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Ultras · US · VA

Bel Monte Endurance Races

50 Miler · 49.5 miles
Registration open
Registration is open. Entry is limited to 300 across all three races.
Race dateMarch 20, 2027
Start5:30am
Whenin 147 days

Who's going to Bel Monte Endurance Races?

I'm running itPlan your weeks and your aid station times I'm crewingWhen to leave, where to park, at every stop I'm pacing or cheeringAsk your runner for their Out Here link

Free. You can start with nothing.

Official website Entry Aid stations Crew access Notify me if this race changes
Free, and always will be. NavRun makes money from race-day planning for runners who want it, never from this. Ultras change constantly, sometimes the morning of. Always confirm with the race director and the official website before you rely on anything here.
Distance
49.5 miles
Climb
8,600 ft
Descent The race
8,600 ft
High point
not checked yet
Time limit The race
14:00:00
Aid stations
11
Started
not checked yet
Finished
not checked yet
Finish rate
not checked yet
The course

Where it goes · 11 aid stations · rust marks a stop your crew can reach

Course line from the race's own GPX. Source file. Recorded 2026.

The 50 mile course starts and finishes at Sun Retreats Shenandoah Valley in the George Washington National Forest. It climbs Kennedy Ridge to Stony Run and back, then runs Coal Road to Mills Creek, up to Slacks Overlook and White Rock Falls on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and retraces its steps to the finish. The longest climb is 6 miles, from the Stony Run aid station to the Kennedy trail.

85% single track and double track trails, 13% gravel road and 2% pavement. Some trail sections are steep and technical. If the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed for snow or ice, race management runs a snow course and announces it race week.

The race

What this one is

Three trail races, a 50 miler, 50K and 25K, in the George Washington National Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, held in March. The races start and finish at Sun Retreats Shenandoah Valley in Stuarts Draft and run mostly on single track and double track, with gravel roads and a section on the Blue Ridge Parkway. All three are UTMB Index races.

Getting in

Getting in Entry, lottery and what the race asks of you before race day.

Lottery
not checked yet
Lottery opens
not checked yet
Lottery draw
not checked yet
Field cap
300 belmonteraces.com
Registration
UltraSignup ultrasignup.com
Qualifying
not checked yet
Minimum age
not checked yet
Transfers
No belmonteraces.com
Deferrals
No belmonteraces.com
Crew access, pacers and drop bags

The rules that shape your day Anything marked "not checked yet" is a gap in what we hold, never a no from the race.

Crew allowed
Yes belmonteraces.com
Vehicles per runner
not checked yet
Pacers
Yes belmonteraces.com
Muling
Not allowed belmonteraces.com
Drop bags
Yes belmonteraces.com
Cupless
not checked yet
Course marking
not checked yet
Night running
not checked yet
Dogs
not checked yet
Headphones
not checked yet
Crew rules
Crews can only be met at the locations listed on the aid stations and crew directions pages. Dogs are allowed to crew with you but must be kept on a leash at all times. Always park off any roadways and do not block the roads. On the Blue Ridge Parkway all four wheels must be off the pavement. belmonteraces.com
Pacer rules
Pacers must sign the race waiver. Pacers can run behind or in front of their runner and are picked up at the locations marked for pacers on the aid station chart. Pacers may not carry items for their runners. belmonteraces.com
Drop bag rules
Drop bags should be no larger than a small backpack. Label each with the aid station name, your bib number and your name. Drop bags are not shipped. Drop bags return to the finish after the aid station closes late in the day, and you may drive to the aid station to retrieve your bag. belmonteraces.com
Cutoff philosophy
Cutoffs are strictly enforced with no exceptions. Continuing on the course beyond a cutoff without a bib is not allowed under any circumstance. belmonteraces.com
Aid stations

Every stop, and what you get there ● yes   ○ no   ? nobody has checked   – does not apply to this race

Mile Station Cutoff Crew access Bag Pacer Med To next
0.00 Sun Retreats Start
1,535 ft · Signal wrong?
 ? ? ? ? ? 2.40
2.40 Kennedy Trail
1,877 ft · Signal wrong?
 6:10am ● ○ ○ ? 9.10
11.50 Stony Run Trail
1,980 ft · Signal wrong?
 8:43am ● ○ ○ ? 9.10
20.60 Kennedy Trail
1,877 ft · Signal wrong?
 11:16am ● ● ○ ? 3.90
24.50 Mills Creek Reservoir
1,621 ft · Signal wrong?
 12:21pm ● ○ ● ? 7.30
31.80 Camp Marty - Slacks Overlook
2,762 ft · Signal wrong?
 2:24pm ● ● ● ? ?
? White Rock Falls
NoneSignal wrong?
 ? ● ○ ○ ? ?
35.80 Camp Marty - Slacks Overlook
2,762 ft · Signal wrong?
 3:31pm ● ● ● ? 7.30
43.10 Mills Creek Reservoir
1,621 ft · Signal wrong?
 5:34pm ● ○ ● ? 3.90
47.00 Kennedy Trail
1,877 ft · Signal wrong?
 6:39pm ● ● ○ ? 2.40
49.40 Sun Retreats Finish
1,535 ft · Signal wrong?
 7:30pm ? ? ? ? ?
Driving your crew

Getting your people there 9 stops with directions the race published.

