Brought to you by Tanawha Adventures, the South Mountains Marathons are a collection of trail races which are held in the beautiful South Mountains State Park in North Carolina. Hope you are psyched for chilly weather, steep trails, gorgeous views, and super cold creek crossings! Courses include a good mix of wide double track trails and tight, technical, single track trail. Oh and stairs! Lots and lots of stairs!
The marathon will be held on Saturday, and the half marathon on Sunday.
Come enjoy testing your abilities on these prime running trails in this pristine mountain range. There will be times that your head will be between your knees on the climbs, times when your quads will feel like they are going to bust through your skin, and times when your feet will feel like ice cubes. With all kidding aside, the trails are very runnable, but challenging. We consider this an excellent entry level mountain trail race if you are seeking a little more climbing (well a lot more actually) than the local park trails in your neighborhood. The half marathon includes approximately 2,600 ft in elevation gain and the marathon approximately 5,500 ft in elevation gain and the 50k approximately 6500 ft of gain! It will be challenging, but these are highly runnable trails!
If the race needs to be postponed due to inclement weather (significant ice/snow), the race will be held on January 29th and 30th. If roads look to be mostly clear to drive to the course, the race will be one as normally scheduled.
50K/Marathon Specifics:
The Numbers
Distance: 32 miles/ 26.5 Miles
Elevation Gain: ~ 6,500 ft/ 5,000 ft
Time Limit: 9 hours/ 8 hours
Miles of Trail: ~ 31.5 miles/ 25.5 miles
Miles of Pavement: ~ 1.5/ 1 mile
Number of Stairs: ~ 600!!!!
Number of Creek Crossings: 6/ 5 joyous splashes!!
Number of aid stations: 5/ 4
Half Marathon Specifics:
The Numbers
Distance: 13.3 Miles
Elevation Gain: ~ 2,500 feet
Time Limit: 4 hours
Miles of Trail: ~ 12.8 miles
Miles of Pavement: ~ 0.5 mile
Number of Stairs: ~ 600!!!!
Number of Creek Crossings: 3 joyous splashes!!!
Number of aid stations: 1 (one full)
Course Description
This course has it all. From wide and smooth double track trails, to tight and technical singletrack trails. Grades from easy and gentle to holy crap this is steep! Views abound along the route and High Shoals Falls is one the most picturesque waterfalls in NC! This course is tough, but rewarding. Please be prepared! Due to length and the climb of the course, experience on long mountain runs with elevation gain is suggested before signing up.
Full aid stations will have at a minimum: Water, Gatorade (flavor varies by station,) and assorted soft drinks. Foods include: bananas, potato chips, pretzels, animal cookies, M&Ms, gummi bears, Goldfish, trail mix, PB&J.
LESS
Classic trail race
Set in the beautiful state park of South Mountains this 50k has 7500 feet of elevation gain with some awesome views including a long set of stairs leading to a … MORE
Set in the beautiful state park of South Mountains this 50k has 7500 feet of elevation gain with some awesome views including a long set of stairs leading to a waterfall. Expect cold and potential snowy conditions which can make the race even more challenging.