Elk River Rail Trail Marathon & Half Marathon
Gassaway, WV
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
The Elk River Rail Trail Marathon & Half Marathon is West Virginia’s only marathon / half marathon / 5K that takes place along the Elk River Trail in Gassaway, WV! All finishers will receive:– High Quality Race Shirt– An awesome finisher medal– Refreshments post race (water, snacks)– Opportunity to run … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Sep 13):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 83 | 86 | 76 | 71 | 83 |
| L (°F) | 49 | 52 | 62 | 53 | 65 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Wild and Warm West Virginia
I originally had another half marathon in mind for West Virginia (I'm a fellow 50 States Chaser), but when it opened and I saw the $150 entry fee (not including … MORE
I originally had another half marathon in mind for West Virginia (I’m a fellow 50 States Chaser), but when it opened and I saw the $150 entry fee (not including the luxury hotel price!) I decided to go in another more economical direction.
Thanks to RaceRaves, I found Elk River and decided to investigate – I was a little anxious about the trail portion, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to look at the website and see how rustic we were talking.
As soon as I saw the Flatwoods Monster themed medal that GLOWS IN THE DARK, I was 100% in for the adventure. I asked a friend if she’d be up for a six hour drive to the geographical center of WV and she was in, minimal questions asked. She walked the 5K and enjoyed her experience.
Pros:
– Affordable, especially if you get in when they open registration. I think it opens around January – if you look at their Facebook page they post it there.
—hot tip, follow the race as well as the Elk River Trail Foundation Facebook pages. Between both pages I got a lot of good information about the race and the trail.
– I very much felt like I was in West Virginia. The trail itself feels like that part of the country (Elk River on one side and blasted mountain on the other, it looks like WV/NC/TN), but the towns are 1000000% West Virginia. I was very pleased and felt like I experienced that part of the state. (I’m doing Hatfield and McCoy [for Kentucky] and then either Marshall or Charleston for my WV full, so I’ll be on the border for those)
– Medal, shirt, and race bib are all fantastic quality. Shirt is a cotton Hanes shirt and I put it on and proudly wore it around town/on my drive back to SC after the race.
– Flat flat flat flat flat. We drove up and around more hills/switchbacks getting to the race than actually running the race. I could tell we were climbing, but it was a slight elevation change. Only about 800 feet above sea level, which was a relief because I recorded us at 1600-1700 feet above sea level when we stopped at the New River Gorge Bridge national park site and was genuinely worried about how the race was going to go breathing wise.
– Junk food, bananas, and oranges at the finish line, but the volunteers made sure I had a bottle of water and bottle of gatorade when I crossed that finish line. And honestly finishing a longer race is usually my “hell yeah, let me crush some Cheetos” motivation, so I didn’t mind. But if you need something more substantial, plan ahead of time and keep it in the car.
– $10 on site engraving for the back of the medal – name and finishers time, which $10 is an awesome deal
– VERY much a community event. The mayor of Gassaway was directing parking (280 people did the race – they cap it at 300. I imagine that was the most traffic that town has ever had because she looked a little stressed, lol). I only found out she was the mayor after the RD introduced her at the start. She gave a sweet little welcome speech and fired the starting gun.
– I ran past 3 water stops on the way to 6.55 miles and hit the stops on the way back, so a total of 6 stops. No electrolyte mixes, but the volunteers were kind and had the water separated into room temp and cold options. So if you need electrolytes (which you will, it’s hot and humid), carry them with you or bring enough powder to mix with 8oz bottles. Most of the marathoners were carrying their own hydration and, honestly, they weren’t wrong. There’s support on the course, but it very much is akin to a long training run than a road marathon as far as water stops, fuel, etc.
Cons:
– The trail was physically harder on my body than I was expecting. Around mile nine I finally put together that it’s an old railroad line, so obviously they didn’t build it on sand. So, if you feel like your body is being rocked and your feet/joints start hurting, that’s the reason why. I was in Superblasts and this was the first time my feet have hurt while wearing them.
– The trail is wide, but people have naturally only run on the right or left side, so the middle is full of grass, gravel, etc. We naturally fell into running single line and using the left lane for passing (like driving is supposed to be), so if you plan on running with a friend or a group, know you’re gonna be in a single line or somebody is gonna have to move out of the left lane a lot. It was orderly and I didn’t see any issues, which was chill. Not a con as much as something to be aware of. I was fine because I did this one alone, but if my husband had made the trip with me he would’ve been talking where I couldn’t hear him for 13.1 miles.
