HOTTER ‘N HELL
9 & 18 MILE TRAIL RACE
OAK MOUNTAIN STATE PARK, NEAR BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
The race is July 20th
7:00 AM Start
Race #4 of the 2024 Southeastern Trail Series
The race starts at cedar pavilion at the south end of Double Oak lake
hotter 'N hell will Likely sell out!
Resolute Running
the HNH Preview Run is this saturday.
It will offer a chance to see the Hotter ‘N Hell Course on June 22nd. DEtails to follow .
Resolute Running will offer a preview run for the 2024 HNH race on Saturday, June 22. The run is free and everyone is invited. The run will start at he South Trailhead/Cedar Pavilion and will cover the entire 9 mile course. You will need to carry water and snacks. No one will be left-behind. Everyone will regroup at all trail changes and confusing sections. There are usually two pace groups, fast and normal. (The fast group does not wait for slower runners.)
register at ultrasignup
HNH RACE RULE #1: ALL RUNNERS MUST CARRY A MINIMUM OF 16 OZ OF WATER AT THE START OF EACH LAP OF THE RACE. You must show us you water bottle at check-in. It is going to be HOT so be prepared.
HNH RULE #2: ALL RUNNERS MUST REFILL YOUR WATER BOTTLE AT THE PEAVINE AID STATION.
HNH RULE #3: If you are not drinking Trailwind, you must consume electrolytes during the race. You should consume at least one “Salt Cap” or one of several other electrolyte produces commonly available such as BaseSalt. If you don’t consume electrolytes, the water you drink will not be absorbs as fast as you need it.
Yes, this will slow you down just a bit. But it will slow everyone else down too. This is a very demanding and technical course. If you are new to trail races, this race is going to take much longer than you could imagine. Getting dehydrated during the race will slow you down a lot more than carrying a few ounces of water. We are tired of calling paramedics to our summer races because runners didn’t think they need much water.
Please remember the $5 per person fee to enter the park. OMSP does not accept credit cards.
THE RACE WILL BE TIMED WITH “HUTAGS” THAT STRAP TO YOUR ANKLE. THEY ARE VERY COMFORTABLE IF YOU RUN IN SOCKS THAT ARE LONG ENOUGH TO COVER YOU ANKLE.
PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE THE RACE WEARING THE “HUTAG!”
The hotter ‘n hell 9 or 18 mile TRAil Race
Now we get to the Real Fun - Race 4 of the Southeastern Trail Series. Race Registration is on Ultrasignup. The 9 Mile is $55, the 18 is $70 before June 30th. Shirt Cutoff is July 7th. Don’t wait to register. The shirts are sharp!
Climb to the top of Double Oak Mountain then down to the depths of Peavine Gorge! You might even want to cool off under the falls before climbing back to the top of the Mountain.
Things get a little harder with race 4 of the Southeastern Trail Series, Hotter 'N Hell. We increase the distance, but not too much, only to 9 and 18 miles. We throw in a few more climbs, but not too many. And we mix in a new factor, HEAT! This one's tough. The trick to deal with the heat is Simple. Drink a lot of water and use Tailwind. If you don't use Tailwind you will have to take electrolyte caps or consume electrolyte sport drinks if you want to finish this one. We even add an extra aid station up near Peavine Falls.
Here is a Google Map Link to the start are: Google Map to Cedar Pavilion
Please remember OMSP charges $5 per person to enter the park. Try to have the correct change, it makes things easier.
Runners MUST enter the park through the SOUTH Gate, near I-65. The north gate does not open until 7:00 AM.
Both races start at 7:00 AM (Did I mention that?)
Watch for Race Updates on Southeastern Trail Runs Facebook page: Southeastern Trail Runs Facebook Page
Weekend Schedule
Friday, July 19th - 4:30 to 5:30 PM - Race Packet Pickup at Mountain High Outfitters Oak Mountain Store. There is likely be NO late registration. The store is located at 2000 Oak Mountain Park Rd, Pelham, AL 35124. Google Maps Location of the MHO at Oak Mtn.
Saturday, July 20th - 6:00 to 6:50 AM - Race Packet Pickup at the Cedar Pavilion at Oak Mountain State Park. There may be NO Late registration at the race. The pavilion is located at the south end of Double Oak Lake, the swimming and canoeing lake, at the end of Terrace Drive. Park in the large parking lot on your right. Do NOT continue up Peavine Falls Road. Here is a Google Maps link: The Race Start at Cedar from the Mountain High Outfitters Store on Oak Mountain Park Rd.
