Is crew access allowed on the 50 Mile course?

Yes, crew access is allowed on the 50 Mile course. 1 crew vehicle per runner. Crews should not go sit and wait at aid-station crew-access spots (limited parking); know your runner's approximate arrival time. Do not block roadways or entrances. No access to runners at unauthorized locations. Watch for runners on roadways and at crossings. The park itself charges a $10 per-car entrance fee, cash only, which every crew vehicle pays in addition to the runner's own car -- all races start/finish at the park Visitor Center, reached by driving to the top of the park and not turning off.

Are drop bags allowed on the 50 Mile course?

Yes, drop bags are allowed on the 50 Mile course. Due to the remote nature of the race, drop bags are NOT returned -- do not pack anything of value. Bring drop bags to the start of the race. Spec: 1-gallon Ziploc bag maximum size, labeled with name and bib number. 50 Mile gets exactly one drop bag location: Fox Creek, but only on the SECOND pass through (mile 35.65) -- 'Runners will go through this aid station 2x's but drop bags will not be available until the second time through the aid station at mile 35... we will try to have drop bags to the Fox Creek aid station for your first time through but they may not make it in time for the front runners -- do not count on them being there the first time at mile 15.50.'

Are pacers allowed on the 50 Mile course?

No, pacers are not allowed on the 50 Mile course.

Ultras · US · VA

Grayson Highlands 50 Mile / 50k / 25k

Q: What is the cutoff time for the 50 Mile course?

The overall time limit for the 50 Mile course is 16 hours from the start. All cutoff times are for LEAVING the aid stations, not arriving. 'This is not a hiker friendly course! You can be back of the pack but you MUST do some running to keep on pace to finish under this time.' Cutoffs are not one flat pace for the whole day: 'Cutoffs are not made with ONE pace set for the entire day, but each pace is different and based off the terrain and elevation for each specific segment.'

2026 Grayson Highlands 50 Mile / 50K / 25K

50 Mile · 50.5M

Ran · this year's race is done.

Held as scheduled May 2-3, 2026 (50 Mile and 50K on Saturday, 25K and 8 Mile on Sunday). 50 Mile: 125 finishers of 131 starters. 50K: 259 finishers of 266 starters. 25K: 170 finishers of 175 starters.

Race dateMay 2-3, 2026

Duration2 days

Start5:30am

When130 days ago

First held2015

Official website Results Aid stations 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 50.5M

Climb 7,500 ft

Descent 7,500 ft

High point not checked yet

Time limit 16:00:00

Aid stations 9

Started 131

Finished 125

Finish rate 95%

The course

Where it goes loop · 9 aid stations

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

A 50.5-mile loop starting and finishing at the Grayson Highlands Visitor Center, climbing onto the open highland balds -- treeless summits kept open by a managed herd of wild ponies -- with an out-and-back spur through Skulls Gap in the middle of the course before returning via Seed Orchard and Camp Store. 'This is not a hiker friendly course! You can be back of the pack but you MUST do some running to keep on pace to finish under this time.'

ATRA: 'more single track than you can imagine,' '100% on un-paved trails,' 'VERY rocky/technical sections,' waterfalls, streams, rhododendron tunnels and 100+ year old stone walls. Handbook FAQ ranks this course 'Advanced.' Weather: 'Famously this race and the Grayson Highlands can get insane weather. In spots, especially on the ultras, you are fully exposed on high mountain tops with no trees... High winds of 30-50 mph are common. Whiteout fog, rain and snow have all happened during our race.' Course shape: the middle of the course (Fox Creek mi 15.60 to Skulls Gap mi 25.75 to Little Laurel back to Fox Creek mi 35.65) is effectively an out-and-back spur off the loop;. GPX track measures 50.02 mi against the published/chart total of 50.50 mi.

The race

What this one is

A 50 Mile, 50K and 25K trail race sharing one start/finish at the Grayson Highlands State Park Visitor Center in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, crossing the open, treeless highland balds where a managed herd of wild ponies roams. The course runs over Little Pinnacle / Haw Orchard Mountain at 5,089 feet, described by the American Trail Running Association as the highest race in Virginia, with views of Mount Rogers, the state's highest point.

Run Bum Tours' own registration page calls the 2027 edition the '13th annual Grayson Highlands trail races,' implying a 2015 first year, corroborated by ultrasignup.com's own results archive for this event listing back to 2015. The American Trail Running Association's event page separately states a first year of 2018, a conflict recorded here rather than resolved. The 50K-specific results on UltraSignup go back to 2016 and the 50 Mile distance's results only as far as 2020, consistent with the event having grown its distance lineup over time, though no source states this directly.

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: not checked yet

Registration: UltraSignup ultrasignup.com

Qualifying: not checked yet

Minimum age: 18 runbumtours.com

Transfers: No runbumtours.com

Deferrals: No runbumtours.com

Running, crewing, pacing or still deciding

How NavRun helps with Grayson Highlands 50 Mile / 50k / 25k Sixteen hours, and seven stations with a clock on each.

