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⏵ Course guide · Tennessee ultra

Upchuck 50K Course Guide

The Upchuck 50K is a no-frills, hardman trail race on the toughest stretch of the Cumberland Trail near Chattanooga, and it has been a sought-after notch in the belt for Southeast runners since 2008. Think steep, repeated gorge climbs and descents, technical leaf-covered footing, exactly two aid stations, and a sweeper hunting you from an hour back. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan that fits the climbing and the time pressure. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Upchuck 50K quick facts

Date
Early November (run Saturday, November 8, 2025; confirm the current year)
Location
Cumberland Trail, point-to-point, finishing in Soddy-Daisy near Chattanooga, TN
Distances
50K (about 31 miles), single distance
Elevation gain
Roughly 4,800 ft of climbing per the published course map, with matching descent
Start
8:00 AM EST (shuttle from the finish to the start leaves about 7:30 AM)
Cutoff
A roaming ‘Grim Sweeper’ starts one hour after the gun; get caught before mile 18 and your day is done
Entry requirement
Must have finished a 50K in under 7 hours within the last 18 months; field capped (historically around 75)
Qualifier
No Western States, Hardrock, or UTMB qualifier status listed by the race

These facts come from the official race site, UltraSignup, and the published course map. Check the current date, cutoffs, entry rules, and aid stations in the race-day details before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: where Upchuck is won and lost

Upchuck is a point-to-point that runs north to south along the Cumberland Trail for about 31 miles, dropping through the Rock Creek, Possum Creek, and Soddy gorges and finishing down in Soddy-Daisy. You shuttle to the start from the finish, so there is no easy bail partway. It is roughly 4,800 feet of climbing, almost all of it technical singletrack, and the day breaks up into a series of big climbs and drops rather than one long grade.

The gorges: steep up, steeper down, on repeat

This race is defined by the gorges. You plunge down into Soddy, Possum, and Rock creeks and then claw straight back out, over and over, and that is where the vert lives. The climbs are short but steep enough that almost everyone hikes them, and the smart move is to hike them efficiently with your hands on your knees rather than burn matches trying to run. Get the power-hike dialed and you save your legs for the part that actually wrecks people, which is the descending.

The descents into the gorges are the real test. They are steep, rocky, and in November they are buried in leaves that hide every rock and root, so you cannot just open up and bomb them. People get hurt here, and people lose huge chunks of time here when their quads give out. Practice steep, technical, leaf-covered downhill before race day, because being able to descend under control on trashed legs is what separates a good Upchuck from a survival march.

Technical footing and sparse marking

The whole course is rugged Cumberland Trail singletrack, and the back end through the Deep Creek area is about as technical as it gets, with strewn rocks and boulders right when you are most tired. Momentum is hard to keep. You will end up running in short bursts between obstacles rather than holding one smooth rhythm, and that is normal here, so do not fight it.

Marking is intentionally sparse, this is a minimal race that mostly follows the existing trail blazes. Stay switched on, especially on the fast descents where it is easy to miss a switchback and shoot off-trail. Runners have lost real time taking a wrong line near the bottom of a gorge. Look ahead, watch for the blazes, and do not let your brain check out when you are tired.

Two aid stations and the Grim Sweeper

There are exactly two aid stations all day, around mile 8 and mile 18, and the second one (mile 18) is a convenience store at a highway crossing. That is it. The long stretches between and after them are unsupported, so you have to carry enough fluid and food to cover those gaps yourself. Treat your pack like the aid station and the actual aid stations like a bonus top-off.

The Grim Sweeper is the cutoff. A sweeper leaves one hour after the start and moves at a steady pace, and if they catch you before mile 18 you are pulled. So the pressure is not a clock sitting at an aid station, it is a person closing from behind. That means you cannot dawdle through the early gorges planning to make it up later. Keep honest, steady forward progress from the gun, get yourself safely past mile 18, and then you are clear to finish.

Pacing strategy for a steep, technical 50K

With roughly 4,800 feet of gain stacked into steep gorge climbs and descents, Upchuck is about managing effort and staying ahead of the sweeper, not chasing a pace chart. Your flat-ground splits will lie to you out here, so run by effort and grade.

Pace the gorges by grade, not by the watch

Your road pace means nothing on these climbs and descents. What matters is grade-adjusted effort: hold a steady output you can sustain, hike the steep pitches without guilt, and protect your quads on the way down so they are still there at mile 25. The classic Upchuck mistake is hammering the early gorges because you feel fresh and the field is bunched, then falling apart on the technical back half. Use a grade-adjusted pace to convert your real fitness into honest climbing and descending targets, and you will not cook yourself in the first three creeks.

