1,100-Plus Compete in Hyner Trail Challenge

Participants come from 27 states and Canada

RecordStaffApril 24, 2023Last Updated: April 24, 2023

3 minutes read

The start of the Hyner View Trail Challenge 50K race saw more than 400 runners. All photos courtesy Clinton County Visitors Bureau

HYNER, PA – More than 1,100 runners took on Hyner Mountain in Sproul State Forest Saturday for the 17th Hyner View Trail Challenge. The event features two courses, both designed to give participants what organizers boast as “the run of your life!”

The 50K race kicked off at 8 a.m. Saturday, followed by a 25K event at 9 a.m. Both courses began and ended at what’s known as the Eagles Nest landing area at the base of Hyner Mountain, just behind Good Neighbor Craft House in North Bend.

Weather conditions favored the runners, as temperatures were in the low sixties, with a slight wind and minimal sun. Those still on the course Saturday afternoon weren’t deterred when some rain moved in.

Left, Hyner View Trail Challenge Race Director Craig Fleming, right, congratulates 25K winner Ben Robinson of Tunkhannock. The first male and female finishers in the 25K race each received an old brush cutter found on Hyner Mountain during one of the many trail prep days the PA Trail Dogs organize to get the course ready for the race. The cutters were refurbished and specially engraved for the winners. Right,Keri Venarchick of Marysville, PA, was the first female and 17th overall in Saturday’s Hyner Trail Challenge 25K race. Top finishers in both races received a specially engraved axe presented by Race Director Craig Fleming.

Ben Robinson, 29, of Tunkhannock (a Lock Haven University grad who had run cross country while in college) was first to cross the finish line for the shorter 25K course, coming in at two hours, 11 minutes. This was his fourth time to run the 25K, which he also won in 2021.

“This is my favorite Spring race, so it’s always good to come out here. Craig (Race Director Craig Fleming) does such a good job,” said Robinson.

First-time Hyner Challenge participant Greg Ahlswede, 33 of Scranton, finished second with a time of 2:23, followed by 21-year-old Dalton Kalbaugh of Allison Park, PA, who turned in a time of 2:25.

The first female to complete the 25K course was 33-year-old Keri Venarchick of Marysville, PA, who finished 17th overall with a time of 2:59. Venarchick was also a first-time participant. “This was awesome,” she said of the race. “The climbs were brutal and the downhills fast, and the volunteers at the aid stations were great.”

The second female finisher was Karlye Shirley, 41, of Greensburg, PA, who finished in 3:11, followed by Kristen Cantor, 36, of Williamsport, who finished just four seconds later. Shirley and Cantor were 31st and 32nd overall.

In all, 780 people finished the 25K course.

Another 342 people completed the 50K race, led by Benjamin Linne of Joppa, Maryland. The 25-year-old finished in four-hours, 30 minutes, making his third time to compete in the 50K a charm. “I was really happy with my time,” said Linne, who finished in third place the past two years. “The course was good and I knew how to pace it.”

Lock Haven’s Reagan McCoy, wasn’t far behind. The 25-year-old, who’s making a name for himself in the trail running community, was just a minute behind Linne, finishing in 4:31, followed by Brian Wiest, 36, of Wallingford, PA, who finished in 4:43.

The start of Saturday’s Hyner Challenge 25K race, as seen from atop Hyner Mountain, with about 800 participants heading out from the Eagle’s Nest and onto 120 to cross the bridge at Hyner and head up the mountain

Michelle Kent, 26, of Golden, Colorado, was the first female to finish the 50K course with a time of 5:14, coming in 18th overall. “I’ve always wanted to run this race – talking to people it sounded like so much fun,” said Kent, who said she in fact had a great time despite slipping on a rock and “face-planting” into a stream.
Karen Dunn, 46, of Trappe, PA, was the second female finisher and 22nd overall with a time of 5:16, followed by Justyna Wilson, 47, of Fairless Hills, PA, who was 28th overall with her time of 5:31.

The Hyner View Trail Challenge has become infamous across the U.S. and beyond, as evidenced by people from 27 different states, the District of Columbia, and Quebec and Ontario, Canada, who participated this year. Many say it’s an event they ‘love to hate,’ possibly because of several major climbs, the first of which takes runners from Route 120 up Hyner Mountain and to the rock wall overlook at Hyner View State Park. The brutal climbs and several major descents provide both a physical and mental challenge.

Race Director Craig Fleming of the PA Trail Dogs loves the challenge of the race and credits a lot of hard work from the many volunteers for making the race a success. He’s also quick to credit volunteers, supporters and the trail running community overall for what he describes as a “big family atmosphere.”

“It was a good day,” said Fleming. “It’s great to see everybody talking after the race and just hanging out, enjoying themselves.”

The Hyner View Trail Challenge – Clinton County’s largest trail race – is one of 10 organized by the PA Trail Dogs and was the first race the group ever held after forming in 2007. For more on Hyner and other PA Trail Dogs events, visit the PATrailDogs.com website or on Facebook.