Kennedy Trail mile 2.40 cutoff 6:10am

Make a left out of Sun Retreats onto Lake Road, toward the mountains. Follow Lake Road (Rt 660) for about 1.7 miles to Coal Road and make a left onto Coal Road (gravel). After about 0.6 miles the Kennedy aid station is on your right. Park off the roadway and do not block Coal Road.

belmonteraces.com
Stony Run Trail mile 11.50 cutoff 8:43am

From Kennedy, turn around and drive back on Coal Road the way you came for 3 miles. At the intersection with Lake Road (Rt 660) stay straight on Coal Road. The aid station is on your left. Park off the roadway and do not block Coal Road.

belmonteraces.com
Kennedy Trail mile 20.60 cutoff 11:16am

From Stony Run, turn around and drive back on Coal Road the way you came for 3 miles. At the intersection with Lake Road (Rt 660) stay straight on Coal Road. The Kennedy aid station is on your left. Park off the roadway and do not block Coal Road.

belmonteraces.com
Mills Creek Reservoir mile 24.50 cutoff 12:21pm

From Kennedy, continue straight on Coal Road away from the start, northbound toward Sherando. Stay on Coal Road for 2.5 miles to the gate to the Mills Creek Reservoir Dam on the right. You can meet your runner at the gate or anywhere along the Mills Creek Reservoir road, a narrow double track gravel road that leads to the dam aid station, or walk the 1.4 miles from the gate to the aid station. Park off the roadway and do not block Coal Road.

belmonteraces.com
Camp Marty - Slacks Overlook mile 31.80 cutoff 2:24pm

From Mills Creek, continue on Coal Road toward Route 664 and the town of Sherando, about 1.5 miles, then turn right on Route 664 and stay on it for 3.2 miles. After Sherando Lake stay straight on Route 814. At the Blue Ridge Parkway turn right, southbound, and drive to milepost 19.9. The Slacks Overlook is on your right. If the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed because of weather, the Slacks Overlook is not reachable by crews. Do not block the Blue Ridge Parkway: park only in designated areas, and if you must park on grass keep all 4 wheels off the Parkway.

belmonteraces.com
White Rock Falls

From the Slacks Overlook, turn around and drive northbound on the Blue Ridge Parkway for 1.5 miles. The White Rock Falls parking lot is on your left. There is no aid here. Do not block the Blue Ridge Parkway: park only in designated areas, and keep all 4 wheels off the Parkway.

belmonteraces.com
Camp Marty - Slacks Overlook mile 35.80 cutoff 3:31pm

From the White Rock Falls parking lot, turn around and drive southbound on the Blue Ridge Parkway for 1.5 miles to milepost 19.9. The Slacks Overlook parking lot is on your right. Do not block the Blue Ridge Parkway: park only in designated areas, and keep all 4 wheels off the Parkway.

belmonteraces.com
Mills Creek Reservoir mile 43.10 cutoff 5:34pm

From Slacks, drive northbound on the Blue Ridge Parkway back to Rt 814 and turn left (downhill). After about 4 miles go straight onto Route 664 to Sherando. After about 3 miles turn left onto Coal Road right after the store and gas station. After about 1.5 miles the Mills Creek Dam road gate is on your left. You can crew from the gate or along the Mills Creek Dam road, or walk the 1.4 miles from the gate to the aid station. Park off the roadway and do not block Coal Road.

belmonteraces.com
Kennedy Trail mile 47.00 cutoff 6:39pm

From Mills Creek, turn left on Coal Road heading south, away from where you came. After about 4 miles the Kennedy aid station is on your left. This stop is only 2.3 miles from the finish. Park off the roadway and do not block Coal Road.

belmonteraces.com
Same race, other lines

Other distances and other years

What it looks like out there

Somebody has been out there with a camera the tables say the climb is long. these say what long feels like.

3 people have been out there with a camera or a microphone.

Official channel

Bad to the Bone Media YouTube

Official channel
Social account

belmonteendurance

Social account
Social account

Bel Monte Endurance Races

Social account
All (3) Official channel (1) Social account (2)

These are other people's work and we link straight to them. Watching costs nothing and needs no account. More of them: every race we hold, on film.

Add to this page

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Somebody watches it before it goes anywhere near this page. What we are after is footage of this course, on the ground. If it would be just as true of any other race, it is not this.

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We want the address of the file the race publishes, not the file. We download it from there so the page can say where the line came from.

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Are you the race director? Get in touch and we'll make it right.

We read every one of these and we write back. Every fact here carries the source it came from, and the way a wrong one gets fixed is a person checking it against what you tell us.

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Tell us what is wrong, out of date, or missing on this page. We read every one of these and we will get back to you.

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Where this came from. Every fact on this page records its source and when we last checked it: 161 sources for this race. Hover a source link to read the sentence it came from.
36% of what we track for a course is filled in. The rest says "not checked yet" rather than guessing.
See something wrong or out of date? Suggest an edit
Ran this race? Tell the next runner what you know
Were you out there? Say which stops a text got out from
Got footage of this course? Send us the link
Are you the race director? Get in touch and we'll make it right.
Anything else: [email protected]

Ultras change. We will tell you when this one does.

Cutoffs move, races get postponed, lotteries open and close. We read the race's own sources and record where every fact came from. Put your email in and we will send you what changed, and where we read it.

No account, and nothing to cancel.

What happens to your email. Nothing else. I do not sell it, and I will not send you anything except this race changing. One click gets you out.

I keep this catalog because the information is scattered and hard to trust. Telling you when it moves is the same job.

Ultras change. We will tell you when this one does.

Cutoffs move, races get postponed, lotteries open and close. We read the race's own sources and record where every fact came from. Put your email in and we will send you what changed, and where we read it.

No account, and nothing to cancel.

What happens to your email. Nothing else. I do not sell it, and I will not send you anything except this race changing. One click gets you out.

I keep this catalog because the information is scattered and hard to trust. Telling you when it moves is the same job.