Changes for 2025
If you are new to Stone Anvil, a new race was added, One & Done, to provide a complete immersive experience of Stone Anvil in a short period of time. This race is one lap of the course with a dawn to dusk time frame (12.5 hours).
The start times and cutoffs for all Stone Anvil races remain the same from 2024. Note that the last day of race activities is Easter Sunday
Times and Durations
The events start at various times.
Event Date: 16 April - 20 April 2025
Specific start and end times:
200M. Start: Wednesday at 7am, End: Sunday at 4pm, 105 hrs
72-hr Timed. Start: Thursday at Noon, End: Sunday at Noon
100M. Start: Friday at Noon, End: Sunday at 1100am, 47 hrs
100k. Start: Saturday at 6am, End: Sunday at 800am, 26 hrs
50k. Start: Saturday at 7am, End: Saturday at Dusk (~8pm)
12-hr, 6-hr Timed. Start: Saturday at 800am, End: 12 and 6 hours later.
One&Done. Start: Saturday at 700am, End: Saturday at Dusk (~8pm)
Description
The Stone Anvil is a 200 mile, 100 mile, 100 km, 50 km, and 72 hour trail race in the Cohutta Mountains in northern Georgia. The event is held inside the Fort Mountain State Park. The course consists of an inner (clockwise) loop and an outer (counter-clockwise) loop that is a loop of about 20 miles with 5000 feet of elevation gain. Two taps are made on the Pinhoti trail that add 3.4 miles and roughly 1500 feet of elevation gain. The start/finish area is located at the Old Fort area of the Park. There are four aid points, one check station (with water), and one water point on the loop. Because of the hard climbs, there is an abundance of aid on the course. The completion of each loop is at the Cool Springs AS. Crew access will be allow at three main aid points (Lakeside, Cool Springs Overlook, and the Park Entrance). In general, the Park and course are family friendly and supporters are able to interact with their runner many times during the race. Some of the Fort Mountain trails are technical (i.e., sections of the Gahuti trail) but much of the course is rolling double-wide trails...with lite, hard, and brutal climbs. Cutoff times will be strictly enforced during later loops for runner safety.
The first two loops will also include running down and up the Pinhoti Connector. This provides a metaphorical "Double Tap" on the Pinhoti Trail. With that the DoubleTop/DoubleTap race kicks off the Pinhoti Slam (DoubleTop, Georgia Jewel, Pinhoti 100).
Events
The Stone Anvil - 200M/100M/100k/50k/72,12,6-hr/One&Done - is several races. The 200M race starts on Wednesday, the 72-hour timed race starts on Thursday. The 100M race starts on Friday. The other races all start on Saturday. Packet pickup for the 200M will be Tuesday evening (Cabin 5), Packet pickup for the 100M, and 72-hr races will begin 3-hours before the start of those races at the start/finish. Packet pickup for the Saturday races will be 4-7 pm on Friday evening and Saturday morning at the start/finish
200 Mile race: The 200M race consists of 10 loops.
100 Mile race: The 100M race consists of 5 loops.
100 km race: The 100k race consists of 3 loops.
50 km race: The 50k race consists of 1 1/2 loops.
The One&Done race is 1 loop.
Both the 200M and 72-hour race are supported. Runners can receive buckles after 5 loops (100 miles under 48 hours to qualify for the Pinhoti Slam), after completing 8 powerline climbs in the 72-hr event (this will be 150 miles), and after 10 loops (200 miles). The expectation that someone will complete 10 loops with 50k feet of elevation gain in 72-hours is very close to zero, but there is a buckle for this awesome performance.
Other stuff: The taps on the Pinhoti Connector Trail are completed on Saturday/Sunday of the race. The 50k course uses a half loop route as part of the 2nd loop. 200M/100M runners will be able to pick up (and drop off) a pacer after finishing the 2nd loop (~40 miles). 100k runners will be able to pick up a pacer after 1 1/2 loops. 72-hr runners may have a pacer after 24 hours. The locations for pacer pick up/drop off will be at any aid point where crew access is allowed. Dropping pacers is permissible though-out the course, but runners must let aid station personnel know that their pacer has been abandoned on the last trail section. Note that the 7 am and 8 am starts are after twilight so no headlamps should be needed at those starts. The race starts are by clocktime to sync aid station clocks.
Runners over 55: Additional time is available on HAE races for older runners in distances over 100 miles. At Stone Anvil, the shorter races have huge amount of time for finishing so no extra time is given. The extra time is determine by age above 55 multiplied by 30 mins per year. This is balanced between an earlier start time in 2-hour blocks and additional time on the final cutoff. This results in a very complicated multi-factorial model of who may start at what time. So if you are confused, don't worry. If you qualify for being an Oscar Foxtrot then email the RD to confirm your intent to start earlier. Note that coordination with the RD is required. In all cases, you must have an official start. Do not expect to run willy-nilly around Ft Mtn.
