⏵ Course guide · Alabama's premier point-to-point 100
Pinhoti 100 runs 100.38 miles point-to-point from Heflin to Sylacauga on the Pinhoti Trail, crossing over Alabama's high point in the Mt Cheaha region through Talladega National Forest. Just over 14,000 feet of climbing, 28,000 feet of total elevation change, and a 32 hour clock. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a long day of Southern Appalachian singletrack, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Pinhoti Race Series page and the UltraSignup registration page. Individual aid station cutoffs vary by year, so confirm the current runner's manual on pinhotitrailseries.com before you commit.
The race runs 100.38 miles point-to-point on the Pinhoti Trail, starting in Heflin and finishing at Lake Howard in Sylacauga, through Talladega National Forest and over Alabama's high point in the Mt Cheaha region.
The course lists just over 14,000 feet of climbing, and separately a total of 28,000 feet of elevation change once every up and down is counted together. Treat those as two different measurements of the same terrain, not two ways of stating the same number, because mixing them up will throw off your pacing math either way you get it wrong.
The course breaks down as 83 miles of singletrack, 17 miles of jeep road, and 2 miles of pavement. The singletrack, Southern Appalachian trail through Talladega National Forest, is where the climbing and technical footing live. The jeep road sections open up your stride and give your feet a break from constant foot placement decisions, and the short pavement stretches are a rare flat, fast interlude in a long day.
Because the course runs point-to-point from Heflin to Sylacauga, buses run from the finish at Sylaward Trail Head back to the start on race morning. Know your transportation plan before race week, whether that means the official bus, a crew vehicle staged at the finish, or a ride arranged with another runner.
With 14,000-plus feet of climbing spread across 100.38 miles and a 32 hour clock, Pinhoti rewards effort-based pacing over chasing a flat-course number you brought in from somewhere else.
Your flat-ground pace tells you very little about the singletrack climbs through Talladega National Forest. A grade-adjusted pace target converts your real fitness into honest targets for the climbing sections, so you hold a repeatable effort instead of a pace this terrain was never going to give you consistently across 100 miles.
Do not guess your Pinhoti finish off a flatter or shorter race. The 14,000-plus feet of climbing and the mixed singletrack, jeep road, and pavement surfaces all add real time beyond a generic 100 mile estimate. A vert-aware finish prediction lets you work backward against the 32 hour limit, so you know your real margin heading into the second half rather than hoping it holds.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
A 32 hour clock and 14,000-plus feet of climbing likely take most runners into a full night on trail, with early-November Alabama swinging from warm afternoons to cool nights.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and only push toward the higher end if your gut is trained for it. Sustained climbing on singletrack slows digestion the same way heat does, so keep your intake simple and consistent rather than gambling on a big late-race dose.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners, leaning toward the higher end during the warmer daytime hours and easing off as the temperature drops overnight. Early-November Alabama can still run genuinely warm during the day even as the nights turn cool, so build a plan that shifts rather than one flat number.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a long Alabama November 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 14,000-plus foot climbing profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for sustained Southern Appalachian climbing, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
Pinhoti 100 runs 100.38 miles point-to-point from Heflin to Sylacauga on the Pinhoti Trail, with just over 14,000 feet of climbing and 28,000 feet of total elevation change once you count every up and down. The route crosses Alabama's high point in the Mt Cheaha region, on a course that is 83 miles singletrack, 17 miles jeep road, and 2 miles pavement. It is Alabama's premier point-to-point 100 miler for a reason: the Southern Appalachian terrain, the distance, and the 32 hour clock together demand real preparation, not just fitness.
The official course description lists just over 14,000 feet of climbing, and separately cites a total of 28,000 feet of elevation change, meaning every climb and every descent added together. Those are two different numbers describing the same course, similar to how other rocky, rolling 100s report their vert, so do not mistake the larger figure for the climbing total alone. The climbing is spread across 83 miles of singletrack, so expect a steady rhythm of ups and downs rather than a handful of massive individual climbs.
With a 32 hour time limit and a course that is 83 miles singletrack, most finishers are looking at somewhere between 24 and 32 hours on course, likely including a full night of running. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusting for early-November Alabama weather, which can still run warm during the day even as nights turn cool. Build your numbers for your pace and the forecast with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day, and rehearse your plan on a long training run with real climbing.
The overall time limit is 32 hours, with the race clock running from 6:00 AM Saturday to 2:00 PM Sunday. Individual aid station cutoffs are published in the official runner's manual and are not something we can verify here, so pull the current cutoff sheet from pinhotitrailseries.com before you build your pacing plan. With 14,000-plus feet of climbing spread across 100.38 miles, build in real margin against every cutoff rather than the bare minimum.
The course runs point-to-point on the Pinhoti Trail through Talladega National Forest, crossing over Alabama's high point in the Mt Cheaha region. The terrain is Southern Appalachian singletrack, 83 of the 100.38 miles, mixed with 17 miles of jeep road and 2 miles of pavement. That mix means your effort should shift by surface: singletrack asks for careful footing and climbing rhythm, jeep road lets you open your stride, and the short pavement stretches are a rare chance to just run.
A 32 hour time limit for 100.38 miles with 14,000-plus feet of climbing is generous but not easy, so this is a better fit for a runner with real trail ultra experience than a total first-timer. That said, the mostly-singletrack Southern Appalachian terrain is technical but not extreme, the point-to-point format through Talladega National Forest is well established after 19 years, and runners are bused from the finish at Sylacauga back to the start at Heflin, a logistics detail worth planning around. If you have completed a 50 mile or longer trail race and trained specifically for sustained climbing, Pinhoti is a serious, well-run target for your first 100.
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.