Build a vert-aware finish prediction and respect the sweep

Do not guess your Upchuck finish off a road 50K time. The 4,800 feet of climbing, the leaf-hidden technical footing, and the slow gorge descents all add real time, so a flat 50K PR is the wrong yardstick. Build a vert-aware finish prediction off this course profile, then work backward to a safe pace through mile 18 so you know you are staying ahead of the sweeper. Knowing roughly when you need to clear mile 18 is the single most useful number you can carry into this race.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a self-supported gorge race

Most runners are out on Upchuck for somewhere around 5 to 8 hours, and with only two aid stations you are basically self-supported the whole way. That makes what you carry, and how steadily you eat, just as important as your fitness.

Carbs: steady, portable, and trained

For a 5 to 8 hour effort, aim for around 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and only push the high end if your gut is trained for it. With aid only at mile 8 and mile 18, you have to carry most of those calories yourself, so pack gels, chews, or a carb drink you know sits well and eat on a schedule instead of waiting until you feel low. The cool November air can quietly blunt your appetite even when you are working hard, so set a timer and keep the calories coming through the gorges.

Fluid and sodium: carry for the gaps, not the next aid

Carry enough fluid to cover the long unsupported stretches comfortably, because there is no help between the two stations and none after mile 18. November weather around Chattanooga is usually cool, so your sweat rate is lower than a summer race, but you are still climbing hard, so do not let yourself get behind. A moderate sodium intake, often somewhere around 300 to 600 milligrams per liter of fluid, covers most people in these conditions, more if you run salty. Weigh yourself before and after a hard long run to find your real sweat rate, then build the plan around your own number.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a mostly self-supported gorge race 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 Upchuck course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the gorge climbs and technical descents, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

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Upchuck 50K FAQ

How hard is the Upchuck 50K?

Upchuck has a reputation as one of the hardest 50Ks in the Southeast, and that reputation is earned. It runs about 31 miles of technical Cumberland Trail singletrack with roughly 4,800 feet of climbing, and the climbing comes in big steep doses dropping into and clawing back out of the Rock, Possum, and Soddy gorges. Add leaf-covered rock, almost no aid (two stations the whole day), and a time-based sweeper that starts an hour behind you, and it asks for real trail fitness and a steady head. It is not a place to find out whether you like ultras.

How much climbing is in the Upchuck 50K?

Published course maps put it at roughly 4,800 feet of total elevation gain over the 50K, with a near-equal amount of descent since it is a point-to-point. The vert is not spread out evenly. It stacks into a handful of steep gorge climbs and drops into Soddy Creek, Possum Creek, and Rock Creek, so the course runs as sharp punches rather than one long grind. Confirm the exact figure against the current course map, since the line and the measured gain can shift slightly year to year.

What is the Grim Sweeper and what are the cutoffs at Upchuck?

The Grim Sweeper is Upchuck’s cutoff enforcer: a sweeper who starts one hour after the race begins and walks the course at a steady clip. If the sweeper catches you before mile 18, which is the second and final aid station, your day is over. Make it past mile 18 ahead of the sweep and you are allowed to finish, with a personal escort to the line. Because the pressure is a moving deadline rather than a fixed clock at each aid station, you have to keep honest forward progress through the early gorges instead of banking on a big push at the end.

How many aid stations does the Upchuck 50K have?

Two. There is one aid station around mile 8 and one around mile 18, and that is it for the whole 50K. The race is deliberately minimal and bills itself as nearly unsupported, so the long gorge sections between aid are on you. Carry enough fluid and calories to cover those gaps comfortably, because there is no bailout in the middle and no one handing you anything between the two stations.

What is the terrain and weather like at Upchuck?

The course is rugged Cumberland Trail singletrack: rocky, rooty, with steep climbs and steeper descents into the creek gorges, plus a few creek crossings and a short flatter connector in the middle. In November the trail is buried in fallen leaves, which hide the rocks and roots and make the descents genuinely tricky, so quick feet and attention matter as much as fitness. Early-November weather around Chattanooga is usually cool and can be anything from crisp and dry to cold and wet, and wet leaves over rock get slick. Course marking is sparse by design, so pay attention and do not zone out.

Is the Upchuck 50K a good first 50K?

Honestly, no, not for most people. The race even requires that you have already finished a 50K in under 7 hours within the last 18 months, so a true first-timer cannot enter anyway. The technical footing, the steep repeated gorge climbs, the minimal aid, and the sweeper all reward experience and punish runners who are still learning to fuel and move on hard trail. If you have a few trail ultras in your legs and you want a proper hardman test, it is a fantastic goal race. As a first one, look elsewhere.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, entry rules, 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.