The Race
The Blood Rock 100 and 50 Mile trail race will take place at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, Alabama, 20 miles south of downtown Birmingham. The 100 mile will have over 40,000 ft. of elevation change. Some sections of the course are in the backcountry of the park on abandoned trails and wagon roads. Some of these trails are extremely steep and very demanding.
The race will start at the OMSP Cabins on Tranquility Lake. We have reserved all 10 cabins for the race and they are available for runner to rent race weekend. The Cabins will be the location of the pre-race meeting and the start/finish for the 50 and 100 mile races. They are also the location of the Cabin Aid Station at mile 15.7 of each lap.
The cutoff for the 100 mile is 35 hours. The cutoff for the 50 is 18 hours. The Blood Rock Course is a 50 mile loop.
The 100 is two loops of the same course. Each loop will have 9 aid station stops ranging from 2.2 miles to 8.4 miles apart. As with all Southeastern Trail Runs races we will be serving hot food at most aid stations day and night starting in the afternoon of the first day. Finishers will find hot food waiting at the finish and 100 mile finishers will have a full breakfast available including eggs, bacon and waffles.
Oak Mtn Park has a large campground just 2 miles from the start. There are several hotels 3 miles or less from the southwest gate of the park, just off Interstate Highway 65 in Pelham. More details are on the website.
The Trails
The trails at Oak Mountain State Park are rugged, as are all mountain trails in the southeastern United States. Double Oak Mountain which runs the length of the 10,000 acre park is no exception. The mountain is part of the remains of the oldest mountain chain on earth, the Appalachians. What it lacks in size it makes up for by sheer brutality!
About 90% of the course is on single track trails. There are a couple of short sections on a gravel bike trail that is badly washed-out in some places. There is one out-back 6 mile section where the course leaves OMSP. There are also two short sections on paved roads. Both sections are 1/3 mile or less. All aid stations within the park are crew accessible and can easily be reached by car. You may park very close to most and set up personal aid stations. One, Eagle Nest Trail AS, requires a 1/3 mile hike and we do not allow personal aid stations at this location.
Take a look out our Blood Rock Preview Run video on YouTube:
