Blood Rock - All Races
100 Mile & 50 Mile Endurance Trail Races
50K & 25K Southeastern Trail Series Races
Select your distance
Go to the Blood Rock 100 Page
It’s official. This is the last year of the Blood Rock100 Mile Endurance Race.
Go to the Blood Rock 50 Page
Go to the Blood Rock 25 7 55K Page
2024 Blood Rock 50 Mile Course Map
About the Blood Rock Races
Blood Rock 100 Mile - The last annual Blood Rock 100 Mile RAce
Blood Rock 100 will take place at Oak Mountain State Park, Alabama’s largest State Park, with over 11,500 Acres. The race starts and ends at the Cabins on Tranquility Lake. The 100 Mile Race is 101.7 miles in length with 21,993 ft. of elevation gain. The hundred will start at 12:00 Noon Friday. Aid stations distances range from 5 to 7 miles apart. The Cutoff for the 100 Mile Race will be 48 Hours. The 100 course is three laps of the 34.5 mile, 55K course. Due to the extremely difficult and remote nature of the backcountry sections of Blood Rock, we must enforce mandatory cutoffs.
The Blood Rock 50 Mile
Blood Rock 50 Mile will take place at Oak Mountain State Park, starting and ending at the Cabins on Tranquility Lake. The start will be at 7:00 AM Saturday. The course will be a single 55K Loop, returning to the Cabins Aid Station at mile 34.5, the Start/Finish. 50 milers will then repeat the north loop of the course to finish back at the Cabins at mile 50. About 20 miles of the 50 will be on very difficult backcountry trails with some of the steepest climbs in the southeast. Th 50 mile will have 11,270 ft. of elevation gain. 50 Mile runners may choose to start Friday with the 100 milers. Select this option when registering on Ultrasignup.
Blood Rock 25K and 55K
The Blood Rock 25 & 55K races are Southeastern Trail Series Points races and take place at Oak Mountain State Park. Both races start and end at The Cabins on Tranquility Lake. Both races will start at 7:00 AM Saturday. The 55K has 7,331 ft. of elevation gain, the 25K has 3,392 ft. of gain. The course for both races will be the same for the first 15 Mile. The 25 & 55K runners follow the north loop back to the Cabin at mile 15. This is the Finish for 25K runners. The Cabin is Aid Station is 2 for 55K runners. After the aid station, 55K runners will run the 20 mile south loop, and return to the Cabins and the finish at mile 34.5. Runners in both races will be on very difficult backcountry trails with some of the steepest climbs in the southeast during this first section of the Blood Rock race. We do not accept drop bags for 25K, however you are welcome to leave a drop bag at the Cabin area. It’s a good idea to have some warm, dry clothes at the finish.
55K runners may have drop bags this year. Many 55K runners will not finish until after dark so be sure to pack a flashlight or headlamp in bag. It is likely that we will not be able to get your bag off the mountain by the time you finish. IF you want your drop bag, you may need to drive up to Terrace and Peavine Aid Stations to retrieve them, or come back Sunday morning early.
Blood Rock 50 mile, 55K and 25K runners are not allowed to have a pacer. Please do not ask!
Download the GPX file of the 55K loop used in all the Blood Rock Races. If you do not already have it, download the GAIA GPS App to your phone. Then load the GPX file below to the Gaia App and you will not get lost while running the Blood Rock Course. That is, if you learn how to use it before the race.
This is a short video explaining how to download the Blood Rock GPX file above and load it into the GAIA App on you iPhone.
Below are links to photos from the 2022 Blood Rock Races
The Video Below shows just a few clips of 3 Blood Rock climbs
This is a short video from the 2018 Blood Rock Preview Run. The first clip is near the top of the Quarry Trails, originally know as the Far End Back Trail. The second video segment is the Ridge Section of the Far End Back Trail leading up to King’s Chair. The final segment is “Barkley.” This part of the video is on a more gentle section of the climb. We string 600 feet of rope up this hill for the race.
The 2023
Blood Rock 100 & 50 Mile, and the 50K & 25K - Maybe!!
