Fonta Flora 50k and Half Marathon

The Fonta Flora 50k and Half Marathon is a trail-race weekend held at Fonta Flora Brewery’s Whippoorwill Farm in Nebo, North Carolina. Both races begin and end on the farm, situated below Shortoff Mountain and the Linville Gorge. They utilize the trails and lake edges of Lake James State Park. The event offers mountain views without a demanding mountain course: the half marathon gains about 900 feet, and the 50K gains about 2,400 feet. Most of the running occurs on singletrack, with brief gravel and pavement sections in both races. The course starts in an open field, providing space before runners enter stream-side trails and rolling mountain-bike paths through dense forest. Later miles follow the banks of Lake James. The 50K includes an additional seven miles on the newer Fonta Flora State Trail and a bit more gravel. The 50K is approximately 95% unpaved with a 9.5-hour cutoff; the half marathon has a 4-hour cutoff and about 12.5 miles of singletrack. Established in 2017, the event presents handmade awards for top overall runners, gift certificates for masters winners, handmade pottery medals for all finishers, and a brewery pint is part of the finish-line tradition.