Highest run in the east returns to Black Mountain

Hundreds of athletes to compete in Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain marathon

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 21, 2023

Hundreds of runners will descend on downtown Black Mountain, Feb. 25, as the Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain Marathon return for their 26th year. Photo by Fred McCormick

Hundreds of runners will fill the streets of downtown Black Mountain, at 7 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 25, when a pair of tough endurance races return for their 26th year. Many of those athletes will be looking to return to the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.

The Mount Mitchell Challenge — a 40-mile ultramarathon that begins on Cherry Street and reaches the top of the mountain from which it takes its name — includes a 2,000-foot elevation gain within the first 20 miles, before finishing at Lake Tomahawk. The event, which attracts ultramarathon runners from around the world, runs concurrently with the Black Mountain Marathon, a 26.2-mile jaunt to the Black Mountain Gap overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, concluding at the lake.

More than 300 runners competed in the race last year, as conditions prevented them from reaching the peak of the mountain for only the second time in the race’s history. While the event was canceled in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, high wind and snow also kept it from the summit in 2020.

With above-average temperatures leading to below average snowfall on Mount Mitchell this winter, competitors will likely scramble to the top of the 6,684-foot peak for the first time in four years.

One of more than 300 runners in the 2022 Black Mountain Marathon enters the final stretch of the race, along the Flat Creek Greenway. Photo by Fred McCormick

All runners sign up to compete in the Black Mountain Marathon, but the first 250 to reach the parkway turnaround before 10 a.m. will be eligible to join the Challenge.

Both races are assisted by multiple aid stations along the route, which takes runners north, through Montreat and into the trails above.

The event was founded by Wendell Begley and Trent Thomas, who designed it to give trail runners of varying abilities an opportunity to test their skills on a technically challenging course.

Only two runners in the history of the Challenge have completed the race in under three hours, with Morgan Elliott posting a record 2:49.03 in 2016, when he was followed closely by the 2:56.09 of Gabe McGowan.

Locals can watch the race as it leaves town at dawn, or cheer runners on the Flat Creek Greenway as they enter the final miles. All participants finish with a lap around Lake Tomahawk, where awards will be presented to the winners.