Montage Mountain Half Marathon geared up to host USATF Trail Championship

Announcement written by race director Ben Robinson. Ben finished 8th at the 2019 USATF 50 km Trail Championships in Auburn, CA this past winter.

The Montage Mountain Trail Half Marathon, host of the USA Track & Field (USATF) Half Marathon Trail Championships will take place on June 9th in Scranton, PA is a little more than a week away! This race is one trail half marathon race that you don’t want to miss in 2019.

The race has an awesome field of athletes coming into town for the Championship event! Some of the top men and women registered so far include 2017 US Mountain Running Team member and Olympic cross country skier Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Common, VT) Lee Berube (Syracuse, NY), Mark Beams (Milwaukee, WI), Matt Lipsey (Harrisburg, PA), Sam Lewis (Moscow, ID) and Katie O’Regan (Lititz, PA).

Olympian Caitlin Patterson finishing the 2018 USATF Mountain Running Championships.

The course at Montage Mountain Resort offers some of the most challenging and scenic trails that Pennsylvania has to offer. The first half of the course introduces runners to some classic, rock-ridden trail sections that will keep you focused and feeling fresh but on your toes. Runner’s should save energy for the second half of the race as three of the four major climbs happen in the last six miles. A creek crossing past the midpoint signals the start of the climbing. Enjoy the creek cool-off after that 3-miler downhill, you’ll need it. Next, take on some serious steep adjacent to the steepest ski slope in Pennsylvania only to hit high gear on a wickedly fast decent down Cannonball, a Black Diamond slope at the resort. Veer right and breathe, 1000 feet of gain awaits as you find yourself questioning a swim in the nearby reservoir. The summit is near. After a grueling hand-on-knees mile to the top, take to the woods for speedy downhill section feeding back to the resort at mid-mountain for the final climb up “Easy Street,” the locals’ favorite green circle trail. Inside a mile left, you’ll hit the gas down to the finish just feet from the Montage Mountain Waterpark wave pool! Bring your swimsuits, race entry includes complimentary admission to the waterpark for the entire day so be prepared for some post race waterslide fun or Lazy River relaxation!

Equal prize money for women & men! We are excited to offer a $6,400 prize purse for the USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships! The prize breakdown for both men and women is:

  • 1st Place $1,300
  • 2nd Place $800
  • 3rd Place $500
  • 4th Place $250
  • 5th Place $150

$200 to the top male & female masters (40+) finishers. Active USATF members who are US citizens are the only runners eligible to receive prize money.

USATF Team Competition Information:

  • The maximum number of entries per team shall be unlimited. Number of team medals awarded will be number scoring.
  • Team championships shall be conducted in 10 year age divisions for men and women as follows: Junior, Open, 40+, 50+ 60+, etc. Team runners are scored on all teams for which they are eligible, thus a 25 year old is scored on the Open team only while a 50 year all may be scored on the Open, 40+, and 50+ teams.
  • The top 3 runners for each team shall be scored, except the top 5 shall score for the Open Men.
  • Scoring shall be by cumulative time.

USATF Age Group awards for Top 3 Male/Female in the following 5 year age groups: 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79.

Schedule of Events:
Saturday June 8th:

  • 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm – Expo and Packet Pickup
  • 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm – Elite Athlete Press Conference At Expo
  • 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm – Spaghetti Dinner Buffet in Slocum Hollow Restaurant ($15 per person)

Sunday June 9th:

Please reach out to Ben Robinson at [email protected] for consideration of an elite entry.

Registration for the Montage Mountain Trail Half Marathon ends on Friday, June 7th at 12:00pm. Please register at UltraSignUp.