Fiery Gizzard Run

THA GIZZ

Fiery Gizzard Trail Run Saturday, November 28, 2026 Foster Falls · South Cumberland, Tennessee Marathon · Half Marathon · 13 Mile Ruck Field capped at 175 by the park Instagram · Facebook · hardwinadventures.com

Layout

The Race Grundy Forest To Foster Falls In 1873 they built an experimental furnace at Tracy City that ran so hot it wrecked itself in three days. They called it the Fiery Gizzard. The trail kept the name, and the temperament. The Fiery Gizzard Run covers the full trail from Grundy Forest to Foster Falls, which Backpacker Magazine has ranked among the top 25 hiking trails in the country. Waterfalls, house sized boulders, two hundred year old hemlocks, and sweeping ridgeline overlooks, stitched together by steep, technical drops into the gorges and back out. The rhythm is what gets people. Long stretches of fast plateau running, then the bottom falls out. The descents are rocky, rooty, and steep, every one of them has a climb waiting on the other side, and runnable up top does not mean easy overall. Half marathoners traverse the trail once. Marathoners run it both directions and earn roughly 7,000 feet of gain. Thanksgiving weekend, every year. Bring the family and bring the dog. Leashed dogs are welcome on course. The Fiery Gizzard Trail Grundy Forest to Foster Falls, South Cumberland State Park

Distances

Three Ways To Run It Distances Distance Start Format Entry Marathon 8:00 AM Foster Falls to Grundy and back. The whole trail, twice. About 7,000 feet of gain. $100.25 Half Marathon 9:30 AM One full traverse, Grundy to Foster Falls. Slightly over 13.1 on the new trail. $89.62 13 Mile Ruck 9:30 AM HardRuck division on the same traverse. Weigh in 30 minutes before start. $89.62 Pricing includes fees as listed and can change. Shirts are a separate purchase with an order deadline posted on UltraSignup. Race proceeds help maintain the park.

Course and Cutoffs

The Course Plateau Up Top, Gorges Below The trail runs the rim of the Cumberland Plateau between Grundy Forest and Foster Falls. Up top it is fast and runnable. Then it dives: Fruit Bowl boulders the size of houses, the Blue Hole, Sycamore Falls, Black Canyon, and the stone staircase descents the CCC cut in the 1930s. What goes down climbs back out. The marquee overlook is Raven's Point, with the whole gorge laid out below. Aid stations sit 6 to 8 miles apart because there are only so many places a vehicle can reach this trail. Carry your own water and calories between them. Stations carry Spring Energy gels, water, electrolytes and snacks, and the race is cupless. Timing chips ride on your left ankle. Basic first aid and sweepers only, so self sufficiency is part of the deal. Cutoffs 1:30 PM · Raven's Point Marathoners must pass to continue. 5:00 PM · Foster Falls Race ends. Everyone off trail. Half Marathon Check In Two options. Check in at Foster Falls before 8:00 AM and drive to Grundy Forest, or check in directly at Grundy at 8:30. The half and the ruck start there at 9:30 and run home to Foster Falls.

Course Records: Marathon

Every Distance Course Records Marathon Men 1 Chris Carter 4:00:38 2015 2 Wilton Norris 4:02:09 2022 3 William Sickenberger 4:05:23 2023 Women 1 Malinda Honkus 4:58:36 2014 2 Cassidy Gupton 5:06:45 2018 3 Eunice Campbell 5:11:38 2014

Course Records

Half Marathon Men 1 Kevin Mills 1:56:57 2018 2 Hunter Hall 1:57:47 2016 3 Dan Rose 1:59:54 2021 Women 1 Maude Ariosa 2:27:19 2022 2 Taralynn Mack 2:27:26 2023 3 Megan Scheumann 2:28:23 2021

HARDRUCK Division

HardRuck Division HardRuck Info 20 lb over 150 lb bodyweight ·  10 lb under 150 lb Dry weight, clearly stamped. Steel plate, vest blocks, bumper plates. Weigh in 30 minutes before the start, the weight stays on the whole way, and random checks happen on course.

Images

Scramble · Descend · Cross · Keep Moving

Awards and Logistics

Awards Custom HardWin finisher award for everyone who gets it done Top male and female in both distances Shirts are a separate purchase if desired Good To Know Leashed dogs welcome on course Late November on the plateau. Freezing starts are normal, and the gorges hold cold air and spray. Layers, and something dry for the finish Remote trail. Any rescue costs are the runner's responsibility Race proceeds help maintain the park

The Fire

Since 2014 Volunteers, cold mornings, familiar faces Bonus Miles Why It Is Called That Nobody knows for certain, and every version is good. The documented one: in 1873 the Tennessee Coal and Railroad Company built an experimental blast furnace at Tracy City to test whether local coal could make iron. It ran so violently hot that men nicknamed it the Fiery Gizzard. It burned for three days, produced about fifteen tons of iron, and then its stack collapsed. The furnace failed. The name stuck to the creek, the gorge, and the trail. The legends are more fun. One says Davy Crockett, camped in the gorge, burned his tongue on a turkey gizzard straight off the fire and spat it into the creek. Another says a Native chief threw a turkey gizzard into the flames at a peace council to command the attention of European settlers. What is not legend: the gorge holds hemlocks over two hundred years old, and the stone steps near the Fruit Bowl were cut by Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1475 in the 1930s. Blue Hole, Sycamore Falls, Chimney Rock, Black Canyon, Raven's Point. Results here go back to 2014. This race was not invented, it was refined, one cold November at a time.

Give Back and Closer

A portion of proceeds supports the park and this trail Come Join Us At The Gizz Thanksgiving Saturday, November 28, 2026. 175 spots, set by the park. Instagram · Facebook · hardwinadventures.com Presented by HardWin Adventures · South Cumberland, Tennessee