Lake Martin 100

Lake Martin is located in Tallapoosa, Elmore and Coosa counties in Alabama. It is a 44,000-acre (178 km²) lake with over 750 miles (1,200 km) of wooded shoreline. Lake Martin is a reservoir, formed by the construction of Martin Dam on the Tallapoosa River. The Martin Dam powerhouse is used to generate hydroelectric power for the Alabama Power Company. Construction on Martin Dam began in 1923 and was completed in 1926, creating what was at that time the largest man-made body of water in the world. Originally known as Cherokee Bluffs for the geological formation upon which it was built, the dam was renamed in 1936 in honor of Thomas Martin, the then-president of Alabama Power Company. Alabama Power and Russell Lands own the majority of the shoreline.One of the largest man made lakes in the United States, Lake Martin is a popular recreation area for swimming, boating, water skiing, camping, and golfing and is also the host of the Lake Martin 100 trail race.

The Lake Martin 100 will consist of four 25 mile loops. The course will be about 80% single track trails, 10% carriage paths and 10% gravel roads and trails. Some of the single track trails follow the lake shoreline and the views are beautiful. Lake Martin has some of the clearest water you will ever see in a lake in the Southeast. The trails are all very runnable but not as easy as you would expect for central Alabama. The run will be entirely on the private lands of the Russell Forest Trail System near Alexander City, in East-Central Alabama.