Since the cancellation of the Blackwater Canyon Half Marathon in late May, our friends in neighbouring Barbour County have offered to host our event for this year. While we hope that the race can return next year to the course you know and love, we are very excited to offer you an alternative in the Tygart Valley Half Marathon on the same day and time, September 14th at 9am, in Belington, WV!
Just over the ridge from Parsons, Belington is excited to host this event for 2024. We’ll bring the transportable and best parts of the race with us: a beautiful and accurate riverside course, a well-managed race with great attention to detail, generous and useful prizes, and a classic spread of post-race snacks.
All proceeds will continue to directly support the mission and projects of the Highlands Trail Foundation.
The 2024 course will be an out-and-back format with slight undulation along the Tygart Valley River on a mix of gravel and paved back roads. The race will start and end at the historic Golden Rule building in downtown Belington and trace the river through the tiny town of Junior. We hope to return to the Thomas-to-Parsons course in 2025, so this race is a rare chance to take a swing at a fast and flat riverside course that may be gone with the change of the seasons. 
The Tygart Valley Half will also maintain the tradition of The BlackHel Double. Runners that complete both this race and the Helvetia 10K Mountain Run hosted by WVMTR the following morning will receive a special hat at the awards ceremony in Helvetia and will be entered in the combined ranking for this third year of The BlackHel Double.
There will be aid stations on the course with electrolytes, water, and light snacks. This is a cupless race, so please plan accordingly with the portable cup of your choice.
There will be two chances for packet pick up:
the night before the race, 13 September, at the Golden Rule Building in Belington, WV from 5pm to 7pm.the morning of the race, 14 September, also at the Golden Rule Building (the start / finish) from 7am to 8am.
We will have awards to celebrate our fastest runners, going three deep into each age group:
Overall Top Male and Female finisher!Top 3 Male finishers in each age group (0-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+)Top 3 Female finishers in each age group (0-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+)