Set in the wilds of central Pennsylvania, this race delivers a pure trail experience that is rugged, raw, and wildly beautiful. Rothrock Course Description
The course starts at the Tussey Mountain pavilion and continues up Bear Meadows Road. After about a half mile on Bear Meadows Rd you will take a right on Laurel Run Road, and then a left after about 100 yards onto Lonberger Trail (some maps ma
p refer to the first part of Lonberger as Chute Trail). This is the beginning of the first major climb of the race, which includes a gain of around 1000 feet in a little over a mile. After a few short, steep switchbacks on Lonberger, you will make a right on Three Bridges Trail and then a left on Spruce Gap Trail in short succession. The real climbing begins once you hit Spruce Gap…there are no switchbacks to bail you out from this point on to the top. After about 0.8 miles you will reach the summit and make a right on the Mid State Trail shortly thereafter. You will come out to an opening with the Little Flat Firetower and you will bear to the left and proceed on to New Laurel Run Trail. New Laurel Run Trail is a serpentine descent for approximately 0.6 miles until you hit Laurel Run Road again. The course goes left on Laurel Run Road and then almost immediately left again up Fleetfoot trail. The course climbs for 0.4 miles until you intersect with the Mid State and make a right, and continue for a good choppy mile until you hit North Meadows Trail and make a right. From here the course drops down some crazy train trail, across Bear Gap Road, down another branch grabbing, heel digging drop, and then bottoms out onto Laurel Run Road. Here you will make a right and continue(for the most boring and straightforward section of the course) for approximately 0.3 miles at which point you will hit up Aid Station #1. After a speed buffet, you will make a left onto Sand Spring Trail, and continue up and then down Sand Spring for over a mile until you make a left on to Shingletown Gap Trail for a couple tenths of a mile and then another left on Charcoal Flats Trail. Charcoal Flats chugs along for about a mile, becomes the Red-White Trail (signified by the Red and White tree blazes), and then makes a left onto Blue-White Trail (signified by, yep, you got it…). Blue White climbs up to a ridge where you will make a right onto Mountain Mist Trail. The trail mountain goats along the ridge before dropping to the left and down Part I of the CLIFFS OF INSANITY. The bottom throws you back out onto Blue-White Trail and then takes you right you across a giant log bridge where you will be rewarded with Aid Station #2!! At this point you will have completed 9.5 miles of your Rothrock adventure. You will then make a right onto Lower Trail, disappear into some Giant Rhododendron, and quickly make a left and start up the CLIFFS OF INSANITY PART II. This area is a popular hang-out spot for both snakes and photographers. PART II, you will run along the ridge for a short bit and then make a right on to Bald Knob Ridge Trail. Bald Knob Ridge will take you down to Jaunt Trail where you will bear left to continue onto Jaunt. After a few tenths of a mile on Jaunt you will make a right onto Maguire Trail which will take you down to Lower Trail where you will make a left and run along the stream for a little less than a mile until you come to an intersection with an old stone foundation where you will make a left onto Sand Spring. Climb for about half a mile on Sand Spring and then make a right onto Bald Knob Ridge Trail. Follow Bald Knob Ridge to Greenshoot Trail and make a right. Take another right (it’s the second right as you’re running down Greenshoot) onto Clemons Trail. Run briefly down Clemons and take the first left onto New Lower Trail. Continue for a little over a half mile until you reach the yellow gate at Laurel Run Road and Aid Station #3. After some zombie revival, you continue across the road onto Shingletown Gap Trail. Follow this diagonal climb for less than a half mile until you hit Little Flat Tower Road, where you will go left and run a few yards before turning left again down Old Laurel Run Trail. The pain may become audible on this pummeling descent. Within a mile you will bear to the right and onto Three Bridges Trail, which features beautiful ferns and a natural spring water stop. From Three Bridges you will bear left onto Lonberger Path, and then continue across Laurel Run Road and down Black Gum Trail until you hit Bear Meadows Road. From there it’s slight downhill all the way into the finish--retracing your (much fresher) footsteps from the start. And you are more than welcome to extend your finish past the timing mats and straight into the refreshing lake. (and almost certain muscular seizure…)
