Pisgah Forest, NC, United States · Saturday, October 3, 2026

Fixed Distance 50K

Pisgah 55.5K Running Race

3 days to go

55.5 km Distance

not publishedn/a Climbing

2.8 est Grit · Entry level

Calculated from 55.5 km alone — the organiser has not published an elevation profile. Read 2.8 as a floor, not a verdict.

35.2723° N, 82.7062° W © OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap

What the course asks

Time limit 16 hours 17:18 min/km average. Generous. Walkable throughout for most of the field. Climbing is unpublished, so this pace is a ceiling on the effort, not a measure of it. More forgiving than 89% of 50K races. Measured against 1034 races of the same distance. Cut-off calculator →

Field size ~55 Small. Long stretches with nobody in sight.

DUV results for the 2025 edition (55.5km) — finishers only. Starters are not published, so the field was at least this big and no finish rate can be given.

Typical conditions, October

Daytime high 19°C

Night low 7°C

Rainfall Showers likely

Daylight 11 h 48 m of light

Regional 2001-2020 average for October — NASA POWER, grid elevation 738 m. Not a forecast.

Results history

Year	Race	Finishers	Men's winner	Women's winner
2025	55.5km	55	John Haddock · 04:55:39	Sara Hunter · 07:27:01
2023	55.5km	54	Joe Driver · 05:07:16	Ellie Johnston · 06:45:46
2022	55.5km	7	Sean Lein · 09:31:22	Lisa Arnold · 11:18:51
2021	55.5km	28	Fausto Crapiz · 08:29:05	Emma Erwin · 09:08:50
2019	55.5km	19	Bhushan Suresh · 08:37:44	Natalie Daniel · 09:06:57

The field has held steady: 54 in 2023, 55 in 2025. 22% of the 2025 field were women.

DUV results for the 2025 edition (55.5km) — finishers only. Starters are not published, so the field was at least this big and no finish rate can be given.

The Aid Station

Course-specific beta from the community

👟 gear

With trail terrain, choose a shoe with moderate cushioning for optimal performance.

By UltraHub Expert

Gear for this race

Chosen for 56 km of trail.

Trail Running Shoes 56 km of trail — cushioning that is still there in the last quarter.
Race Nutrition 56 km of self-supported fuelling between aid stations.
Hydration Vests Flask capacity for 56 km, without the bounce.
Headlamps A 16 h limit puts you out there after dark.
GPS Watches Battery life first — a 56 km day outlasts most full-GPS modes.

La Sportiva

Prodigio Pro

RunRepeat found the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro to have a secure, locked-in fit due to its premium upper, and also praised the shoe's energetic ride, particularly…

$225 ★★★★★ 4.6

Adidas

Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra

RunRepeat found the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra to be perfect for midfoot and forefoot strikers, while iRunFar noted that the shoe feels incredibly effici…

★★★★★ 4.5

Skratch Labs

Sport Hydration Mix

Clean electrolyte drink mix with real fruit flavor. Low sugar.

$20 ★★★★★ 4.5

Salomon

ADV Skin 12

Industry-standard 12L race vest with front flask pockets and minimal bounce.

$180 ★★★★★ 4.8

Petzl

NAO RL

1500-lumen reactive lighting headlamp with 15-hour runtime. Automatic brightness adjustment.

$150 ★★★★★ 4.7

COROS

APEX 2 Pro

GPS running watch with 75-hour GPS battery, topo maps, and training metrics.

$500 ★★★★★ 4.7

All gear guides →

Overview

The Pisgah 55.5K Running Race, organised by Pisgah Productions, takes place in Pisgah Forest, NC, in October. Its 55.5-kilometer course is longer than a standard 50k, and it features nearly 100% singletrack, traversing areas like Black Mountain, Turkey Pen Gap, and Laurel Mountain.

With 55 finishers in its 2025 edition, this race has a larger field than 61% of 50k races. The 16-hour time limit translates to a 17.3 minutes per kilometer pace, which is a tighter cutoff than 11% of 50k races.

Similar races

Other 50K trail ultras, closest in distance first.