Elite Trail Runners Share Favorites Spots to Kick Up Dirt in the Blue Ridge
The Blue Ridge is crisscrossed by thousands of miles of trails from mountains to sea. That makes the region a haven for long-distance runners looking to pile on miles among forest canopies, by scenic waterways, and over big peaks. It’s also prime training ground for some of the country’s most elite ultramarathoners, so we asked top competitors to share their favorite destination runs in the South.
KARL MELTZER
Meltzer has cemented his status as ultrarunning’s arguable GOAT by winning more 100-milers than anyone in history. The 57-year-old’s resumé also includes former FKTs on notable routes like the Appalachian Trail and 1,800-mile Pony Express National Historic Trail. He now coaches premier runners like Tara Dower.
Run I: Rim To River 100 Course, West Virginia
Meltzer ran the 100-miler this past October and calls it “one of the most beautiful courses on the East Coast.” The route winds through 70,000-acre New River Gorge National Park & Preserve along a mix of MTB single-track, rail-to-trails, and hiking paths that dip in and out of the park’s 1,600-foot namesake gorge.
“This was my first time visiting the area and I was stunned,” says Meltzer. “The run was fun, but the scenery was spectacular.”
Run II: Three Ridges Loop, Virginia
Meltzer grew up in the New Hampshire mountains and says “to me, this area is like that, only better.” He moved to Utah at age 22 and now lives in Colorado, where soaring high-elevation views are commonplace. “But what I love about Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley region is the lush, green, almost tunnel-like trails,” he says. “There’s a vibe there that’s so cool.”
The route pairs 14 miles of Appalachian and Mau-Har Trail in the 4,702-acre Three Ridges Wilderness. It features a triumvirate of 3,000-plus-foot peaks and a grueling 4,290 feet of elevation gain.
TARA DOWER
The 31-year-old ultramarathoner from Virginia Beach made international headlines when she shattered the AT speed record by 13 hours last September. She went pro in 2020 and has since compiled a trove of notable records, including the FKT for North Carolina’s 1,175-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
Run I: First Landing State Park Loop, Virginia
Dower calls the 2,888-acre park’s 23-mile trail system her go-to for weekly big runs. She loves how paths are “easy to get to and well-maintained, but rarely crowded.” Meanwhile, “the terrain is really variable and the scenery is just amazing.”
Routes carry visitors through protected bald cypress swamps, live oak forests, and spans of Chesapeake Bay beaches via a series of boardwalks and sandy or packed-dirt trails. The area brims with wildlife and, with its position along the Great Atlantic Flyway, brings stunning bird-watching opportunities in the spring and fall.
Run II: Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge / False Cape State Park, Virginia
The entrance to Virginia’s hardest-to-reach state park sits on the southern side of a 9,200-acre wildlife refuge filled with manmade estuaries and, for much of the year, is accessible only by kayak or a roughly three-mile hike down the beach. That makes the area’s 15 miles of designated trails a sanctuary for solitude and wildlife viewing.
Dower says running on the beach and along sandy woodland paths makes for great resistance training. And she loves “how quiet and almost abandoned things feel out there.”
JOHN KELLY
Data scientist by day, pro ultramarathoner on afternoons and weekends, this Boone, N.C., resident is always up for a long-distance challenge. Kelly runs for the La Sportiva team and competes in about four major national and international races each year. He holds numerous FKTs but is best known for a blazing 2021 run on England’s 268-mile Pennine Way.
Run I: Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina
The 25K Grand-Further Mountain Run route includes ascents and descents on both sides of the iconic, 5,945-foot peak. “Initially this mountain seemed cursed for me,” says Kelly. Attempts were derailed by injury, illness, wrong turns, and thunderstorms. Yet the area is now a favorite for big training days.
Grandfather brings “one of the longest continual climbs in the area and has a great mix of highly technical and runnable terrain through forests and along rocky outcroppings with [100-plus-mile] views of surrounding peaks and valleys in Pisgah National Forest,” says Kelly.
Run II: Roan Mountain, North Carolina / Tennessee
Kelly hasn’t trekked the full A.T. but says the give-or-take 18-mile stretch “between U.S. 19E and Roan High Bluff is my favorite so far.” The section features a climb through rare southern Appalachian spruce-fir forests to a 5,500-plus-foot ridgeline and the famed Grassy Ridge—a seven-mile span of high-elevation balds with near-ubiquitous 360-degree views.
“It’s always one of those great training days where the terrain’s beauty makes it easy to forget how tough it is,” Kelly says.
CANYON WOODWARD
The 31-year-old political strategist and Dirtroad Organizing co-founder is also one of the nation’s most up-and-coming ultramarathoners. The Franklin, N.C., resident made waves when he crushed the Smokies Challenge Adventure Run FKT by 90 minutes in 2022. He’s since won multiple major ultras and made competitive showings at international competitions like Europe’s coveted Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.
Run I: Bartram Trail to Wayah Bald, North Carolina
The historic 102.4-mile trail winds from northern Georgia to a scenic grassy bald in North Carolina’s Nantahala National Forest and passes through downtown Franklin. The Naturalist 50K course takes advantage of the proximity and is Woodward’s preferred route for hard, hilly training.
The out-and-back pursues a grueling sequence of ridgelines “with next to no switchbacks,” to 5,335-foot Wayah Bald, “making it a great place for me to train in preparation for UTMB in the alps, which features similarly straight up and down trails,” says Woodward. The segment passes multiple waterfalls, offers 8,500 feet of climbing, and ends at “a fire tower with 360-degree views of the Nantahala National Forest.”
Run II: Tsali Recreation Area, North Carolina
The 3,000-acre Tsali Recreation Area follows the mountainous banks of southeast Lake Fontana and boasts 40-plus miles of multiuse trails. For a monster training day, Woodward recommends the Tsali Frosty Foot 50K course.
The 31.3-mile loop “has a really nice flow to it,” he says. You get 3,000 feet of elevation gain and “lots of amazing views of the lake and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”
Cover photo: Karl Meltzer has won more 100-mile ultramarathons than any other runner. Photo by Josh Campbell/courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
