Black Copperhead Sting 50k — 2026 — Course Map, Elevation Profile & Aid Stations

Course map, elevation profile & surface

Distance

31.7mi

Elev gain

1,020ft

Elev loss

1,024ft

High point

696ft

Low point

614ft

Drawing the course…

The course file didn’t load.Usually a hiccup. The stats above are still right.

Race-day light

In the dark

Sunrise

6:45am

Sunset

8:15pm

Headlamp from

Not needed

For a 6:25 finish (an estimate) · starting 7:00 AM Aug 15. Dark means the sun below civil twilight.

Elevation gain, measured two ways

Source	Gain	vs lidar
Course file (GPX)	1,020ft	-47%
USGS lidar, 1 m	1,939ft	reference

They differ because a GPS file picks up noise on every wiggle and often takes its heights from a coarse terrain model, while lidar maps the ground itself to about a metre. We sampled this route every 98 ft against USGS 3DEP and counted each rise of 10 ft or more, on Oct 30, 2026. The planner still uses the course file.

Aid stations as published on the course file

Aid station	Mile	km
Start/Finishline (lap 1)	0.0	0.0
A Start/Finishline (lap 2)	3.5	5.7
A Start/Finishline (lap 3)	7.0	11.3
A Start/Finishline (lap 4)	10.6	17.0
A Start/Finishline (lap 5)	14.1	22.7
A Start/Finishline (lap 6)	17.6	28.3
A Start/Finishline (lap 7)	21.1	34.0
A Start/Finishline (lap 8)	24.6	39.6
A Start/Finishline (lap 9)	28.2	45.3

Badge colours match the markers on the map above — always confirm locations and cutoffs with the race organizer.

Race director? Check this course and correct anything that’s off, and it carries a ✓ verified by the race badge everywhere it appears, including the free map embed for your own site. Claim your course.

Nobody from Black Copperhead Sting 50k — 2026 has checked this course yet — it’s built from what the race published. Ask them to:Email your race director

Ran this course and something’s off — an aid station moved, a reroute, a wrong number? Report it and we’ll chase it down; fixes land for every runner (and count toward the race’s verified badge).

Conditions typical race-day weather for Aug 15 at the start

Typical high

88°F

Typical low

72°F

Chance of rain

53%

2025 high

88°F

Typical = the median of 2016–2025 for Aug 15 ±3 days at the start line; a wet day has 1 mm of rain or more. Historical weather from Open-Meteo.

Race almanac 1 year of this race

Past editions

On race day it reached 96°F at the start, with a low of 75°.

Year	Start °F	Rain	Wind	Heat index
2026 Aug 15	96°/75°	0.29in	9mph	106°

Next race day Sat, Aug 14, 2027 · 7:00 AM start

First lightsunrise 6:44 am

6:17am

Last lightsunset 8:16 pm

8:43pm

Moonwaxing gibbous, up until 5:02 am

96% lit

First and last light are civil twilight, the sun 6° below the horizon. The moon is lit as at midnight after the start; headlamp hours count a typical finish from the start while the sun is below civil twilight. Worked out for the start line.

race-day weather from the Open-Meteo historical archive (ERA5) at the start line.

Reviews what runners who have been there say

No reviews yet — be the first to run it and tell other runners what to expect.

About this course

Black Copperhead Sting 50k — 2026 covers 31.7 mi (51.0 km) with 1,020 ft of elevation gain. That is about 32 ft per mile of climbing, and 1,024 ft of descent. The course tops out at 696 ft and bottoms out at 614 ft. There are 8 aid stations on course; the longest stretch between aid is 3.5 mi. Race day is August 15, 2026, starting at 7:00 AM; the sun rises at 6:45 AM and sets at 8:15 PM. Typical race-day weather at the start: a high of 88°F and a low of 72°F, with a 53% chance of a wet day. The interactive map above shows the full route with its elevation profile and aid stations, built from the course's GPS file.

Load the course in the TrailGoat Run Planner for grade-adjusted pacing, climb-by-climb splits, hourly weather and a full hydration & fueling plan — free, no account needed.

Race director? — one line of HTML, always up to date.