GrindStone 100

The start/finish area of the annual Grindstone 100, is at Camp Shenandoah, a Boy Scouts of America camp. Camp Shenandoah was first established in 1930 near McGaheysville, Virginia and moved to its present site near Swoope, Virginia in 1950. With expansions in 1999, the camp property is now 454 acres (1.84 km2) located on the eastern slope of Little North Mountain. The west side of the camp borders on the George Washington National Forest and north, east and south sides bordering on agricultural areas of Swoope. A hunter access road runs through the camp. Three creeks run through the camp, supplying the small man-made Hope Lake. The camp property lies in a magnificent setting with the Blue Ridge Mountains as a backdrop, a small lake with campfire amphitheatre, and a large rustic dining hall, creating a hospitable and beautiful atmosphere for this event.

This out-n-back course ascends and descends Little North Mtn before climbing over 2400ft in 4 miles to the summit of Elliot Knob. The course then proceeds north following the ridgeline of Great North Mtn crossing over to and following the Wild Oak National Recreation Trail before continuing north to the summit of Reddish Knob. Runners continue north past Briery Branch Gap to Gnashing Knob before retracing their steps (without summiting Elliott & Reddish) back along the course to Camp Shenandoah.

Grit, endurance, temporary loss of sanity. You might need all of these if you want to attempt Grindstone. If you want to finish, well, just keep in mind this is, without a doubt, the hardest 100 miler east of the 100th meridian. From the beautiful start/finish location at Camp Shenandoah to the monster climbs and the solitude of single track ridge running, you just can’t beat Grindstone.