⏵ Course guide · Virginia's highest state park
Run Bum Tours sends four fields, 50 Mile, 50K, 25K, and 8 Mile, through Grayson Highlands State Park, Virginia's highest, past herds of wild ponies and sweeping mountain views. I will walk you through the course and format first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for rugged Blue Ridge climbing. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Run Bum Tours event page and UltraSignup. Check the current year details, cutoffs, and aid stations before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.
Grayson Highlands offers a distance for almost everyone, from an 8 Mile taste of the park to a full 50 Mile day, all built around the same scenery: rugged singletrack, big views, and the wild ponies the park is famous for.
That is Run Bum Tours' own tagline for the race, and it holds up. Every distance takes you through Grayson Highlands State Park's open highland balds and rugged forest trail, with real odds of spotting the wild pony herds that roam the park. It is the kind of scenery that has made this race a self-described "must do" and "bucket list" run for trail runners in the region.
The 50 Mile and 50K both run Saturday, starting at 5:30 AM and 7:45 AM respectively. The 25K and 8 Mile run Sunday, both starting at 8:30 AM. That split means you can crew or watch one distance Saturday and run a shorter one Sunday, or bring a group that spreads across both days.
Run Bum Tours is upfront that their published distances and elevation figures are approximate: GPS units and mapping software read slightly differently trail to trail, and the goal of the event is the scenery, not hitting an exact number. Plan around the roughly 7,500 feet on the 50 Mile down to about 1,400 feet on the 8 Mile, and expect the real trail to vary a bit from the number on paper.
With roughly 7,500 feet of gain on the 50 Mile against a 16 hour cutoff, the climbing here rewards a grade-adjusted approach over a flat-ground pace target.
A grade-adjusted pace target gives you a realistic number for the highland climbs rather than a flat-road pace that falls apart the moment the trail tilts up. Use it to set expectations before race day so the early miles do not feel deceptively easy compared to what is coming.
A vert-aware finish prediction, built off your actual pace on similar climbing terrain, is a better guide than a flat 50 mile time. Check it against the 16 hour cutoff early in the race, while the aid stations still give you room to adjust effort rather than scrambling in the final miles.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
A 5:30 AM start on the 50 Mile means cool mountain air early and potentially warm, humid conditions by afternoon at Grayson Highlands' elevation.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and use the point-to-point aid station structure to keep your intake steady rather than front-loading early miles when the climbing has not yet worn you down.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners here, leaning higher if the May afternoon turns warm and humid at elevation, which happens more often than the cool morning start might suggest.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and an early-May Blue Ridge day with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.
⏵ Train for it with Summit Line
Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact highland climbing profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for rugged mountain terrain, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The 50 Mile is the real test here, with roughly 7,500 feet of climbing and a 16 hour cutoff through Virginia's highest state park. The terrain runs rugged and scenic, with wild ponies and cross-state views as the reward, but Run Bum Tours itself calls the distance and gain figures "ish" since GPS readings vary trail to trail. The 50K and 25K scale down the challenge to about 4,500 and 2,300 feet of gain, and the 8 Mile is a genuinely approachable entry point at about 1,400 feet.
The 50 Mile carries roughly 7,500 feet of gain, the 50K about 4,500 feet, the 25K about 2,300 feet, and the 8 Mile about 1,400 feet, per the official race page. Run Bum Tours notes that these are approximate ("ish") figures since mapping software and individual GPS units read slightly differently on rugged mountain trail, so treat them as a solid planning range rather than an exact number.
The 50 Mile starts at 5:30 AM Saturday and can run up to 16 hours, meaning your fueling plan needs to hold up from early morning cool temperatures through a full mountain day. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, leaning higher if the day turns warm and humid at elevation. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The 50 Mile has a 16 hour cutoff from its 5:30 AM Saturday start. The 50K gets 11 hours from a 7:45 AM start, also Saturday. The 25K and 8 Mile both start Sunday at 8:30 AM, with cutoffs of 6 hours and 4 hours respectively. Registration itself closes the Friday before the race.
Grayson Highlands State Park is Virginia's highest state park, and the course is built around exactly what makes that special: sweeping mountain views, rugged trail, and herds of wild ponies that roam the highlands. May in this part of the Blue Ridge can bring anything from crisp mornings to warm, humid afternoons, so pack for a range of conditions rather than one forecast.
The 25K and 8 Mile are approachable entry points if you want to experience the wild ponies and mountain views without committing to a full ultra distance. For a first 50K or 50 Mile, the generous cutoffs (11 and 16 hours) and the well-supported, long-running Run Bum Tours event structure make this a reasonable choice, but the roughly 4,500 to 7,500 feet of climbing on rugged terrain means real trail and vert preparation matters more than raw mileage in your training.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/grayson-highlands">The Grayson Highlands course guide</a>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and aid stations come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.