When the mountains call, these runners answer
The Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain Marathon brings tough athletes to town
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 20, 2024
More than 300 runners trot up Cherry Street at dawn to compete in the 2023 Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain Marathon. The event, which features a 40-mile ultramarathon, will return for its 27th year, Feb. 24. Photo by Fred McCormick
One can glance in any direction from the Swannanoa Valley and be reminded of John Muir’s words in an 1873 letter to his sister. The native of Scotland who became America’s “father of the national parks” famously wrote: “The mountains are calling and I must go…”
When it comes to majestic peaks, none east of the Mississippi River stand taller than the 6,684-foot pinnacle of Mount Mitchell, which towers above the Pisgah National Forest just north of Black Mountain. The location has beckoned the adventurous for centuries, and hundreds will answer at dawn, Saturday, Feb. 24, when they gather in the center of downtown to test their endurance in a 40-mile ultramarathon that features a 4,324-foot elevation gain on the trails high above the valley below.
The Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain Marathon began in the winter of 1998 in an effort to feature the state park in a unique annual event. The race is a modern connection between the town and the mountain range and peak from which the event borrows its names.
Long before the Blue Ridge Parkway opened in the early 20th century, the Black Mountains brought visitors to the Swannanoa Valley, which served as an outpost for expeditions to the range north of town. By 1915, when Mount Mitchell was established as the first state park in the southeast U.S., access to the attraction came by way of the Old Toll Road on the outskirts of the Town of Black Mountain.
While the Parkway brings around 400,000 visitors a year to Mount Mitchell State Park today, the Challenge and Marathon offer dedicated ultramarathon runners a scenic and grueling route to the summit every February.
The final stretch of the Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain Marathon takes runners along the Flat Creek Greenway. Photo by Fred McCormick
The energy around the Old Depot on Sutton Avenue before the sun comes up on the day of the race is difficult to describe but easy to feel. As around 300 runners gather at the southern end of Cherry Street, excitement, anxiety and determination blend to create a unique atmosphere, while much of the Swannanoa Valley rests comfortably in bed.
At 7 a.m., a wave of athletes begin their run up Cherry Street to Montreat Road, where they stride through the arched stone gate before making their way north to Lookout Road. All runners traverse the Sourwood Gap, on the outskirts of Montreat, before heading north to Pot Cove, where they approach an elevation over 5,000 feet.
The first 250 athletes to reach the Blue Ridge Parkway near Bald Knob before the 10 a.m. cutoff may proceed on the 40-mile Mount Mitchell Challenge, while Black Mountain Marathon competitors turn around and begin their descent to the finish line at Lake Tomahawk.
The Challenge course continues up Buncombe Horse Trail to Commissary Ridge, approaching a 1.5-mile trek up the Old Toll Road to the top of Mount Mitchell. While it may seem counterintuitive to the uninitiated, the trip down the mountain through Steppes Gap can prove more strenuous than the ascent.
Personally, I have spent many cold winter mornings photographing these athletes at various points along the course. The pre-race jitters they may experience downtown, at 2,375 feet of elevation, transform into fierce determination somewhere along the way to the peak of Mount Mitchell.
Competitors in the Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain Marathon, which return to town, Feb. 24, test their endurance on a course that includes over 4,000 feet of elevation gain. Photo by Fred McCormick
Watching them is awe-inspiring.
People come from all over the country, and sometimes the world, to compete in these races, and it’s not uncommon to see runners return from the mountain trails with scraped knees, noticeable limps or soaked from rain or snow. However, they all share an incredible sense of accomplishment as they approach the finish line on the paved trails and streets through Montreat and Black Mountain.
Most people will never run from downtown Black Mountain to the top of Mount Mitchell, but cheering these runners on is the next best thing. Early risers can head into downtown and catch the start of the race, while later observers can shout their support for the athletes along Appalachian Way in Montreat or the Flat Creek Greenway in Black Mountain. The final half-mile of both races takes competitors around Lake Tomahawk, where friends and family often greet exhausted athletes at the finish line.
It’s not uncommon to see something extraordinary during this event, which saw two runners — Morgan Elliott and Gabe McGowan — complete the 26-mile marathon in under three hours in 2016. They remain the only athletes to have completed the course before 10 a.m. In 2018, Elliott became the record-holder for the Marathon and the Challenge when he completed the latter in 4:20.48. Last year, Aaron Stabach and Jordan Chang, both of Blacksburg, Virginia, posted the ninth and 10th best times in the race’s history.
You never know what you might witness when the Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain Marathon come to town, but when those mountains call, these are the bold runners who answer with determination and perseverance.