Pre-race briefing. On-line videos are available to pre-view the area. The routes are configured into the Plot-a-Route website so that you can watch a tiny cursor move around the course. This preview is normally better than a map because the course folds over itself and that tends to be hard to depict. More details will be provided about access and times will be provided early next April.
Important Info:
Crew vehicles: Please consider the terrain and maneuver areas when choosing your crew vehicle(s). Do not use an RV or pull a trailer. For moving between aid stations, use smaller vehicles or share rides. If the roads become icy, then the Park Manager may close the upper road and crew will have to walk to the Cool Springs Overlook AS.
NOTE: The elevation change on this course is large! The GPS tracks taken so far have varied quite a bit, but it would be best to prepare for a total elevation gain on the 100M of 25-27k ft.
Gender within Race You are required to register and run under the gender listed on your driver license.
Loop Description
Loop Description.
The base loop uses several Ft Mtn trail in a folded figure eight pattern that makes an inner and outer loop (with a crossover point at Cool Springs). There will be 3 full aid stations on the course, an aid point with water, coke, and snacks (if you can get the lid off the bear-proof container), and two water points - that gives 6 aid points per loop. Four of the aid points are crew accessible and easy to reach. The inner loop has 500 ft of elevation difference between the high and low points. The outer loop has 2900 ft of elevation difference between high and low points. There are many small hills along the course giving an elevation gain per loop of roughly 5500 ft. Course measurements using a barometric altimeter has recorded slightly under 25,000 ft of elevation gain for the 100M course and roughly 8000 ft of elevation gain for the 50k. But, your vertical mileage may vary.
The course starts at the Old Fort area and uses about 0.25 miles of the park road for sorting out before entering the wide and fast 302 trail. This begins the inner loop. The inner loop follows the 302, intersects the 301, follows the 301 to its trailhead, transitions to the 303 to go the main parking area near the lake. The loop continues passed the park area, over the small hill to the lake, and right around the lake to the Lakeside Aid Station. At the Lakeside AS, runner go right to the Big Rock Trail that connects to the Gahuti trail, which eventually pops out at the Old Fort area and the inner loop checkpoint. After a quick jaunt down the Stone Wall trail, runners will turn right and follow the Gahuti trail to the Cool Springs Overlook Aid Station. This is the end of the inner loop. At the start of the outer loop, runners leave the Cool Springs Overlook AS and follow the 302 down the switchbacks from Hell until intersecting with the 301. The outer loop then follows the 301 around the north end of the Park and south on the west side of the Park until reaching the Power Line Climb. The Power Line Climb is about 1 mile long with 1000 ft of gain - about 0.25 miles are a steep vertical trudge. The Power Line Climb stays on the 301 and the 301 then intersects with the powerline trail. A left turn onto the powerline trail and a fast descent to the Big Rock trailhead leads to the Lakeside AS. After the Lakeside AS, runners trace the lake shoreline for 0.5 miles and make a right on a connector trail to the Gahuti. The outer loop then follows the Gahuti until the Park Entrance Aid Station. At the Park Entrance AS, runners will be take two trips down the Pinhoti Connector. After the Park Entrance AS, the outer loop follows the Gahuti until it intersects with the 301 and follows the 301 downhill along Mill Creek. When the 301 intersects with the 410, runners take right, and follow the 410 until it interests (into) the 401. The 401 goes out and around the north end of the Park to the Deep North Aid Station, which is the lowest elevation on the course. After the Deep North AS, runners follow the 401 uphill until intersection with the 410. A left on the 410, followed shortly by a right on the 301, bring runners close to the final climb of the loop. The 301 climbs a bit until it intersects with the 302. A left onto the 302 begins the Switchbacks from Hell and eventually the joy of reaching the Cool Springs Overlook. The arrival at the Cool Springs Overlook AS is then the completion of one lap/loop.
The crew accessible aid stations will be at Lakeside, Cool Springs Overlook, and the Start/Finish at Shelter 4.
100M course: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1081487
100k course: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1077933
50k course: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1077489
6hr/12hr loop https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1067421
Official Results
The official results are maintained on HardAssEvents.info [HAE]. The course changed in 2014, so the official results (course records and such) are applied separately for the 2011 course and the 2014-2015 course. The post-2014 courses are much tougher so the Ultrasignup listings (to the right) show mostly 2012/13 performances. These are not the proper benchmarks for course records going forward, so politely ignore them.
Event's current local time: 3:42 AM ET
