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Summary
A behind-the-scenes look at trail races and race directing in Pennsylvania—where logistics, chaos, and questionable decisions meet the woods. Part field notes, part long-winded opinion, and part rediscovery of races past. It's also an exploration of the places that make it all possible—the overlooked landscapes, their history, and the outdoor economy that quietly shapes them.
Coming Soon
The First Frontier
The Hero's Journey
The VOID
... plus old and new race reports, event news, updates, more...
A Finish Worth the Finish
The finish line is not just another piece of race equipment. It is the place where months, and sometimes years, of work, hope, suffering, compromise, and determination finally come to a head. It deserves character. It deserves a finish line that reflects the same spirit we try to bring to every event we put on.
3 days ago2 min read
The Story You Tell Yourself
Trail runners don’t just swap splits and finishing times. We turn every long day in the woods into a story—complete with disasters, low points, unlikely rescues, and hard-earned triumphs. This essay starts with one accidental origin story from the Laurel Highlands 50K and follows the trail through psychology, mythology, and the strange possibility that the stories we tell may shape the lives we end up living.
6 days ago18 min read
The Flannel Has Been Chosen: Unveiling the 2026 Ironstone 100K Finisher Flannel
There are race shirts.
There are race buckles.
And then there is the Ironstone 100K Finisher Flannel.
It is reserved exclusively for those who possess Legs of Iron and Resolve Like a Stone: the runners who conquer the Ironstone 100K course and arrive at the finish line in under 23 hours.
Jun 35 min read
What Makes Ironstone… Ironstone: The Making of a Mid State Monster
This is the story of what makes Ironstone… Ironstone.
Don’t pretend I don’t know.
I hear the whispers at aid stations. The muttering in parking lots after races. The cautious tone people use when someone says, “Yeah, I’m signed up for Ironstone this year.”
Usually it’s followed by silence. A long stare into the middle distance. Maybe someone nervously tightening their hydration vest.
Then somebody says: “Dude… why?"
May 2119 min read
Featured Posts
Blog Roll
A Finish Worth the Finish
The finish line is not just another piece of race equipment. It is the place where months, and sometimes years, of work, hope, suffering, compromise, and determination finally come to a head. It deserves character. It deserves a finish line that reflects the same spirit we try to bring to every event we put on.
3 days ago2 min read
The Story You Tell Yourself
Trail runners don’t just swap splits and finishing times. We turn every long day in the woods into a story—complete with disasters, low points, unlikely rescues, and hard-earned triumphs. This essay starts with one accidental origin story from the Laurel Highlands 50K and follows the trail through psychology, mythology, and the strange possibility that the stories we tell may shape the lives we end up living.
6 days ago18 min read
The Laurel Highlands 50K and My Origin Story
This coming weekend is the Laurel Highlands 50K. Now, fourteen years later, I look back at my first ultramarathon.
I have often wondered when exactly someone becomes an ultrarunner.
Is it the moment they register for their first ultra? Is it standing nervously at a starting line knowing they are about to travel farther on foot than they ever have before? Is it crossing the finish line with a buckle, medal, or race result to prove it?
For me, the answer began on a humid June
Jun 816 min read
The Flannel Has Been Chosen: Unveiling the 2026 Ironstone 100K Finisher Flannel
There are race shirts.
There are race buckles.
And then there is the Ironstone 100K Finisher Flannel.
It is reserved exclusively for those who possess Legs of Iron and Resolve Like a Stone: the runners who conquer the Ironstone 100K course and arrive at the finish line in under 23 hours.
Jun 35 min read
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: Eastern States BLACKOUT
In this edition of Rocksylvania Dispatch, I explore why darkness feels so unsettling, how runners can safely and confidently embrace night running, and why some of the most memorable miles happen after sunset. Along the way, I'll introduce Eastern States: BLACKOUT—a unique overnight training camp designed to remove the mystery from the nighttime sections of the Eastern States 100 by turning fear of the unknown into familiarity with the trail.
Jun 29 min read
Worlds End Ultramarathon and Loyalsock: Before the Race, There Was the Place
Long before I ever ran then volunteered at the Worlds End Ultramarathon, I was captivated by the Loyalsock. First through faded topographic maps in my grandparents’ basement, then through distant glimpses of mist-covered ridges, and finally through years of returning to the wild heart of Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains. This is not really a story about a race. It is a story about place and how certain landscapes shape us, humble us, and quietly call us back.
May 279 min read
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