Into the Darkness 4 Mile Night Trail Run - the beginning

I was fortunate to run the first Hellgate 100k back in 2003 and this event is what motivated us to put on the Into the Darkness event, to give people a taste of racing at night.  I still remember that night 19 years ago.  It was a full moon and you could see for miles.  Not only were the other runner's headlamps visible in all directions but you could see the hanging glow sticks that were a loooong distance away, across the different hills and valleys of the course.

It was wild to see a glimpse of where we would be, long before we got there.  So why not share this experience with others in a race and a distance, anyone could enjoy.  This was our first Mountain Junkies LLC created event, with 50 runners participating in the Into the Darkness run on October 27th 2007.  

The courses have changed quite a bit over the years depending on our headquarters and number of entrants and state of the park and, the park has changed many times and dramatically since 2007.    

• The first few years, the race started at the entrance gate, ran to the beginner trail and finished in the courtyard between the Welcome and Visitors Center.
• As the race grew, we had to reverse the course to make sure runners had adequate time to get spread out before hitting the trail.  
• These were the years of running down the sketchy, gravel rutted out, Salem Turnpike.  
• We moved a lot of gravel during these years, trying to "improve" the ruts and potholes to minimize the danger.  
• The race ended in front of the Brugh Tavern, maybe the best finish line area we've had for the race.    
• The race topped out at 513 finishers in 2012.  Whoa!  Thankfully we started chip timing the event in 2011.  
• We moved to our current location in 2016, at / behind the camp store and the course has been relatively the same since.  

Come on and join us on October 22, 2022 - https://runsignup.com/Race/VA/Roanoke/IntotheDarkness