🐦🔥 About
The Firewater 100K, 50K, Relay and Ruck all take place on the East Lakeshore Trail on the east coast of the Tellico Reservoir. Firewater was the first event to utilize this trail system end-to-end, and this will be the 12th year running! We have The Watershed Association of the Tellico Reservoir (WATeR) to thank for these wonderful, well-maintained, and very runnable trails.
- The 100K (for many years the only 100K trail race in Tennessee) runs the entire length of the trail out and then back. It is a fantastic first 100K, not only because of the multiple unique aid stations, but because your crew can access you at virtually every one.
- The 50K will start at the northern end (where the 100K turns around) and run back to the finish line. It's really our favorite distance because you see the whole trail, you (probably, lol) finish in the daytime, and the finish line vibe is strong.
- And there is the 'Sunset' option for the 50K: Now you can choose to start at 8:30am (the 'Sunrise' option), or at 2:30pm (the 'Sunset' option) so you can start later in the day and catch the gorgeous sunset over Tellico Lake.
- The 50K Relay will have you and a friend each running half of the 50K course -- the first half is longer with less elevation, the second half is shorter with more climbing.
- The 25K Ruck option runs the second half of the course to the finish. It's the shorter 'half' of the course but the more hikey half, perfect for rucking.
- We've had several people who wanted to do half of the course, so we added the 25K Run w/the Ruckers -- chill out for the second half of the course with the folks with the 30lb packs, finish in the daytime, and party at the finish line!
For 2026 we decided to return to the the super soft hoodie sweatshirts that everyone loves:
Note: We will be placing the shirt order on October 16th, so to ensure you get the right size make sure you register by then. We want you to have this cool shirt!
🗺️ Courses
The finish line will once again be the southern terminus of the trail, at the Wildcat Pointe Trailhead (#10) - far left on this map:
The 100K course starts at Wildcat Pointe (#10), runs all the way north to the Canal Branch Trailhead (#1) turns around and returns all the way back to the finish line at Wildcat Pointe (#10).
After the 100K runners take off,
The 50K Sunrise runners will hop in a bus with us and ride to all the way north to the other end at the Canal Branch Trailhead (#1), then race all the way back to the finish at Wildcat Pointe (#10).
The 50K Sunset runners will hop in a bus with us around 2:00pm and ride to all the way north to the other end at the Canal Branch Trailhead (#1), then race all the way back to the finish at Wildcat Pointe (#10), enjoying a beautiful sunset along the way (remember your headlamps!).
The
50K Relay will be slightly different: The first leg will ride the bus up with the solo 50K runners, while the second leg will drive a car to the Sinking Creek Trailhead (#4) -- the first runner will run to your teammate at Sinking Creek, then the second runner will run to the finish line while the first runner drives the car back to the finish line for the celebration.
💪 25K Ruck & Run w/the Ruckers!
New for 2025 we added a 25K (really about 22½K) Ruck event. We have had increased interest in adding a Ruck event so we decided to go for it! The Ruck will cover the second half of the 50K course. You will ride the bus with the 50K folks, and on the way we will stop at the Ruck start (Sinking Creek Aid Station). After a few minutes to make your final preparations (hit the porta-john, etc) we will start the Ruck around 8:15, and all of the 50K folks will be cheering you on!
Rucking is normally described as hiking with a weighted pack, but running with the pack is certainly allowed as well. The activity gets its name from the term "rucksack" which of course is another name for a "backpack." The backpack weights are 'dry' which means without any additional fluids or nutrition you may be carrying.
Male / non-binary - 30lb dry
Female - 15lb dry
Boys under 15yo - 20lb dry
Girls under 15yo - 10lb dry
Please plan to weigh in 30 minutes to 1 hour prior to the event start. Weight must be in the form of a steel ruck plate, weight vest blocks, bumper plates or other items which have the weight clearly stamped. Removal of plates or reduction of weight during the event is not allowed.
As is traditional with Ruck races, each finisher will receive a custom patch along with the normal swag. You will weigh-in at the finish to receive your patch.
We are excited to add this event and can't wait to see those patches!
And again, we had friends wanting to run half of the 50K course, so we made the 25K Run w/the Ruckers. Good news about the 25K Run w/the Ruckers is that it is really only 22½K! :) You won't mind, there is a bit more climbing in the 2nd half -- you will run from the relay exchange point to the finish.
💡More Race Details
Use this Google document link to get details about aid station locations, distance between aid stations, cutoff times, crew access locations, drop bag locations, and pacer entry locations:
Course Details, Aid Stations, and Cutoff Times
Here's another Google document link to the
Firewater Runners Manual
And here's a link to an interactive map of the 50K & 100K courses with aid stations:
50K Course Map
100K Course Map
🧭 Live Tracking
Once again this year we will have optional live tracking for runners and their crew.
Here are the live tracking pages for each race -- send these links to your friends & family:
Here are direct links to register for live tracking (from your computer, or from your phone -- you will also need to download the Webscorer app on your phone for raceday):
Event's current local time: 11:45 PM ET
