A reasonable argument could be waged that Flat Rock has not had as deep of a field of good runners as other races and is really not that tough. While the race has not attracted as many well-known runners from the east or west coast, several very good runners have taken on “the Rock.” Amazingly, only six runners since the inception of this event in 1995 have broken five hours on this course, which is only 1.7 percent of all 345 finishers since the first running in ’95. One of these five is 2004 Grand Slam Finisher, Paul Schoenlaub, who managed to break five hours in ’03 by just a little over 2.5 minutes.

What makes the Flat Rock trail so tough? Extreme concentration is required when running Flat Rock, as you will take very few steps where there will not be some potential obstacle. Most of these will be in the form of rocks. You will very quickly learn why the race motto here at “the Rock” is “If you look up…you are going down!” Buyer beware please. While the trail does not have any long hills, there is an estimated total elevation gain and loss of approximately 3,000 feet for the 50K. Most of these hills are very steep and rocky and are not runable, unless you can run trails like a mountain goat, due to the treacherous footing. So, please remember to take your time and enjoy the scenary safely…while stopped, or moving slowly and cautiously.