This is the Official Course Map for the 2020 Shut-In Ridge Trail Race, to be held virtually between October 30th and November 15th. Note that the first 2 miles of the route are DIFFERENT that in recent years. This years route will follow the entirety of the ACTUAL Shut-In Ridge Trail and is designed to be more simple. Course Details: The first ~2.5 miles of the Shut-In course has been modified to simplify the beginning of the race and avoid the section inside Bent Creek Experimental Forest (many turns on this section). This has caused the overall course distance (16.3 miles) to be about 1.4 miles shorter than in recent years. Don’t let the slightly shorter distance fool you, this modified course adds an additional steep hill at 1/2 mile into the race. START: The 2020 course will begin at the Start of the *original* Shut-In Trail, which is located on the Brevard Road entrance ramp to the Blue Ridge Parkway, about 75 yards uphill from the main entrance to the NC Arboretum. There is a wooden 4’x4′ post in the ground with a circular white trail-blaze on it. Official Start of the 41st Annual Shut-In Ridge Trail Race (virtual edition). Runners will start their timing devices while standing on the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance ramp directly outside the NC Arboretum Entrance, facing the Mountains To Sea Trail (circular white trailheads on trees) (Blue Ridge Parkway will be to your Left. NC Arboretum Entrance should be to your Right. French Broad River should be behind you). There is a ~10′ section of grass that runners will cross between the pavement and the actual dirt trail. Runners will follow this trail to the end of the Shut-In trail, which is located where the single-track trail meets the grass at the Upper Mount Pisgah parking lot (this is the same as the finish in previous years). FINISH: The Official race finish will remain the same as in recent years. This is where the dirt single-track Shut-In Trail/Mountains-To-Sea-Trail reaches the mowed grass at the Upper Mt. Pisgah Parking Area. Runners must stop their timing devices once their feet meet the grass and are out of the forest. FINISH: The Official race finish will remain the same as in recent years. This is where the dirt single-track Shut-In Trail/Mountains-To-Sea-Trail reaches the mowed grass at the Upper Mt. Pisgah Parking Area. Runners must stop their timing devices once their feet meet the grass and are out of the forest. *Note: The topographic image of the Finish can be confusing, so please adhere to the written description of the Finish. The topographic map image can be confusing because the Upper Mt. Pisgah Parking Lot (which is where the Finish Line is) is "on top" of one of the Blue Ridge Parkway tunnels...