South Mountains Marathons

General Info

Brought to you by Tanawha Adventures, the South Mountains Marathons are a collection of trail races which are held in the beautiful South Mountains State Park in North Carolina. Hope you are psyched for chilly weather, steep trails, gorgeous views, and a few creek crossings! Due to lingering damage to the park, some trails remain closed, but we are happy to bring you an incredibly scenic mountain race with multiple new overlooks never seen before in the half marathon. Our longer distances are on pause this year as access to our backcountry aid station is inaccessible for the time being. We hope to bring back the 50k and marathon in 2027! Come enjoy testing your abilities on these prime running trails in this pristine mountain range. There will be times that your head will be between your knees on the climbs, times when your quads will feel like they are going to bust through your skin, and times when your feet will feel like ice cubes. With all kidding aside, the trails are very runnable, but challenging. We consider this an excellent entry level mountain trail race if you are seeking a little more climbing (well a lot more actually) than the local park trails in your neighborhood. The half marathon includes approximately 2,600 ft in elevation gain. It will be challenging, but these are highly runnable trails! If the race needs to be postponed due to inclement weather (significant ice/snow), the race will be held on January 24th. If roads look to be mostly clear to drive to the course, the race will be one as normally scheduled.

Half Specifics

Distance: 12.9 Miles Elevation Gain: ~ 2,600 feet Time Limit: 4.5 hours Miles of Trail: ~ 12.4 miles Miles of Pavement: ~ 0.5 miles Number of Creek Crossings: 2 joyous splashes!!! Number of Aid Stations: 1 (one full)

Our Mission

Our mission for putting on this race is three fold. First, we want to show off this jewel of a park located in Western North Carolina and how great the trails are for running. Secondly, we want to support the Foothills Conservancy in their mission to protect the South Mountains, the Blue Ridge Escarpment, and other lands in the Western Piedmont. Through the help of the Foothills Conservancy, the South Mountains are one of the most well protected mountain ranges in the country. Lastly, we want to provide the best race experience for you that we can. We've designed a top notch, beautiful course that is challenging but doable even for the lesser experienced trail runners, and provide excellent aid station support throughout the run, so you can keep your mind on the trail and the majestic views around you, not your water bottle.

Refund Policy

Refunds of 75% of entry fee (does not include taxes and fees) will be granted up to October 15th. A refund of 50% of entry fee (does not include taxes and fees) will be granted up until December 15th. After this time, no refunds will be given. We do not allow transfers or deferments in any case at any time. If the race needs to be canceled for any reason (unforeseen acts of nature or COVID), the race will be run virtually "Tanawha style" (aka on the actual course, not anywhere) if rescheduled dates of January 25th/26th are a no go as well. Please plan your calendar accordingly. No refunds, transfers, or deferrals will be given in the case of race moving to virtual.