A midnight start and 66.6 wintry miles across Virginia's Blue Ridge
Other trail races within 157 miles
Hellgate starts at one minute past midnight on the second Saturday in December and runs point to point from Big Hellgate Creek near Natural Bridge Station to Camp Bethel near Fincastle. The '++' is the joke: the race is called a 100K but covers about 66.6 miles. Most of the route follows the Glenwood Horse Trail through the Jefferson National Forest, mixing gravel forest roads with rocky single track that is often buried under deep leaves, and it crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway four times. Runners spend the first six or seven hours in the dark, and December weather on the ridges can bring anything from mild temperatures to snow, ice, freezing rain and single-digit cold. Entry is by paper application, and race director David Horton's committee picks a field of about 150 experienced ultrarunners. Finishing inside 18 hours earns a Western States lottery qualifier.
Experienced ultrarunners
Natural Bridge Station, VA, United StatesDecember 12, 2026
Hellgate 100K++ is a point-to-point trail race in Natural Bridge Station, VA, United States, held on December 12, 2026. The course covers 66.6 miles, climbs 14,300 ft, and has an 18h cutoff.
Committee selection, not a lottery. The Race Committee accepts runners it thinks can finish within the time limit. Applicants list races completed in the last year (name, distance, time, place) and older finishes; runners should have completed multiple 50-milers and 100-milers to be considered qualified. About 100 runners are picked on October 14 from applications received by then; the rest are picked in a second round. No waiting list.
| Location | Mile | Elevation | Cutoff | Crew | Drop bags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start Start | 0.0 | 0 ft | — | ||
Forest Service Road 35 Aid Station | 3.5 | 1,040 ft | — | ||
Petites Gap Aid Station | 8.0 | 2,372 ft | — | Crew | |
Camping Gap Aid Station | 13.6 | 2,913 ft | — | ||
Headforemost Mountain (Floyd's Field) Aid Station | 22.5 | 3,241 ft | 6h39m6:40 AM | Crew | Drop Bags |
Jennings Creek Aid Station | 29.0 | 1,490 ft | — | Crew | |
Little Cove Mountain Aid Station | 35.1 | 1,670 ft | — | ||
Bearwallow Gap Aid Station | 42.5 | 1,237 ft | 12h29m12:30 PM | Crew | Drop Bags |
Bobblet's Gap Aid Station | 49.6 | 2,113 ft | — | Crew | |
Day Creek Aid Station | 56.8 | 1,211 ft | — | Crew | |
Finish Finish | 66.8 | 0 ft | 18h6:01 PM |
Aid station details for this race are still being filled in. Cutoffs and access rules come from the race’s own published information and can change — check the official race details before planning around them.
Sign in for race-day weather at every station, points of interest, segment-by-segment analysis, pacing, and to save this race to your calendar.
Check-in, pre-race pasta dinner and briefing are at Camp Bethel (the finish, near Fincastle, VA) on Friday evening. Runners may stay at Camp Bethel on Saturday night after the race at no charge. Showers are available at the finish.
Mid-December weather in the central Virginia Blue Ridge is very unpredictable. A mild year can mean 30-40°F overnight and 50-60°F in the afternoon; a cold year can mean 20-30°F at night and 30-40°F by day. The race has seen a foot of snow (2003), several inches of ice over snow (2005), 11°F with strong head winds that froze runners' corneas (2006), 8°F (2016), and ten hours of freezing rain (2021). An early creek crossing means wet feet in the coldest part of the night.
Overnight temperatures have dropped to 8-11°F; the race warns runners to wear glasses or goggles against frozen eyes
Snow and glare ice on roads and trails have occurred in several editions
Freezing rain is possible, as in 2021 when it fell for the first 10 hours
No required gear specified
No recommended gear specified
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