The Pistol Ultra

Running since 2013, The Pistol has become one of the Southeast's reliable fixed-loop ultras, the kind of race people pick when they want a controlled shot at a distance PR or a first 100 mile finish. The distance menu runs 50K, 100K, and 100 miles, plus a 50 mile that starts at night and a Double Barrel combo for runners racing twice in one weekend. Entries have a history of selling out.

The course loops the paved Alcoa-Maryville greenway along Pistol Creek, passing parks, ponds, and bridges with only about 200 feet of gain per 10 miles. The format keeps crews and aid within easy reach all race, and the smooth surface is why the loop has produced fast times, including a Tennessee 100 mile record. A 32 hour cutoff gives the 100 mile unusual breathing room.

Mid-March in East Tennessee swings hard between day and night. Afternoons can reach the 50s or 60s while the overnight hours drop toward freezing, which hits the 100 mile field and the night 50 milers hardest. Rain is realistic, and the paved surface stays runnable when trails would not.