Perfect running weather greets Eagleton Trail Challenge participants

RecordStaffApril 10, 2023Last Updated: April 10, 2023

3 minutes read

About 60 runners took on the 50K course in Saturday’s Eagleton Trail Challenge. All photos courtesy Clinton County Visitors Bureau

EAGLETON, PA – It was a picture-perfect Easter weekend Saturday as close to 300 runners took to the woods in Sproul State Forest for the annual Eagleton Trail Challenge. The event starts and ends at the Sons of Italy campgrounds along the Renovo Road and features a 50K, 25K, 25K Ruck and 10K race.

Temperatures hovered around the freezing mark as about 60 runners took part in the 50K race that began at 8:00 a.m. It wasn’t long before the sun was out, and with excellent conditions, it was a fast day on the trails.

Eagleton Trail Challenge Race Director Blake Cohen, center, congratulates two of the top runners in Saturday’s race. Emanuel King of Mill Hall, left, won the 50K race in the four-race series, and John Johnson of Ulster, at right, won the 10K race.

Emanuel King made great time on the 50K course, finishing first in four hours, 32 minutes, likely the fastest time in the race’s history. The 25-year-old from Mill Hall, who’s a top competitor in the trail running community, said the course was great.

“It was a really nice day for the race,” said King. “The course was great – very runnable and very tough.”

Next was Clayton McNamee, 29, of State College, with a time of 5:15, followed by Jason Tanner, 47, of St. Marys, whose time was 5:40.

The top three females to finish the 50K were Lauren Jefferson, 48 of Rockingham, Virginia, sixth overall with a time of 6:08; Tammy Rachau, 48 of Mill Hall, ninth overall with a time of 6:16; and Jessica Ranalli, 29, of Beamsville, Ontario, who was 19th overall with a time of 6:59.

Kate Fisher, right, leads the way along one of the runnable sections of the Eagleton Trail Challenge course. Fisher, of Watsontown, was the third female to finish the 25K course and eleventh overall.

The 25K and 10K races followed, drawing the largest groups of the day, with more than 90 people in each.

Mitchell Campbell, 19, of Riegelsville, PA and a student at Penn College, took first place in the 25K with a time of two hours, seven minutes. Weston Martin, 29, of Trout Run followed with a time of 2:41, and third was Sean Robbins, 53, of Dallas, PA who finished in 2:44.

The top three female finishers in the 25K were Laura Fike, 35, of Watsontown, who was fifth overall, with a time of 2:56; Julia Ho, 23, of State College, who was eighth overall with a time of 3:05; and Kate Fisher, 63, of Watsontown, who was eleventh overall with a time of 3:06.

Another familiar name in trail running, John Johnson, crossed the finish line first in the 10K race Saturday. The 50-year-old from Ulster, PA, turned in a time of 52 minutes, 47 seconds, also believed to be a course record. Johnson, who says 10K’s are his favorite distance to run, has competed in the 50K and 25K Eagleton courses in the past (he won the 25K in 2017) and decided he might as well try the 10K this year.

Tyler Kanagy, 33, of Yeagertown, PA was second in the 10K with a time of 1:03, followed by Nate Troyer, 31, of Mill Hall, who finished in 1:08.

Christine Fye, 40, of Mill Hall was the top female finisher. She was eighth overall with a time of 1:11, followed by Tara Engelhart, 34 of East Berlin, PA, 19th overall with a time of 1:21, and Laura Kaminsky, 28, of Ithaca, NY, who was 24th overall with a time of 1:24.

The 25K Ruck – a test of strength and endurance as participants must carry a weighted pack – saw 20 finishers. Sam Brand finished first in three hours, 45 minutes. The 35-year-old from Wyoming, PA, said he typically runs half-marathons, but Saturday was his first trail race.
Despite not being used to carrying the weight or running on a trail, Brand said he had a fun day.

Dion Friday, 27 of Reading was second in the Ruck, with a time of 3:52. Kylie Sikorskas, 30 of Mill Hall was third and the first female finisher, with a time of 4:30. Jared Prokopchak, 34, of Williamsport was fourth, with a time of 4:37. Ellie Moore, 30, of Lock Haven was the second female to finish and sixth overall with a time of 4:47. The third female finisher in the 25K Ruck was Dacia Rhodes, 41, of Fredericktown, PA, who was 14th overall with a time of 5:20.

Nate Troyer of Mill Hall, at right, gets a fist bump and lots of encouragement from some of the volunteers at one of the check stations during Saturday’s Eagleton Trail Challenge. Troyer finished third in the 10K race.

With Race Director Blake Cohen and a dedicated team of volunteers who kept the day running like clockwork, a total of 265 people finished the four races. Participants came from Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Maine, and Canada.

For more on the race, visit Eagleton Trail Challenge on Facebook or www.runemtc.org.