You are running it

You reach Skulls Gap (Crew Access), mile 25.8, before its 1:10pm cutoff, and you already knew that this morning.

An arrival time for all 7 stations, each next to its cutoff, worked out from your own training.

Start free →

You are deciding

You find out Grayson Highlands 50 Mile / 50k / 25k is months of work away, not years, and you start.

Put in a race you have already run. NavRun shows you where this one sits from where you are.

No account needed →

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 docs.google.com

Vehicles per runner: 1 docs.google.com

Pacers: No docs.google.com

Muling: not checked yet

Drop bags: Yes docs.google.com

Cupless: Yes runbumtours.com

Course marking: Fully Marked docs.google.com

Night running: Yes docs.google.com

Dogs: Not allowed runbumtours.com

Headphones: not checked yet

Crew rules: 1 crew vehicle per runner. Crews should not go sit and wait at aid-station crew-access spots (limited parking); know your runner's approximate arrival time. Do not block roadways or entrances. No access to runners at unauthorized locations. Watch for runners on roadways and at crossings. The park itself charges a $10 per-car entrance fee, cash only, which every crew vehicle pays in addition to the runner's own car -- all races start/finish at the park Visitor Center, reached by driving to the top of the park and not turning off. docs.google.com

Pacer rules: not checked yet

Drop bag rules: Due to the remote nature of the race, drop bags are NOT returned -- do not pack anything of value. Bring drop bags to the start of the race. Spec: 1-gallon Ziploc bag maximum size, labeled with name and bib number. 50 Mile gets exactly one drop bag location: Fox Creek, but only on the SECOND pass through (mile 35.65) -- 'Runners will go through this aid station 2x's but drop bags will not be available until the second time through the aid station at mile 35... we will try to have drop bags to the Fox Creek aid station for your first time through but they may not make it in time for the front runners -- do not count on them being there the first time at mile 15.50.' docs.google.com

Cutoff philosophy: All cutoff times are for LEAVING the aid stations, not arriving. 'This is not a hiker friendly course! You can be back of the pack but you MUST do some running to keep on pace to finish under this time.' Cutoffs are not one flat pace for the whole day: 'Cutoffs are not made with ONE pace set for the entire day, but each pace is different and based off the terrain and elevation for each specific segment.' docs.google.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	Grayson Highlands Visitor Center	?	●	?	·	?	15.60
15.60	Fox Creek	10:10am	●	?	·	?	5.65
21.25	Little Laurel	12:00pm	·	·	·	?	4.50
25.75	Skulls Gap (Crew Access)	1:10pm	●	·	·	?	4.65
30.40	Little Laurel	2:55pm	·	·	·	?	5.25
35.65	Fox Creek	4:45pm	●	●	·	?	6.60
42.25	Seed Orchard	7:15pm	·	·	·	?	6.25
48.50	Camp Store	8:35pm	·	·	·	?	2.00
50.50	Grayson Highlands Visitor Center	9:30pm	●	?	·	?	?

Same race, other lines

Other distances and other years

Other distances: 50K (30M)
25K (25K)

Other years: 2027

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.

Nobody has been out there with a camera or a microphone yet. A gap means nobody has found it, not that it is not out there. Seen a course preview or a film of this one? Send us the link.

Add to this page

What you know every one of these is read by a person before it changes anything

Ran this race? Tell the next runner what you know.

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Which distance? Leave blank if it applies to the whole race.

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Give it a short title: Optional. Something like “Cal Street, mile 62 to 78”.

What do you wish someone had told you? Write it the way you would say it to someone at the start line.

Were you there? Optional, and it decides nothing. It only tells the next runner where this is coming from.

What year? Optional.

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Website: Leave this field blank.

See something wrong or out of date? Suggest an edit.

This changes nothing on the page on its own. Somebody checks it against the race first.

Which detail? Optional. Filled in for you when you start from a specific line on the page.

What does the page say now? Copy it as it appears, so we can find it.

What should it say? The corrected value.

How do you know? Required. Where it came from: the race email, the runner manual, what you saw on the day.

A link that shows it: Optional.

Or a photo of it: Optional. A screenshot or a photo of the sign works.

Were you there? Optional, and it decides nothing.

What year? Optional.

Your email: Optional, only so we can come back to you about this correction.

Which distance? Leave blank if it is about the whole race.

Which stop? Leave blank if it is not about one particular stop.

Website: Leave this field blank.

Seen a course preview or a film of this one? Send it over.

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.

What does it show that the page cannot? Required. A line is plenty. Where the climbs are, what the footing does, what the last twenty miles look like.

Were you there? Optional, and it decides nothing.

What year? Optional.

Your email: Optional, and never shown on the page. Only so we can ask you a question about this one.

Where is it? A YouTube link, a race report, a photo gallery, whatever it is.

What kind of thing is it?

Who made it? Optional, and we credit them on the page.

Website: Leave this field blank.

Have the GPX? Send us the link.

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.

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.

Where this came from. Every fact on this page records its source and when we last checked it: 187 sources for this race. Hover a source link to read the sentence it came from.

57% 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
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.

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