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Ultras · US · PA

Pine Creek Challenge

50 Mile · 50M
Registration open
Race dateSeptember 12-13, 2026
Duration2 days
Start8:00am
Whenin 21 days
First held2011
Free, and always will be. NavRun makes money from race-day planning for runners who want it, never from this. Ultras change constantly, sometimes the morning of. Always confirm with the race director and the official website before you rely on anything here.
Distance 50M
Climb not checked yet
Descent not checked yet
High point not checked yet
Time limit 28:00:00
Aid stations 9
Started not checked yet
Finished not checked yet
Finish rate not checked yet
The course

Where it goes out and back · 9 aid stations

Course line from the race's own GPX. Source file.

Start at Asaph: out-and-back to Wellsboro Junction (~6 mi each way), back to Asaph, then out-and-back to Blackwell (~19 mi each way) -- the first half of the 100 Mile course.

Identical route/surface/grade to the first half of the 100 Mile course. Overall time limit is not published as a headline number for this distance; derived here from the 8:00 am Saturday start to the published noon-Sunday course closure (28 hours) -- flagged as inferred, not stated outright by the race.

The race

What this one is

An out-and-back ultra on the Pine Creek Rail Trail through the Pine Creek Gorge (the "Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania") near Wellsboro, PA, run concurrently at four distances (100 Mile, 100K, 50 Mile, Marathon) from a shared start/finish at Asaph. The trail is finely crushed limestone, 20 feet wide, closed to motor vehicles, and loses only about 900 feet over 63 miles (a 2% grade) -- flat enough that the race markets itself as beginner-friendly and a common choice for a first 100-miler.

First run at least by 2011 (UltraSignup results are on file back to 2011). The 100-mile course was originally longer: a 2013 crew report describes the out-and-back continuing south past Blackwell through Slate Run and Cedar Run aid stations to a turnaround near the village of Cammal (Blackwell was passed at mile 79.1, not the turnaround). By 2016 (per an archived course-map image) and continuing through the current 2026 listing, the course has been shortened to turn around AT Blackwell, with the Slate Run/Cedar Run/Cammal stations no longer part of the race.

Getting in

Getting in Entry, lottery and what the race asks of you before race day.

Lottery
No
Lottery opens
not checked yet
Lottery draw
not checked yet
Field cap
not checked yet
Registration
UltraSignup ultrasignup.com
Qualifying
not checked yet
Minimum age
not checked yet
Transfers
not checked yet
Deferrals
not checked yet
Crew, pacers and drop bags

The rules that shape your day Anything marked "not checked yet" is a gap in what we hold, never a no from the race.

Crew allowed
Yes
Vehicles per runner
not checked yet
Pacers
Yes
Muling
Not allowed
Drop bags
Yes
Cupless
No
Course marking
Fully Marked
Night running
Yes
Dogs
not checked yet
Headphones
Allowed
Crew rules
not checked yet
Pacer rules
not checked yet
Drop bag rules
not checked yet
Cutoff philosophy
not checked yet
Aid stations

Every stop, and what you get there ● yes   · no   ? nobody has checked

Mile Station Cutoff Crew Bag Pacer Med To next
0.00 Asaph (USGS Building) ? ? ? 6.00
6.00 Wellsboro Junction ? ? ? 6.00
12.00 Asaph (USGS Building) ? · ? ? 3.00
15.00 Darling Run ? ? ? 8.00
23.00 Tiadaghton
None · no cell service
? · · ? ? 7.50
30.50 Blackwell ? ? 7.50
38.00 Tiadaghton
None · no cell service
? · · ? ? 8.00
46.00 Darling Run ? ? ? 4.00
50.00 Asaph (USGS Building) ? ? ? ? ?
Same race, other lines

Other distances and other years

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