One step. One mile. One loop. At a time.
Why I Keep Coming Back
People occasionally ask why I continue signing up for events like this. It's a fair question.
The closest explanation I've found is that endurance sports are probably the closest thing I have to a sense of religion. Not because they're the most important thing in my life. They aren't. But they provide a consistent opportunity to pursue growth. To test myself. To become a little more capable than I was yesterday.
The lessons rarely stay on the trail. They find their way into relationships, work, business, and everyday life. Every difficult workout. Every race. Every challenge. Feels like an opportunity to build the next version of myself.
This carries into how I think about financial planning as well. Whether someone is working toward retirement, navigating tax decisions, or simply trying to build a stronger financial foundation, the mindset is often the same — make consistent progress, trust the process, and keep showing up.
The Best Coke Zero I've Ever Had
If you've spent enough time around ultrarunners, you'll learn that strange things become incredibly meaningful late in a race.
During my final loop, a group camping near the course offered me a cold Coke Zero. Objectively, it was just a Coke Zero. Subjectively, after spending most of a day running through a canyon, it may have been one of the greatest beverages I've ever consumed.
Perspective changes after forty-plus miles.
What's Next
One of the things I love about endurance sports is that there is always another challenge waiting around the corner.
For me, that's the Badger 100, where I'll line up for my first 100-mile ultramarathon. On August 1, 2026, I'll head to Wisconsin to take on my first 100-mile race.
Fortunately for someone training in Dallas, the course is significantly flatter than Palo Duro Canyon. The distance, however, is a different story.
The training is already underway. The goal is bigger. The unknowns are greater. And that's exactly what makes it exciting.
Looking Back
When I think about Palo Duro, I probably won't remember every climb or every mile marker. I'll remember the canyon. I'll remember the conversations. I'll remember Bri waiting at aid stations. I'll remember Alexx joining me for the final lap. And I'll remember learning a little more about what I'm capable of when things get difficult.
Crossing the finish line was rewarding. But like most endurance events, the finish line wasn't really the point. The experience was.
For the families we work with across Dallas-Fort Worth, that same mindset — showing up consistently and trusting the process — is often at the heart of the most meaningful financial decisions we help people navigate.
Related Reading
- Long-Term Investing: Why Successful Investors Focus On Time
- Financial Planning in Dallas
- Our Process
- Who We Help
- Retirement Planning
About Colton Richards
Colton Richards, CFP® is an Associate Financial Planner at Apeiron Planning Partners, a Dallas-based financial planning firm. He works with professionals, families, and retirees throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, helping clients navigate retirement planning, tax planning, equity compensation, and long-term financial decision-making.
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About Apeiron Planning Partners
Apeiron Planning Partners is a Dallas-based financial planning firm helping individuals, families, professionals, and retirees coordinate retirement planning, tax planning, investment management, and estate planning.