Saturday, Nov 25, 2023

Fiery Gizzard Run

Foster Falls State Park

Foster Falls State Park, TN • Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, Ruck Only - 13 miles

This Event Took Place Sat. Nov 25, 2023
See the 2026 event

THA GIZZ


   
Fiery Gizzard Run
Fiery Gizzard
Trail Run
Saturday, November 28, 2026
Foster Falls · South Cumberland, Tennessee
Marathon · Half Marathon · 13 Mile Ruck
Field capped at 175 by the park
A runner in a red shirt crosses wet rock beneath a waterfall on the Fiery Gizzard Trail

Layout


The Race

Grundy Forest To Foster Falls

In 1873 they built an experimental furnace at Tracy City that ran so hot it wrecked itself in three days. They called it the Fiery Gizzard. The trail kept the name, and the temperament.

The Fiery Gizzard Run covers the full trail from Grundy Forest to Foster Falls, which Backpacker Magazine has ranked among the top 25 hiking trails in the country. Waterfalls, house sized boulders, two hundred year old hemlocks, and sweeping ridgeline overlooks, stitched together by steep, technical drops into the gorges and back out.

The rhythm is what gets people. Long stretches of fast plateau running, then the bottom falls out. The descents are rocky, rooty, and steep, every one of them has a climb waiting on the other side, and runnable up top does not mean easy overall. Half marathoners traverse the trail once. Marathoners run it both directions and earn roughly 7,000 feet of gain. Thanksgiving weekend, every year. Bring the family and bring the dog. Leashed dogs are welcome on course.

A runner moves through bright waterfall spray against layered rock
The Fiery Gizzard Trail
Grundy Forest to Foster Falls, South Cumberland State Park

Distances


Three Ways To Run It

Distances

DistanceStartFormatEntry
Marathon8:00 AMFoster Falls to Grundy and back. The whole trail, twice. About 7,000 feet of gain.$100.25
Half Marathon9:30 AMOne full traverse, Grundy to Foster Falls. Slightly over 13.1 on the new trail.$89.62
13 Mile Ruck9:30 AMHardRuck division on the same traverse. Weigh in 30 minutes before start.$89.62

Pricing includes fees as listed and can change. Shirts are a separate purchase with an order deadline posted on UltraSignup. Race proceeds help maintain the park.

Course and Cutoffs


The Course

Plateau Up Top, Gorges Below

The trail runs the rim of the Cumberland Plateau between Grundy Forest and Foster Falls. Up top it is fast and runnable. Then it dives: Fruit Bowl boulders the size of houses, the Blue Hole, Sycamore Falls, Black Canyon, and the stone staircase descents the CCC cut in the 1930s. What goes down climbs back out. The marquee overlook is Raven's Point, with the whole gorge laid out below.

Aid stations sit 6 to 8 miles apart because there are only so many places a vehicle can reach this trail. Carry your own water and calories between them. Stations carry Spring Energy gels, water, electrolytes and snacks, and the race is cupless. Timing chips ride on your left ankle. Basic first aid and sweepers only, so self sufficiency is part of the deal.

Cutoffs

1:30 PM · Raven's Point
Marathoners must pass to continue.

5:00 PM · Foster Falls
Race ends. Everyone off trail.

Half Marathon Check In

Two options. Check in at Foster Falls before 8:00 AM and drive to Grundy Forest, or check in directly at Grundy at 8:30. The half and the ruck start there at 9:30 and run home to Foster Falls.

Course Records: Marathon


Every Distance

Course Records

Marathon
Men
1Chris Carter4:00:382015
2Wilton Norris4:02:092022
3William Sickenberger4:05:232023
Women
1Malinda Honkus4:58:362014
2Cassidy Gupton5:06:452018
3Eunice Campbell5:11:382014

Course Records


Half Marathon
Men
1Kevin Mills1:56:572018
2Hunter Hall1:57:472016
3Dan Rose1:59:542021
Women
1Maude Ariosa2:27:192022
2Taralynn Mack2:27:262023
3Megan Scheumann2:28:232021

HARDRUCK Division


A line of runners climbs a wooden bridge through the forest
HardRuck Division

HardRuck Info

20 lb over 150 lb bodyweight  ·  10 lb under 150 lb

Dry weight, clearly stamped. Steel plate, vest blocks, bumper plates. Weigh in 30 minutes before the start, the weight stays on the whole way, and random checks happen on course.

Images


Scramble · Descend · Cross · Keep Moving
A runner uses both hands to climb a steep leaf covered slopeA runner descends a field of moss covered rocksA runner crosses a wooden footbridge beside a small waterfall
A smiling runner in warm late autumn lightTwo smiling finishers in front of the waterfallA young runner leads an adult along a sunlit autumn trail

Awards and Logistics


Awards
  • Custom HardWin finisher award for everyone who gets it done
  • Top male and female in both distances
  • Shirts are a separate purchase if desired
Good To Know
  • Leashed dogs welcome on course
  • Late November on the plateau. Freezing starts are normal, and the gorges hold cold air and spray. Layers, and something dry for the finish
  • Remote trail. Any rescue costs are the runner's responsibility
  • Race proceeds help maintain the park

The Fire


Three Fiery Gizzard volunteers smile behind a campfire in the winter woods
Since 2014
Volunteers, cold mornings, familiar faces
Bonus Miles

Why It Is Called That

Nobody knows for certain, and every version is good. The documented one: in 1873 the Tennessee Coal and Railroad Company built an experimental blast furnace at Tracy City to test whether local coal could make iron. It ran so violently hot that men nicknamed it the Fiery Gizzard. It burned for three days, produced about fifteen tons of iron, and then its stack collapsed. The furnace failed. The name stuck to the creek, the gorge, and the trail.

The legends are more fun. One says Davy Crockett, camped in the gorge, burned his tongue on a turkey gizzard straight off the fire and spat it into the creek. Another says a Native chief threw a turkey gizzard into the flames at a peace council to command the attention of European settlers.

What is not legend: the gorge holds hemlocks over two hundred years old, and the stone steps near the Fruit Bowl were cut by Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1475 in the 1930s. Blue Hole, Sycamore Falls, Chimney Rock, Black Canyon, Raven's Point. Results here go back to 2014. This race was not invented, it was refined, one cold November at a time.

Give Back and Closer

A runner waves while crossing a wooden bridge with a dog
A portion of proceeds supports the park and this trail
A smiling runner waves beside a waterfall on the Fiery Gizzard course
Fiery Gizzard Run
Come Join Us At The Gizz

Thanksgiving Saturday, November 28, 2026. 175 spots, set by the park.

   

Presented by HardWin Adventures · South Cumberland, Tennessee

Event's current local time: 1:05 PM ET

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