Dirty Kiln Trail Race | Rocksylvania Dispatch

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.

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... plus old and new race reports, event news, updates, more...

Debby Downer: “It’s Only A Matter of Time”

In August 2024, Tropical Storm Debby turned Eastern States 100 into a battle against rising water, flooded roads, changing forecasts and one impossible decision: cancel the race. In this week’s Rockslyvania Dispatch, I look back at the 16-hour fight to save Eastern States, what ultimately forced us to concede, and what happened afterward. And somewhere on a dam beneath a sky full of Perseid meteors, I realized that sometimes the most important thing is not what you lost, but

2 days ago20 min read

The Eastern States 100: Ten Things You Should Know About the Race Everyone Suddenly Seems to Be Talking About

The Eastern States 100 is having a moment. After Kaylee Frederick's record-setting overall victory, more people are discovering what we've known for years: this is no ordinary 100-miler. It's 103.5 miles of rugged Pennsylvania Wilds, 21,000 feet of climbing, August heat, a roughly 50% finish rate, and a whole lot of grassroots grit. Here's what makes Eastern States different—and why the race is about far more than finishing times.

6 days ago10 min read

Pine Creek Valley: A Landscape Written in Stone, Water, and Sweat

Let's look at the forces that shaped the Pine Creek Valley, a little-known Declaration of Independence that happened here on the very same day as Philadelphia's, and how lumber transformed one of Pennsylvania's wildest landscapes.

Jul 2210 min read

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.

Jul 52 min read

Blog Roll

The Dirty Kiln Trail Race: A Race Directors Report (2012)

I again go back into the archives and dig up an old blog post after the inaugural Dirty Kiln Trail Race from 2012. It has been a couple of weeks since our first trail race as one of the race directors. I really do not know where to begin. This had been a seven month long endeavor and we have made a lot of memories. Instead of trying to put together a chronological list of what happened, here is a list of items point by point. The Park It has been a pleasure working with the

Dirty Kiln Trail Races

Mar 259 min read

Stoking the Flames of the Dirty Kiln (2012)

We go back into the Way-Back Machine for a post I wrote in 2012, a month before the first Dirty Kiln Trail Race, when four friends embarked on an adventure which began a true origin story. The last few months I have been busy prepping for the Dirty Kiln Trail Races. The founding members of the Allegheny Trailrunners, myself, Matt Lindsey, Ethan Imhoff, and Adam McGinnis have been hard at work preparing for our first trail race in our race series. The last few months I have b

Dirty Kiln Trail Races

Mar 254 min read

Dirty Kiln: Mud, Steel, and Something… Else

Canoe Creek State Park isn’t just a place to run—it’s a landscape shaped by industry, scars, and slow recovery. From lime kilns that fed Pittsburgh’s steel boom to bat populations clawing their way back, every mile here carries a story… including the one behind the name “Dirty Kiln.” My story with Canoe Creek State Park goes back a while. Fourth grade. Early 80s. My dad and I had what were probably the first mountain bikes in Blair County—or at least that’s how it felt at the

history and Heritage

Mar 255 min read