Record time for Fire on the Rocks 10K

WAYNE TOWNSHIP, PA – Saturday’s third annual Fire on the Rocks 10K trail race was one for the record books.

First-place finisher John Johnson of Ulster, PA, set a course record, finishing the race in only 52 minutes, 39 seconds. An avid runner and race director for other trail races, the 50-year-old Johnson also won the inaugural Fire on the Rocks in 2021, but managed to shave more than three minutes off his time this year.

“This is a beautiful area, and it was a fun time,” said Johnson of the race. “It’s a typical Craig Fleming event – all of them are first-class,” said Johnson of race director Craig Fleming.

More than 400 people were registered for the race, which takes participants on a more than six-mile trek up and down Bald Eagle Mountain, starting and finishing at the Durty Dabbers Motorcycle Club pavilion in McElhattan. Weather conditions were optimal, with clear skies and temperatures in the low 30s. There was no snow, but there were some muddy conditions. Even so, that compared to the 2022 race, which took place during a blizzard and no doubt impacted the first-place finisher time of one hour and 10 minutes.

Second place went to Matthew Woolcock from Oil City. The 19-year-old Penn College student, competing in his first Fire on the Rocks race, finished in 53:33. Gabe Batdorf, 38, of Leesport, PA, finished third, with a time of 56:16, followed by Allen King, 34, of Mill Hall, who had a time of 57:51, and Justin Beatty, 44, of South Williamsport, who finished in 58:04.

Katie Sick, 31, of Millville, PA, was the first female runner to finish. She was sixth overall with a time of one hour even. The second female finisher was 48-year-old Michelle Benshoff of Waynesboro, who finished 18th overall with a time of one-hour, six minutes, followed by Erica Lubera, 32, of Mill Hall, who finished 19th with a time of one hour, eight minutes.

In all, 376 people finished the race over the course of three hours and 51 minutes. Runners came from all over Pennsylvania as well as New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and even Ontario, Canada.

RD Craig Fleming of the PA Trail Dogs running group credited an amazing group of volunteers for the success of the race.

“Everything went really well, thanks to all of the volunteers. This was probably the best the course has ever looked – we got a lot of good comments from participants about the course.

“We have such a great trail community,” continued Fleming. “From the volunteers who handle registering participants, to volunteers out along the course, to those who hand out cinnamon rolls at the end of the race, to those who help clean up afterward, and everything in-between, the volunteers are great. Everyone pitches in and it creates such a positive vibe at our events.”

Fleming and the rest of the PA Trail Dogs will again be in action April 22 as they host Clinton County’s largest trail race, the Hyner View Trail Challenge. For more information, visit patraildogs.com.