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Route: Silver Comet Trail (GA)

Location
Georgia, US
Distance
61.5 mi
Vertical Gain
1,650 ft
Description

The Silver Comet Trail is a 61.5 mile rail trail from Smyrna, GA, to the GA-AL State Line.  It is part of a 95.5-mile-long continuous trail from Atlanta to Anniston.

Erich Hellstrom attempted to run the Silver Comet in August 2017, but didn't complete the route.  He posted as follows:

"I started off at night in Smyrna which led to a few more hurdles than I was prepared for. The largest being that 'technically' you're not supposed to use the trail at night and I was running in very close proximity to people's homes late at night. It proved to be pretty sketchy. I called a ride after a few hours and haven't been back yet.

However, I am looking to go back for a point-to-point sometime this year (during daylight hours). Most likely starting at the Alabama line and ending at mile 0 in Smyrna. I'll post here again when those plans are more concrete!

-Erich"

GPS Track
Silver-Comet-Wray.gpx2.89 MB

FKTs

Comments

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James Wray
Fri, 06/05/2020 - 09:07am

I plan to attempt this tomorrow, starting from the state line at dawn and running eastward to Smyrna. I will be supported, with friends running with me for some segments and my wife crewing from the car. Should be a fun (albeit HOT) day!

Allison42
Wed, 07/08/2020 - 06:19pm

Bentley-Grace Hicks is a Walking with KPeasey https://www.kylepeasefoundation.org/aboutkpf wheelchair assist athlete who has a slot for Boston Marathon next year since this year's race was cancelled. She orchestrated a little adventure on the Silver Comet Trail with Chris Nasser and Anthony Nasser on July 3rd since one of her favorite races, the Peachtree Road Race was cancelled for July 4th (along with several other races she wanted to do). From 4am until 2pm the team ran 62 miles from Atlanta to Alabama State Line.  Chris, Anthony, Eric, Henry Hicks (her brother), Jess Wilson helped Bentley Grace make her adventure a reality and demonstrate #inclusion and #TogetherWEWheel is all that is needed to make things happen.

 

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runningnaturalist
Mon, 11/30/2020 - 07:22pm

Taylor Busch, Clint Hawkins and myself (Eli Dickerson) will be attempting a fully supported Silver Comet FKT this weekend heading from east to west.  We'll begin at the Mavel Rd. trailhead and finish at the Alabama border.  Unless the weather turns for the worse, we will likely start at 6am on Saturday, December 5th.  I notified current FKT record holder James Wray and was excited to get some intel and advice from him.  STOKED.

~Eli

I don't see how it's possible Peter Strickland ran it in 8 hours and 10 minutes.  That's  literally a 8 min mile pace for +60 miles.  Who is this guy really?  Karnazes? Frosberg? Goggins?

That's not that incredible.  I mean it's a super solid effort, but not unimaginable by any means.  Elite ultra runners could do it 6 something I would imagine.

yea, I looked that up to come up with a target time.  I shot for 80% of the women's world record which is around 6:30 for the 100k

Odulls and Chocolate Chip Cookies are the keys to my success.

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Carissa Liebowitz
Sat, 02/13/2021 - 08:18am

I will be attempting a fully supported westward FKT from Mavell Rd to the Alabama border tomorrow, 2/14/21 at approximately 7:00 a.m. Looks like a little rain, but temps should be perfect. Plus, I've got a great crew lined up for aiding and pacing. 

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Daniel Harris
Sun, 12/18/2022 - 11:17am

I plan to run self supported eastward on Tuesday 20th Dec '22 starting at around 8am.

LauraKBradley
Tue, 06/18/2024 - 01:31pm

I’m planning to attempt this going east from the state line, self-supported. 

Meaning I plan to carry a pack with my food/ electrolytes and rely on water fountains - potentially purchasing food if something is convenient, but packing to not use stores. I wasn’t fully clear on unsupported vs self supported when writing the initial post. Attempt will be Saturday 6/22/24.Â