Jewel 100
Relentless, remote, and deeply rewarding.
The Georgia Jewel 100 is a full immersion into the Pinhoti Trail and into yourself. This point-to-point journey spans miles of forested ridges, rugged singletrack, and long, quiet stretches where forward progress becomes both simple and profound. It's a course that demands respect with technical footing, sustained climbs, and discipline to keep moving when comfort is no longer part of the equation. With experienced volunteers and aid station crews guiding the way, runners are supported through the toughest moments of the journey. This race isn't about spectacle. It’s about resolve, patience, and the steady pursuit of a buckle earned one step at a time.
Jewel 100
COURSE DETAILS
Start/Finish:
Dalton Convention Center, 2211 Tony Ingle Parkway, Dalton, GA 30720
Distance: 100 miles
Total Elevation Gain: ≅15,000'
Number of Aid Stations: 15
Cut off: 35 hours
Average High/Low Race Day Temp: 83.3/60.7
Course type: 91% Single Track, 6% Grave Forest Road, 3% Road
COURSE OVERVIEW
100 Miler
The full journey.
The 100-mile race begins at noon, at the Dalton Convention Center, when the sky is bright blue, the clouds are puffy white, and the trail feels like it’s waiting. Runners leave pavement quickly, climbing up through the power lines before stepping onto the Pinhoti Trail and into what has become one of the race’s most defining features: the Rock Garden. This section resists rhythm. Every foot placement matters, and progress is earned through focus rather than speed. It is a deliberate beginning, and a reminder of what kind of day lies ahead.
Beyond the rocks, the trail lifts runners onto ridgelines, opening views that feel both expansive and quiet. The course descends toward Snake Creek Gap, where the outside world briefly reappears before runners turn back into the forest and climb toward Keown Falls. This climb is long and steady, winding past rock shelters and waterfalls that feel almost ceremonial in their timing, early enough to inspire, late enough to be earned.
From Keown Falls, the trail rises to John’s Mountain. The reward is not just the view, but the release that comes with it. Runners descend quickly, dropping into the Dry Creek trail system, where the course's character changes. Tall pines, rolling terrain, and long runnable stretches invite runners to move differently, to breathe, to settle, and to cover ground with intention.
Dry Creek forms a looping figure-eight, allowing runners to return to the same aid station multiple times. For roughly 30 miles, crews and runners meet again at the same place, resetting, refueling, and returning to the woods. It's a rare gift in a 100-mile race: continuity amid chaos.
When the loops are complete, runners retrace their path, climbing back to John’s Mountain, descending to Keown Falls, crossing Snake Creek Gap, and navigating the Rock Garden once more. What felt technical and unfamiliar in the day before now feels earned. The final miles rise out of the woods and back into Dalton, where the trail gives way to pavement, and the finish line waits, not as an escape, but as a deeply meaningful conclusion to a grand and hard-fought adventure.