So far there is no news on the Belcher Tract. If you are not familiar with this, Forever Wild purchased 1,600 Acres of land the join Oak Mountain State Park on the northeast end. The land is now part of OMSP but is not open to the public. If you stand atop Kings Chair and look down, most of what you see is the new Belcher Tract. This is a beautiful tract of land with three large lakes, Catfish, Demopolis and Belcher Lakes. Belcher Lake is the lake directly below King’s Chair. We if section is opened to the public early enough, we will incorporate it into Blood Rock in 2023. The course will be a 50 mile loop. Below is the course map we have tentatively selected. We will plan to use the section in red, around Lunker Lake. This is a new trail that is still under construction but will be finished before summer.
All areas outside the park boundary, are closed to the public at this time. Do Not cross the faint red lines to enter the area. The Belcher Tract is located at the north end of OMSP, on the east side. The faint red line is the approximate boundary of the Belcher Tract.
The GPX file below, was created using Strava. Some trails were “free-handed” and will not be exact. The course should be accurate enough to stay on the correct trails. As soon as the area is open to the public, I will create a more accurate GPX file using my Garmin Watch. Well, maybe it will be better.
Weekend Schedule
Don't forget, the park charges $5 per person to enter Oak Mtn State Park. The north gate to OMSP opens at 7:00 AM each day. Credit cards are NOT accepted. There is an ATM at the South Entrance.
Blood Rock 100
Friday, December 1st – 10:00 to 11:40 AM - Mandatory runner check-in and Packet Pickup for 100-mile runners at The Cabins. There will be NO Late Registration on Friday or Saturday for Blood Rock Races. All registrations close Monday Nov 27th.
Drop Bags for 50K, 50 mile and 100 mile runners may be left a The Cabins before the start. (For all runners starting Friday.)
Friday December 1st – 11:45 AM – Prerace Briefing at the Cabins. The pre-race meeting is mandatory for 100 Mile Runners.
Friday December 1st – 12:00 Noon – Start of the 100-Mile Trail Race. (Also 50 Milers and 55K & 25K Alternate Start.)
Blood Rock 50 Mile
50 Mile runners – It is unlikely there will be any parking at the Cabins. Parking in the Cabins is extremely limited. We will have someone to direct you to the BMX track, less than a mile by road to Tranquility Rd. It’s a 600 yard hike back to the start along Tranquility Lake.
DO NOT ALLOW ANY PART OF YOUR CAR TO EXTEND OVER THE PAVEMTNT ON THE CABIN ROADS OR AT THE BMX TRACK.
We will accept drop bags for 50 mile and 55K runners at Packet Pickup.
Saturday, December 2nd – 5:30 to 6:40 AM - Packet Pickup and mandatory check-in for 50-Mile runners at the Cabins Start Area.
Saturday, December 2nd – 6:45 AM - Race briefing for 50 mile runners at the Cabins.
Saturday, December 2nd – 7:00 AM - Start of the 50 Mile Race.
Blood Rock 25K & 55K
Parking – 25K and 55K - You MUST park at the BMX track and walk 600 yards to the Start. To reach the Cabin Start, follow signs beginning near the bathrooms across from the BMX track. Walk to your right, heading behind the bathrooms toward Tranquility Lake Dam. Follow the wide trail around the lake keeping the lake on your right. We will accept dropbags from 55K Runners.
** DO NOT BLOCK ANY SECTION OF THE PAVED ROAD around the BMX track.
** DO NOT BLOCK THE BIKE TRAIL WHERE IT CROSSED THE ROAD LEADING TO THE BMX TRACK.
** BE SURE NO PART OF YOUR CAR EXTENDS ONTO ANY PAVED ROAD.
Saturday, December 2nd – 5:30 to 6:40 AM - Packet Pickup and mandatory check-in for all 55K and 25K runners at the Cabins Start. Drop Bags for 50K and 50 mile runners may be left a The Cabins before the start.
Saturday, December 2nd – 6:45 AM - Pre-race briefing for all 50K and 25K runners at the Cabins Start Area.
We do not accept dropbags for 25K Runners.
Saturday, December 2nd, 7:00 AM - Start of the 25K and 55K Races.
Sunday, December 3rd - 8:00 AM - Blood Rock 100 Course Closes for all races.
Mandatory Cutoffs must be strictly enforced. This is a requirement by the OMSP.
Brandon Kasteler’s Blood Rock Race Report
Mon, Dec 12, 6:18 AM, Brandon sent me an email saying: “Enjoyed it, as always. Boiled down my write up to one sentence this time!” Brandon’s '“reviews” of Blood Rock are always fascinating. I was a little disappointed in the report this time since he only wrote one sentence. See what you think.