The Chief Ladiga 100 Mile Trail Run, a southern springtime classic, is back in beautiful Jacksonville, AL. Nestled in the foothills of Appalachia, runners will experience beautiful wetlands, streams, forests, farmlands, and a horizon filled with mountains on the Chief Ladiga Trail! A super fast and crew friendly course, runners will run …
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The Chief Ladiga 100 Mile Trail Run, a southern springtime classic, is back in beautiful Jacksonville, AL. Nestled in the foothills of Appalachia, runners will experience beautiful wetlands, streams, forests, farmlands, and a horizon filled with mountains on the Chief Ladiga Trail! A super fast and crew friendly course, runners will run 50 miles on smooth pavement across the Georgia line on the Silver Comet trail to Nathan Dean Park in Rockmart and then back to the Jacksonville Community Center to complete 100 miles! Aid stations are never more than 8 miles apart and crews can access all but 4 of the 14 stops. This is also a great race for first time 100 mile runners! Total elevation gain and loss for the course is around 3,500 ft. 32 hr cutoff for the 100. There will be food, beverages, music, and fun at the finish! All runners will get an awesome t-shirt and finishers will receive the coolest buckle/finisher medal in ultrarunning!
50M/50K
The 50 mile will run from the community center to the state line and back. The 50k will be a point to point from the state line. From Jacksonville, it’s a 30 minute drive to Esom Hill ( of 50k). Both races will Saturday morning at 7am.
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Amazing 100 Miler!
I highly recommend this race! Everything was top notch from the race director to the volunteers to the swag bag and finish line! It’s a 50 miles out and back … MORE
I highly recommend this race! Everything was top notch from the race director to the volunteers to the swag bag and finish line! It’s a 50 miles out and back on paved trail.
Excellent Rail Trail 50k
Overall Rating: Great! Course Difficulty: This course is super easy;100% paved rail trail. The only real obstacles are sticks and pine cones on the paving, a few areas of buckled … MORE
Overall Rating: Great!
Course Difficulty: This course is super easy;100% paved rail trail. The only real obstacles are sticks and pine cones on the paving, a few areas of buckled asphalt, and road crossings.
Course scenery: There is enough scenery to keep it interesting, not so much that you are overwhelmed with the WOW factor. Good views of Georgia/Alabama mountains and pine forests.
Race Production: Really good. Everything was where it was supposed to be and when it was supposed to be there. Pre-race communication was excellent and the RD was present throughout. The only issue I did have was I had to wait on Tailwind to be mixed at one aid station, and ran out of fluids between the last two aid stations; this probably cost me a PR but not complaining, this is just a part of distance running and I appreciate the energetic volunteers. As a heads up: this is not a chip timed race, if you are looking for that type of accuracy in timing, you may want to speak with the RD before signing up for this one.
Race Swag: Really good. Pint glass with race logo, lots of stickers, running company branded socks, excellent t-shirt and custom finish medal. There was some other gear to buy, and honestly, I probably will online, I was just too tired afterward.
My Performance: Pretty good. This course makes you want to run early, but it can come back to bite in the heat at the end. It’s one of my faster 50k’s, so you know its a fast course.
Final notes: Parts of this course smell absolutely amazing. If a person could eat the wonderful scent of pine trees, I would order up a big helping of the Chief Ladiga Trail! Seriously though, I had a terrible chest cold for the 4 days before this race, only slept about 2.5 hours the night before (37 degrees in a tent), and still managed to pull out a fast-ish race. I’m a little shocked at the finish times, they are good, but I would expect them to be a lot faster; maybe the pain of the constant asphalt on the knees is a contributor to that.
All said, this is a well directed race on a good course. If you are looking to get into ultra running, or are looking for a PR, this is a great course.