Cinco de Mayo was a day of almost unspoiled beauty. At the starting line of the third annual Ironmaster’s Challenge, the air was humid and warm in Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Rumbling thunder and rain had stopped just after midnight and the sun was out. The marathon and 15K distances would not start for [...]
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Sorry for the late notice, but I just discovered the first annual Greenwood Furnace Trail Challenge, which will be run on May 6 in Greenwood Furnace State Park near Huntingdon. The 13-mile race follows a figure-8 course beginning at Greenwood Furnace and heading through the Rothrock State Forest toward the Allen Seeger Natural Area before heading [...]
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In anticipation of the Hyner View Trail Challenge and the Rothrock Challenge, I seek out those trails in South-central Pennsylvania that involve climbs and technical footing. This run is a gem not only for those training purposes but for the natural beauty of the setting. It starts from the parking area on Sherwood Drive (Wertzville [...]
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This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be [...]
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We Pennsylvania trail runners have few opportunities to tackle a challenge similar to the Big Ones: Leadville, Western States, UTMB. So it’s a thrill when a race comes along that truly intimidates the participants. The race director of the Hyner View Trail Challenge bluntly warns that you will be on your own in the remote [...]
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A new year’s resolution of sorts, along with the start of this interweb runalogue, involved an ambitious ramping up of my race schedule. We were having the warmest winter in memory while riding a growing wave of enthusiasm for trail running, and all the race coverage and new products that come with it. I couldn’t [...]
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Ask anyone who runs the trails around Gifford Pinchot State Park and they will all tell you about one defining feature of the experience: mud. Most trails become endless mud puddles with little solid footing, especially where horse traffic churns up the path. You hate to contribute to the widening of the path by running [...]
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Many of you will recall the terrible flooding that sank the Susquehanna Super Hike and Ultra Trail Run in 2011. I am sure that the race organizers, having worked tirelessly to prepare for the event, were more disappointed than the would-be participants as the Susquehanna River crept higher and higher and the rain kept falling. [...]
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There is a scene in “One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest” where Jack Nicholson as McMurphy surveys a fenced-in playground full of psychiatric patients on a gray day and, seemingly to keep himself stimulated, tries to teach the reticent and towering Chief to play basketball. Nurse Ratched peers disapprovingly from a hospital window above, and a [...]
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Those of you in South-central PA who are training for the Megatransect or Rothrock will need a place to climb and scramble over rocks. This run is for you. Getting There: Take US 22/322 west from Harrisburg to the exit for Halifax (PA 225). Follow PA 225 for 1.8 miles. Turn right onto PA 325 and go [...]
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