Dizzy Fifties South and North Loops

Race - Nov 16, 2019

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · River/Creek · Wildflowers

The Dizzy Fifties is the first ultra marathon in the Huntsville Track Club's grand slam which consists of the Dizzy Fifties, the Rocket City Marathon, the Recover From the Holidays 50K, and the Mountain Mist 50K.

Entrance fee for Monte Sano State Park is three dollars per person. On the day of the race, the entrance fee is included in your race fee.

The South Loop is easy, and the North Loop is hard.

The 50K starts with an extra loop and then three South and North loops. Runners commonly run the South and North Loops to train for this race but not the extra loop which is why it is not a part of this featured run.

The South Loop: From the parking lot on Nolen Drive in Monte Sano State Park, you start on the South Plateau Loop to the Bucca Family Trail which you run the entirety of until it ends at the Fire Tower Trail. From there you stay on the Fire Tower Trail until you reach the intersection with the South Plateau Loop where you take a left and loop all the way back around until you reach the Sinks Trail which is the start of the North Loop.

This is the easier of the two loops that includes a lot of doubletrack, flat grades, and minimal rocks and roots.

The North Loop: From the South Plateau Loop intersection with the Sinks Trail, this loops starts with a steep rocky descent to the Sinks past the Mountain Mist trail, Goat Trail, and Keith Trail where a rock ascent starts at the Stone Cuts intersection to the Logan Point Trail. From here, the ascent continues to Mountain Mist where you take a right toward Cold Springs Trail.

This section still ascends, but the grade is much easier. Once you reach Cold Springs Trail, you take a left and start the most challenging part of the course which finishes with a very rocky and steep climb up to the North Plateau Loop. Once there, you take a right and things get easier as you follow the North Plateau Loop all the way back around to the parking lot where you started.