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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
Black Forest Ultra
The VOID
Old Race Reports from Oil Creek
... plus old and new race reports, event news, updates, more...
Rock ’N The Knob: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Blue Knob
A look back at the history of Rock ’N The Knob, from early mountain bike rides on Blue Knob to the creation of one of Pennsylvania’s toughest trail races. Celebrating 1,500 unique participants, this Rocksylvania Dispatch explores the mountain, race evolution, waypoint names, ultramarathon ambition and the questionable judgment behind it all.
Sep 212 min read
The Strange, Sacred, and Slightly Unhinged History of Blue Knob
Blue Knob has been a place of tragedy, mystery, defense, recreation, community, and occasionally complete absurdity. We accumulated stories for more than a century, and we are simply adding a few more.
Aug 2617 min read
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
Aug 2120 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.
Aug 1710 min read
Featured Posts
Blog Roll
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
Aug 2120 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.
Aug 1710 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
Built by Women, for Women: SHEastern States 2026
SHEastern States is a deliberate created space for women to come together on the legendary Eastern States course and discover what happens when challenge, community, and shared purpose intersect.
May 2611 min read
It’s All Spreadsheets
Organizing an ultramarathon is mostly a sprawling network of spreadsheets, checklists, logistics, matrices, volunteer trackers, and color-coded operational documents held together by caffeine and conditional formatting.
This is a celebration of the hidden administrative monster behind trail running and the strange beauty of trying to engineer adventure through Google Sheets.
May 138 min read
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