2021 - Rock 'N The Knob Trail Challenge – PA’s Highest Trail Race
2021 distances
Trail running
Mountain Marathon atop Blue Knob
For mountain-goats, this course has broken the will of many as you repeatedly attempt to ascend one of the highest peaks in the Central Alleghenies – finishing with 6,750+ feet of climbing on your legs. The marathon includes all the ‘greatest hits’ of both the half and 10k races – and more like Crist Trail, Rock ‘N Ridge Trail, Chappelle’s Climb! For 2021, we will be adding a new climb to make this one of the toughest marathon distance races in the Mid-Atlantic region. The new section in 2021 is called ‘Eurus’ for the Greek god of the East Wind – “The East Wind is coming. It seeks out the unworthy and plucks them from the Earth.” Rated in the Top 10 (#7) as the Toughest Trail Marathons in the Northeast by Trails Collective and #1 Toughest in Pennsylvania. Marathon: 6750+ feet of climb in 26.41 miles is 256.6 feet of climbing per mile [“back-half” is 276 feet/mile] COURSE DESCRIPTION: https://www.alleghenytrailrunners.com/rock-n-the-knob-mountain-marathon-description/ COURSE MAP: https://www.alleghenytrailrunners.com/marathon-course-map-and-charts/
Half-Marathon atop Blue Knob
In 2019, we added a half-marathon course! Get ready – this half-marathon is a doozy. We took our marathon course and cutting it in half but leaving in more than half of the challenges and suffering in with over 3500 feet of climbing on the 13.51 mile course! The half features some gnarly sections like Blister Blaster, Teal is Real up Deep Hollow Notch, I’ll Nettle Do This Again and I Need a Sherpa! We are amending the course in 2021 to include more elevation madness with almost 3500 feet of climbing – or 7000 feet of elevation change by adding a new section in 2021 called Eurus for the Greek god of the East Wind – “The East Wind is coming. It seeks out the unworthy and plucks them from the Earth.” [No pacers, drop bags, or crew.] Rated in the Top 10 (#8 ) among the Toughest Trail Half-Marathons in the Northeast by Trails Collective. Half Marathon: 3500 feet of climb in 13.1 miles is 267 feet of climbing per mile [“back-half” is 382 feet/mile] COURSE DESCRIPTION: https://www.alleghenytrailrunners.com/rock-n-the-knob-half-marathon-course-description/ COURSE MAP: https://www.alleghenytrailrunners.com/rock-n-the-knob-half-marathon-map/
10K atop Blue Knob Mountain
The 10K course may be the most challenging 10K in PA* (*based on the fastest and average finish times.) The 10K features trails like Lost Porcupine, Code-Red, Tree-odge, Devils Hairpin, Throat Punch Hill and Soul Sucker Slopes! Two major climbs give you nearly 1500 feet of climbing. There is one aid station at the base of the first climb called Throat Punch Hill at 3.7 miles. [No pacers, drop bags, or crew.] Rated #14 as the Toughest Trail 10Ks in the Northeast by Trails Collective and #1 Toughest in Pennsylvania. 10K: 1496 feet of climb in 6.2 miles is 241 feet of climbing per mile [“back-half” is 390 feet/mile] COURSE DESCRIPTION: https://www.alleghenytrailrunners.com/rock-n-the-knob-challenge-10k-course-description/ COURSE MAP: https://www.alleghenytrailrunners.com/10k-course-maps-and-charts/
Race date Weather
Conditions on September 18, 2021 — historical Open-Meteo data.
About Claysburg
Rock 'N The Knob Trail Challenge – PA’s Highest Trail Race takes place in Claysburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The local timezone is America/New_York.
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Race information has been sourced from the event's official website and other publicly available resources. For the most up-to-date details, please refer to the official website directly. If you notice any incorrect or missing information, don't hesitate to reach out to us by email.