We’ve had a lot of rain this spring, but the forecast was on our side for the 28th running of Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon and Dirty Pony 5k that took place on May 25th. The weather was great for runners and spectators alike, and everyone stayed dry–until the last 3 miles of the course. (Or, for the Dirty Pony runners, until shortly after they started running, but hey, it’s called the DIRTY Pony for a reason!)
For the Charlie Horse, we had 117 registered runners, and 46 brave souls signed up for the Dirty Pony. With as much rain as we’ve had, the race directors considered providing life preservers and pool floaties for Charlie’s infamous section, but everyone made it through without issue and all who toed the line made it to the finish.
In the half, Alicia Keeler secured the top spot for women and Raymond Stoltzfus took first place for men. The top finishers for Dirty Pony crossed the line seconds apart with Heidi Bretz taking first place for women and David Goss for men. There were also quite a few people who ran their first official race, achieved distance PRs, or snagged personal bests for the day. Great job runners!
On behalf of my co-race directors, Shaun and Libby, I’d like to thank everyone who came out to support the race and the Special Olympics of Berks County. Whether you ran, cheered, or volunteered, we really could not have done it without the help of our Pacer community.
Important note: anyone who completed the Charlie Horse Half is one-third of the way through the Triple Trail Challenge and currently eligible to receive the awesome extra swag! Don’t miss out! Sign up for Run for the Ages 10k (June 15, 2025) to complete the next race in the series. Anyone who completed the Dirty Pony is one-third of the way through the Triple Trail Starter Pack, and Run for the Ages 10k is your next step in completing the challenge, too!
See you on the trails!
Kelly
Pagoda Pacers News 