– 8am start time. I have no idea why they don’t start at 7am – the sun is up by then and the trail literally crosses two, maybe three roads total. I finished a bit after 10am and was *warm*. By noon I was getting in and out of the car and was so grateful I wasn’t out on the trail doing the marathon because it was hot. It was 60* when we got to the race, but highs got into the 90s by later in the day. They do offer an earlier start, but you forfeit age group awards
– No bathroom on the trail for half marathoners or 5Kers. They have bathrooms for marathoners (IDK if they’re portajohns or real, but it was one bathroom that the marathoners would hit once on their way out and once on the way back), but nothing for us. And the woods aren’t thick enough/accessible enough to use, so that’s not an option.
– Same medal for marathoners, half marathoners, and 5Kers. It’s definitely more economical, but it feels a little diminishing when 26.2 miles gets the same hardware as 3.1 miles. But it’s a great quality medal!
Food for Thought:
– It’s West Virginia, so it’s best to go in with a very open mind and slightly lowered expectations. The food isn’t going to be healthy (they sure know how to fry the hell out of some veggies, though. We had fried banana peppers at The Spot in Flatwoods and they were awesome), the hotel room is going to be a little dirty, and a lot of locals look like they have a history with substance abuse/malnutrition. That’s just the reality of the region and, honestly, made it feel even more important to eat, stay, and play locally. I’d much rather my money go into their economy than buy the Hiltons another yacht. Having that mindset helped me shake off a lot of things I’d normally get annoyed with (someone smoking a cigarette at the finish line, not having an exact address for the start line, quality of restaurant food being a bit below what I prefer to eat, etc).
Do your research because there are some fun things to do around the area. We stopped off at the New River Gorge so we could see the bridge, which was 100% worth it. That area is huge and the national park system has TONS to do at those sites – you could legit spend a week there. The Flatwoods Monster museum is okay – cryptid tourism is a legit thing in West Virginia and they’re still trying to figure out how to make Flatwoods Monster (or Braxie as they’re trying to rebrand her) a thing. They have five Flatwoods Monster chairs around the county and if you take pics with all five and show the employee at the museum, they give you a free sticker. It was silly, but also a fun little scavenger hunt and we enjoyed taking pics with the chairs while wearing our shirts and medals.
Small town, scenic, uphill finish
If you like your marathons to feel more like a peaceful solo run through the woods then this is the race for you. Most of the course is flat and … MORE
If you like your marathons to feel more like a peaceful solo run through the woods then this is the race for you. Most of the course is flat and shaded as you run along the river. Notice I said most. The first 6 miles are downhill and this is an out and back course, which means miles 20-26.2 are a steady incline of about 1,200 feet. Overall, it was well done by the event staff but I believe some volunteers didn’t show up and water stations were lacking. That being said, I would recommend this race to those looking to check off West Virginia on their 50 state challenge, just don’t plan for a PR.
Pleasant trail run
Small race on a trail. Decent scenery. Well Organized. Love the race shirt (Bigfoot). I had to start late d/t car trouble but the race directors were very supportive. MORE
Small race on a trail. Decent scenery. Well
Organized. Love the race shirt (Bigfoot). I had to start late d/t car trouble but the race directors were very supportive.
Warm race day but scenic woodsy run
Race started 30 minutes late due to late runners heading to start on shuttle. The anticipated warm weather day made that for a concern but the tree cover helped keep … MORE
Race started 30 minutes late due to late runners heading to start on shuttle. The anticipated warm weather day made that for a concern but the tree cover helped keep most of the trail shaded. Race director stated this was the third race and they would continue to improve and am confissent they will get there. Nice quiet run with small race field and no spectators except those on the trail handing out water and fuel. Enjoyable quiet run that at times felt like you were in the woods on your own
Forest bathing at its best.
Flat and fast dirt course under a beautiful canopy of trees. Great course support and awesome RD. Fast posting of results and pictures. Difficult to get to, but well worth … MORE
Flat and fast dirt course under a beautiful canopy of trees. Great course support and awesome RD. Fast posting of results and pictures. Difficult to get to, but well worth it.
Gorgeous green views treetop umbrellas
Wonderful route out and back, volunteers were friendly and well informed. It was pouring rain for some of the event.... drizzled all the time. Yet we had a great time, … MORE
Wonderful route out and back, volunteers were friendly and well informed.
It was pouring rain for some of the event…. drizzled all the time. Yet we had a great time, even though it was a little muddy in spots, lots of water, lots of support. delicious pizza at the finish line with fruit and other snacks. A must do for the scenery alone- especially if you love trails! No pavement anywhere. My 60th half