Hellbender 100 Mile

Race - May 16, 2023

Dogs No Dogs

Features River/Creek · Views

The Hellbender Hundred is one of the most challenging hundred milers on the East Coast. Brought to you by a conglomerate of experienced race directors, the course will take you through a grueling tour of the massive Black Mountains, the highest mountains east of the Mississippi, on some of the most challenging trails in all of western North Carolina. With an elevation change of ~43,000+ ft along this extremely beautiful route, you'll not want to miss this premiere, graduate-level hundred through the heart of the Southern Appalachians.

See race website and participant guide for all race and crew information.

The Hellbender Hundred begins at the picturesque Camp Grier in Old Fort, NC. From there, the route will take you over some of the highest mountains on the East Coast and deep into the valleys below, passing by gorgeous vistas, thundering creeks, and majestic forest.

The start and finish of the course is at 1,500 ft and the high-point of the course is 6,500 ft in the beautiful Black Mountains! The climbs are huge with five ascents and descents of 3,000 ft or more. Altogether, the course has over 21,000+ ft of elevation gain and ~21,000+ ft of descent. The terrain is classic East Coast, which is a mix of soft dirt and extremely technical rocks and roots.

The course consist of 71 miles of trail, 30 miles of gravel, and 1 miles of pavement. Most of the gravel is on the back end of the course when you'll be running through the dark. This is a classic mountain course in the heart of Appalachia!

The 2023 Hellbender is a UTMB qualifying event with 6 points for finishers.

You may see black bear, whitetail deer, and bobcat on the trails. Forest consist of various eastern hardwoods and hemlocks.

Much of this event will be run in the first National Forest Service tract of land established in 1911. The tract is 8,100 acres and you'll see some of the largest remaining old growth trees in the area.