Virginia Trail Running Festival — 2026 — Course Map, Elevation Profile & Aid Stations

Course map, elevation profile & surface

Distance

98.8mi

Elev gain

3,871ft

Elev loss

3,868ft

High point

2,336ft

Low point

1,844ft

Surface

76% gravel

Drawing the course…

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

Race-day light

In the dark

38%

Sunrise

7:27am

Sunset

6:55pm

Headlamp from

61mi

For a 20:00 finish (an estimate) · starting 7:00 AM Oct 10 · dark at the start until mi 0.0 · headlamp mi 61–the finish. Dark means the sun below civil twilight.

Climbs

1 climb · 207 ft totalbiggest first

Pick a climb to find it on the profile and the map.

Elevation gain, measured two ways

Source	Gain	vs lidar
Course file (GPX)	3,871ft	+78%
USGS lidar, 1 m	2,169ft	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 23, 2026. The planner still uses the course file.

Aid stations as published on the course file

Aid station	Mile	km
Start / Finish / Aid	0.0	0.0
A Mile 96 turn around	3.9	6.3
A Danger Road Crossing	3.9	6.3
A Jubilee Park AS	7.8	12.6
A Danger Road Crossing	18.5	29.8
A Fries AS	20.4	32.8
A Junction water drop 1 bottle filled per runner	25.9	41.6
A Gambetta AS / Danger road crossing	28.4	45.6
A Approximate 50 mile ONLY turn around 100 miles do not turn around here	30.4	48.9
A Danger Road Crossing	31.4	50.6
A Depot Rd water drop	60.7	97.7
A Danger Road Crossing	65.7	105.7
A Hiawassee AS	67.2	108.2
A Danger Road crossing!	67.9	109.3
A Draper AS	72.3	116.3

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 Virginia Trail Running Festival — 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 Oct 10 at the start

Typical high

70°F

Typical low

50°F

Chance of rain

31%

2025 high

60°F

Typical = the median of 2016–2025 for Oct 10 ±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 60°F at the start, with a low of 52°.

Year	Start °F	Rain	Wind
2026 Oct 10	60°/52°	0.43in	15mph

Next race day Sat, Oct 9, 2027 · 7:00 AM start

First lightsunrise 7:26 am

7:00am

Last lightsunset 6:57 pm

7:23pm

Moonwaxing gibbous, up until 2:38 am

74% 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

Virginia Trail Running Festival — 2026 covers 98.8 mi (158.9 km) with 3,871 ft of elevation gain through Virginia, United States. That is about 39 ft per mile of climbing, and 3,868 ft of descent. The course tops out at 2,336 ft and bottoms out at 1,844 ft. The surface is 76% gravel and 24% paved. There are 14 aid stations on course; the longest stretch between aid is 29.2 mi. The profile has 1 sustained climb; the only one is the climb to Junction water drop 1 bottle filled per runner, +207 ft over 0.4 mi at 10.7% on average (steepest stretch 11%). Race day is October 10, 2026, starting at 7:00 AM; the sun rises at 7:27 AM and sets at 6:55 PM. Typical race-day weather at the start: a high of 70°F and a low of 50°F, with a 31% 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.

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