Mount Mitchell Challenge

Join Mount Mitchell Challenge
The Mount Mitchell Challenge is a 40 mile Ultramarathon run in February of each year from the town of Black Mountain, NC to the top of Mt Mitchell, the highest point in the Eastern US, and back down again. This race, intentionally run in Winter to ensure harsh conditions, is regarded as one of the most difficult trail-running races in North America.
Started in 1998 by locals businesses Black Dome Mountain Sports and Black Mountain Savings, the course has seen every type of weather imaginable...rain, ice, snow, sun...and runners keep coming back...several for all of its editions.
Race founders Wendell Begley of Black Mountain Savings and Trent Thomas from Black Dome Mountain Sports saw a need for this kind of event for both the elite athlete and the weekend warrior. Their goal was to design a race that was attainable physically while offering the opportunity to test oneself against the often-uncooperative forces of nature!
Course highlights
The Challenge is this: Begin at dawn in Black Mountain, the quaint "front porch of Western North Carolina", and follow trails to the "rooftop" of Western North Carolina, the 6,684' summit of Mount Mitchell - eastern America's highest point - then return to the start/finish area! With a starting altitude of 2,360', the elevation gain for this 40-mile run will be 4,324' - in the first 20 miles!
Route map
directions_runStart address: Black Mountain, NC 28711, USA
flagFinish address: Black Mountain, NC 28711, USA
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The race information has been found on the official website of the event or through publicly available sources. Always refer to the official website the latest race information. Please let us know if any data is wrong or missing, by emailing us.