Virginia Trail Running Festival 50 Miler — 2026 — Course Map, Elevation Profile & Aid Stations

Course map, elevation profile & surface

Distance

49.9mi

Elev gain

1,354ft

Elev loss

1,354ft

High point

2,244ft

Low point

1,926ft

Surface

84% 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

Sunrise

7:27am

Sunset

6:55pm

Headlamp from

The start

For a 10:05 finish (an estimate) · starting 7:00 AM Oct 10 · dark at the start until mi 0.0. Dark means the sun below civil twilight.

Elevation gain, measured two ways

Source	Gain	vs lidar
Course file (GPX)	1,354ft	+31%
USGS lidar, 1 m	1,034ft	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 24, 2026. The planner still uses the course file.

Aid stations as published on the course file

Aid station	Mile	km
Start / Finish / Aid Station	0.0	0.0
A Jubilee Park	7.6	12.3
A Junction water drop	14.8	23.9
A Fries	20.2	32.6

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 50 Miler — 2026 has checked this course yet — it’s built from what the race published. Ask them to:Email your race director

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Conditions typical race-day weather for Oct 10 at the start

Typical high

70°F

Typical low

51°F

Chance of rain

31%

2025 high

61°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

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About this course

Virginia Trail Running Festival 50 Miler — 2026 covers 49.9 mi (80.3 km) with 1,354 ft of elevation gain through Virginia, United States. That is about 27 ft per mile of climbing, and 1,354 ft of descent. The course tops out at 2,244 ft and bottoms out at 1,926 ft. The surface is 84% gravel and 16% paved. There are 3 aid stations on course; the longest stretch between aid is 29.7 mi. 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 51°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.

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