Saturday, Jan 9, 2016

South Mountains Marathons

3001 South Mountain Park Ave

Connelly Springs, NC 1/2 Marathon, Marathon

This Event Took Place Sat. Jan 9, 2016

Event Postponed

The 50k and marathon event has been postponed from Jan 06, 2024 to January 27th, 2024 due to forecasted icing in the area on Saturday morning. The Half marathon will be held as scheduled on January 7th with a one hour delay in start time.

General Info

NOTE: THE MARATHON & 50k WILL BE HELD ON SATURDAY JAN 6TH AND THE HALF MARATHON ON SUNDAY JAN 7TH THIS YEAR. BE SURE TO MAKE TRAVEL PLANS ACCORDINGLY! If the race needs to be canceled for any reason (unforeseen acts of nature or COVID), the race will be run virtually "Tanawha style" (aka on the actual course, not anywhere). Please plan your calendar accordingly. No refunds, transfers, or deferrals will be given in the case of race moving to virtual.

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!

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.

Our Mission

Our mission for putting on this race is three fold. First, we want to show off this jewel of a park located in Western North Carolina and how great the trails are for running. Secondly, we want to support the Foothills Conservancy in their mission to protect the South Mountains, the Blue Ridge Escarpment, and other lands in the Western Piedmont. Through the help of the Foothills Conservancy, the South Mountains are one of the most well protected mountain ranges in the country. Lastly, we want to provide the best race experience for you that we can. We've designed a top notch, beautiful course that is challenging but doable even for the lesser experienced trail runners, and provide excellent aid station support throughout the run, so you can keep your mind on the trail and the majestic views around you, not your water bottle.

50k Specifics

Distance: 32 Miles
Elevation Gain: ~ 6,500 feet
Time Limit: 9 hours
Miles of Trail: ~ 31.5 miles
Miles of Pavement: ~ 1.5 mile
Number of Stairs: ~ 600!!!!
Number of Creek Crossings: 6 joyous splashes!!!
Number of Aid Stations: 5

Marathon Specifics

Distance: 26.5 Miles
Elevation Gain: ~ 5,000 feet
Time Limit: 8 hours
Miles of Trail: ~ 25.5miles
Miles of Pavement: ~ 1 mile
Number of Stairs: ~ 600!!!!
Number of Creek Crossings: 5 joyous splashes!!!
Number of Aid Stations: 4

Half Specifics

Distance: 13.3 Miles
Elevation Gain: ~ 2,500 feet
Time Limit: 4 hours
Miles of Trail: ~ 12.8 miles
Miles of Pavement: ~ 0.5 miles
Number of Stairs: ~ 600!!!
Number of Creek Crossings: 3 joyous splashes!!!
Number of Aid Stations: 1 (one full)

Refund Policy

Refunds will be granted minus $20 up to 60 days before the event. After this time, no refunds will be given. We do not allow transfers or deferments in any case at any time.

If the race needs to be canceled for any reason (unforeseen acts of nature or COVID), the race will be run virtually "Tanawha style" (aka on the actual course, not anywhere). Please plan your calendar accordingly. No refunds, transfers, or deferrals will be given in the case of race moving to virtual.

Event's current local time: 2:10 PM ET

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