Black Mountain Marathon & Mount Mitchell Challenge, live.

From Black Mountain to the highest summit in the East

The Black Mountain Marathon and Mount Mitchell Challenge return on Saturday 3 April 2027, both starting at 7:00 am in downtown Black Mountain, North Carolina.

The 2025 and 2026 races were cancelled after Hurricane Helene, and the event comes back in 2027 in a new season, in early April. It is produced by Kick It Event Management, the Asheville team of Leslie and Tim Grotenhuis.

Both races start on Cherry Street in downtown Black Mountain and run together to the Black Mountain Gap overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile 13, at 5,340 feet. Marathoners turn there and head back to the finish at Lake Tomahawk, with about 3,000 feet of gain. Challengers who reach the Parkway by 10:15 am continue to the 6,684 foot summit of Mount Mitchell, eastern America's highest point, where Dr. Elisha Mitchell's grave marks the turnaround. The Challenge is about 36 miles with about 4,500 feet of gain. Anyone who misses the cutoff is moved into the marathon.

The first and last three miles or so are paved. There is no crew access and there are no drop bags or pacers. Runners must carry a bottle of at least 20 ounces, a rain shell and a phone, and the race is cupless. The finish closes after 10 hours, at 5:00 pm.

Each race is limited to 250 runners. Spectators are best placed at the start in town or at the finish at Lake Tomahawk, and Mount Mitchell State Park is open to the public, weather permitting.

On Livebib you can follow a participant who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and official results come from the race organiser.