Course map, elevation profile & surface
Fly the course
Follow the route over 3D terrain, mile by mile.
Race-day light
For a 10:45 finish (an estimate) · starting 7:00 AM Sep 5. Dark means the sun below civil twilight.
Climbs
13 climbs · 6,610 ft totalbiggest firstConditions typical race-day weather for Sep 5 at the start
Typical = the median of 2016–2025 for Sep 5 ±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 83°F at the start, with a low of 71°.
| Year | Start °F | High point °F | Rain | Wind | Heat index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Sep 5 | 83°/71° | 75°/64° | 0.05in | 6mph | 86° |
Next race day Sat, Sep 4, 2027 · 7:00 AM start
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 and the course high point (4,324 ft).
Reviews what runners who have been there say
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About this course
Iron Mountain 50 Miler — 2026 covers 49.8 mi (80.1 km) with 8,338 ft of elevation gain through Virginia, United States. That is about 168 ft per mile of climbing, and 8,335 ft of descent. The course tops out at 4,329 ft and bottoms out at 1,912 ft. The surface is 60% trail, 39% gravel and 2% paved. The profile has 13 sustained climbs; the biggest is the climb from mi 0.2, +1,670 ft over 8.1 mi at 3.9% on average (steepest stretch 19%). Race day is September 5, 2026, starting at 7:00 AM; the sun rises at 7:02 AM and sets at 7:51 PM. Typical race-day weather at the start: a high of 81°F and a low of 61°F, with a 27% 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.
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Course history
- Sep 3, 2026Added to the catalog
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