2025 Race Update
After the devastation of Hurricane Helene hitting the South Toe area, it is very unlikely that we will have a 2025 race sadly. Mount Mitchell state park and the blue ridge parkway are closed indefinitely.
WATCH THE RACE VIDEO!
Quest for the Crest from Mary Lide Parker on Vimeo.
A Mountain Race of EPIC proportions!
Welcome to what runners everywhere have deemed "hands down the hardest 11k , 25k and 50k in North America"! Boasting 12,000 ft of vertical gain in the 50k, 4,500 gain in the 25k and 3,300 ft in the 10k, this route will leave you breathless yet high on life as you take on the ridiculously technical trails and soak up the incredible views from Mt. Mitchell and the surrounding peaks. There is not one view, but several wide-open views along the highest mountain chain East of the Mississippi! The juice is worth the squeeze for this one!
Quick Facts:
-ALL courses are point to point and include insane amounts of vertical climbing
-Each race will put participants on all fours briefly to climb up sections. There are sections that utilize a rope. We're not joking...IT IS STEEP!
-First climb for both races is a 2.5 mile climb with 3300 ft gain
-50k tackles 3 peaks including Mt. Mitchell
-11k is one major climb
See if you got what it takes to finish this beautiful, competitive, and ridiculously challenging gem of a course!
Please note we sell out quickly every year, and we are unable to accommodate late requests. Please secure your spot early if you know you want to run. For complete race info, please visit https://www.runbumtours.com/questforthecrest
Swag / awards etc
All runners will get a pint glass and a hat or beanie. All 50k finishers will get a medal. Runners get free photos. All runners get a free MANDATORY shuttle ride to the race start.
All race details on RunBumTours.com
Refund Policy
-Cancellation within 90 days of event date: There are no refunds, transfers or deferments within 90 days of event date.
-Cancellation beyond 90 days before event date: Runners may receive half credit towards another Run Bum Race of equal or lesser value within this time frame
-Full credit pregnancy & military order deferral is offered and is good for 2 years of event date
WARNING
THIS CAN NOT BE YOUR FIRST TRAIL RACE FOR ANY DISTANCE!
This is a ruggedly extreme deep end of the pool race. If you can not be set sufficient in the mountains, be on all fours for brief periods where you could fall and get seriously injured, filter water at times for the 25k and 50k, then you have ZERO business being out there. IF you are winging it, not training or not an athlete then you should not run. Every year we have people who should not be out there EVEN AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE 10K! Please we ask that you take the training seriously and enjoy the process. This is a beautiful HIKE up and jog down over boulders kind of "run". Whatever your PR is for said distance... double it and then some.
Brand New 11k
Quest for the Crest BRAND NEW 11k for 2024
The 10k and that course is no more. Thanks for the love over the years. The new route is A hill climb from the bottom of Mt. Mitchell to the summit. A one way race. How face can you climb 3800 ft to the HIGHEST peak East of the Mississippi?!?
We will start the race where where finish our 50k / 25k off South Toe River Road just a mile down the road from Black Mountain Campground. Then runners will run from there to the summit of Mt. Mitchell. They have 4.5 hours to do so with various cutoffs along the way. There is no aid but there are places to fill water from.
All runners will be required to have 1 Liter of water or a water filter.
We will also give you a finish line drop bag that we will transport to the summit. When you are done you will be bused back to the start or your friends / family can give you a ride. You might be waiting up to 90 minutes for a ride so please bring layers.
***This may NOT be your first trail race. This race is extremely hard. Road running and running miles on the road mean nothing. IF you can not hike up 2500 ft climbs before this with ease then please do not sign up. Do not be a safety risk. This is an extremely rocky, rooty and dangerous race. You could get hurt and or die from a fall, hypothermia etc. ***
Event's current local time: 4:26 AM ET