Saturday July 20th - 7:00 AM - Start of the 9 and 18 Mile Races. See the "Directions Link" above for the exact location of the race start.
Everyone MUST enter Oak Mtn State Park through the South Gate, the one close to Interstate-65. The north gate doesn't open until 7:00 AM.
Saturday July 20th - 11:00 AM - Cutoff for 18 mile runners to complete the first 9 mile lap of the course.
Check out the new HNH Logo and shirt design for 2025
Hotter ‘N Hell Course
The course starts and ends at the Cedar Pavilion located at the south end of Double Oak Lake, the canoeing and swimming lake. Park in the large parking lot on Terrace Drive. Bathrooms are located at the north end of the parking lot and behind the parking lot. There is also a bathroom by the Peavine Aid Station. 9 Milers will run one full lap of the course, passing through the timing arch to finish. 18 Milers will run through the arch at the end of the first lap and continue around the course a second time.
HNH Elevation Profile - 18 Mile Course
Here is a GPX File of the HNH Course
go to the caltopo interactive course map
Course Description
The race will starts at Cedar Pavilion and follow the Mr. Toad and Foreplay bike trails to where it crosses the paved road by a closed gate. Leave the bike trail continuing straight ahead, and follow the paved road a little over 1/2 mile to where the bike trail again crosses the road just past a stone bridge. Go left onto the BUMP bike trial. Runners will cross two wooden bridge and start up BUMP. Continue up the trail about 3/4 to Blood Rock. Blood Rock is a steep, very rocky section of the BUMP trail. At the top of the steep section of BUMP trail, a trail drops down the mountain on your left. DO NOT go left here. Continue up hill straight ahead.
Continue about 75 yards to where the trail splits. Go right onto the "Fire Pit" trail. Follow the Fire Pit Trail about 3/4 mile. The trail ends at the Pavine Falls (paved) Road and overlook. Cross the gravel road by the closed gate and continue straight ahead on the the “Red/Green” Connector trail that goes straight up the hill. (Do NOT run down the paved road.) The trail “T’s” into the Green Trail at the top of the ridge. Go right on green, down to the Peavine Falls parking lot. Cross the parking lot angling right to the pavilion. (There is bathroom across the parking lot as you come out of the woods.) The Peavine Falls Aid Station is located in the pavilion.
Run through the pavilion and continue straight out the back side. Following the backcountry trail down the mountain. At the bottom of the hill, the trail crosses a small creek and "T’s" onto a neighborhood trail. Go left at the “T” to where the trail crosses Lower Peavine Creek. The trail immediately "T’s" into another neighborhood trail. Take that trail, which parallels the creek, to the left and follow it all the way up the mountain. Several hundred yards past the Peavine Falls Stone Overlook, the trail hits the high point and starts back downhill. About 50 yards past the hill’s crest, watch for a trail on your left that angles steeply down the mountain. Take that trail down to Peavine Creek and continue left along the creek. Follow trail marking to where the trail crosses the creek and starts to climb back up the other side. Don't continue up the hill, but angle to the right, following trail marking down to the falls.
Cross the creek, through the pool at the bottom of the falls, (You may want to spend a minute or two cooling off under the falls.) and climb back out of the gorge on very technical terrain. This is the standard route out of the gorge on the north side. Follow flagging to the to top of the gorge and cross the footbridge over Upper Peavine Creek. The trail “T’s into the "White Trail" immediately past the bridge. Go right on the “White Trail” for a few hundred yards to the Green/White Connector. Go left up the hill on the Green/White trail to where it "T’s" into Green at the top of the ridge. Go right on Green. Stay on Green, almost all the way down the mountain. You will cross the Red Bike Road and several bike trials on the way down.
Continue through a small valley where the bike trails crosses the Green Trail sever times. Runners will also cross the Yellow Trail and a Horse Trail as they start uphill again. Continue up the next hill to the top of the ridge. On top, turn left on the Yellow Trail and follow it all the way down to the Peavine Falls Road near the South Trailhead. Go right onto the paved road about 50 yards and turn left onto the sidewalks and trails leading back over the Start/Finish at the Cedar Pavilion. Run under the arch. This is the finish of the 9 Mile Race. 18 Milers will cross under the timing arch to the aid station in the pavilion and the same route again.
