Course Description

The MMT is a challenging 100 mile trail ultra over a demanding, rocky course in the Massanutten Mountains of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The course includes short but rugged mountain climbs that total over 18,500 feet.

New for 2019

The course is 3.1 miles shorter and contains one fewer climb than in years past. The change comes after the last aid station, Gap Creek II. For 2019, runners will take Crisman Hollow Road from Gap Creek to the finish. The shortens the race by about 3.1 miles, eliminates 900 feet of climb, and replaces steep, rocky sections of trail with runnable, gently downhill gravel road. The race cutoff has consequently been reduced from 36 to 35 hours.

Course map

The map below shows a GPS track of the 2019 course, along with the locations of the aid stations. The MMT course features two loops that follow the ridges of the Massanutten Mountains, roughly resembling a top-heavy figure-8.

GPS track of the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100. The pins mark aid stations, color-coded by their accessibility to crews. Crew access; No crew access; Drop bag only.

The first loop of the figure-8 starts from the Caroline Furnace Lutheran Camp and runs clockwise north up the western ridge of the Massanuttens to Elizabeth Furnace (Aid Station 5, 33.3 miles). The course then ascends the eastern ridge and follows that, with periodic descents off the ridge to the aid stations, south to Gap Creek I (Aid Station 11, 69.6 miles).

The second, smaller, loop begins at Gap Creek I and goes counter-clockwise, following Kern’s Mountain south to Bird Knob before returning north back to Gap Creek II (Aid Station 15, mile 96.8).

New for 2019. From Gap Creek II runners will take the gradual descent down Crisman Hollow Road and State Route 675 to the finish.

There is a printable map of the course, displayed below and also available as a two-page PDF for printing (2.4 MB download).

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Printable map of the MMT 100 course.

Elevation profile

The course features approximately 10 climbs of 750 vertical feet or more. While none of the climbs is terribly long, many are steep and, waiting for you at the top, is a rocky ridgeline. The course is tougher than it looks on paper.

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Elevation profile of the MMT 100.

The high point is 2,835 feet (at Bird Knob, mile 81). The low point is 540 feet (mile 39, between Shawl Gap and Veach Gap). The longest individual climb — 1,550 feet in 2.5 miles — comes at mile 55, just after the Habron Gap Aid Station.

Aid stations

MMT features 15 aid stations, 9 of which are crew-accessible. The table below lists mileages for the aid stations as well as crew and drop bag accessibility.

MMT 100 aid stations and mileages
Aid station Section Cumulative Open Cutoff Crew Access Drop Bags
  • Cells in gray denote times on Sunday.
  • † These aid stations are remote and runners may not drop unless they are in serious medical condition.
  • ‡ Cutoff is recommendation only and not enforced, but we believe that you will not complete the course if you do not achieve them. If you go on past an optional cutoff, the next aid station may not be in tact.
1. Moreland Gap (fluids only) 4.1 4.1 4:20 —
2. Edinburg Gap 8.1 12.1 5:40 7:50 ✓ ✓
3. Woodstock Tower † 8.2 20.3 7:10 10:30 ‡ ✓
4. Powells Fort † 5.6 25.8 8:00 12:10 ‡
5. Elizabeth Furnace 7.5 33.3 9:30 14:30 ✓ ✓
6. Shawl Gap Parking 4.7 38.0 10:20 16:10 ✓ ✓
7. Veach Gap Parking 3.1 41.1 10:50 17:05
8. Indian Grave Trailhead † 9.0 50.1 12:00 —
9. Habron Gap Parking 3.9 54.0 13:00 21:00 ✓ ✓
10. Camp Roosevelt 9.8 63.9 14:45 01:15 ✓ ✓
11. Gap Creek I 5.8 69.6 15:45 03:45 ✓ ✓
12. Visitor Center 8.5 78.1 17:15 07:30 ✓ ✓
13. Bird Knob † 3.5 81.6 18:00 —
14. Picnic Area 6.4 87.9 19:00 11:00 ✓ ✓
15. Gap Creek II 8.9 96.8 20:30 14:00 ✓ ✓
Caroline Furnace Camp 3.8 100.6 21:00 15:00 Finish

 

The following chart is useful for runners and crews in estimating a runner’s arrival time at the various aid stations. Download a printable PDF (1.6 MB download).

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Approximate arrival times at the aid stations. Front-of-the-pack runners will be closer to the left-hand side of the boxes while back-of-the-pack will be towards the right.

PATC Maps

patc_map-g_2016

Unless you know the course well, we recommend that you obtain Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) maps G and H. These are topographic maps that cover the trails in the Massanutten Mountains — north of US 211 (Map G) and south of US 211 (Map H). Both maps are printed on water-resistant, tear-resistance synthetic stock in six colors. Most of the course is on map G. Only the Bird Knob section of the MMT course is on map H. The PATC also has a Guide to the Massanutten Mountains updated in 2013 (available as a separate item or in a set with maps G and H). There are discounts for PATC members.

You can order on the PATC Web site.

Map G is also available at REI.