Congratulations to the 20 runners–including 5 Pacers–who completed the Inaugural Triple Trail Challenge 50.3. These trail warriors started with running the Charlie Horse Trail Half Marathon in May, then survived the steam bath that was the Run For The Ages 10K Trail Chase in June, and finally finished with a nice run-around-the-lake at the Blues Cruise 50k. These runners got to experience three very different trail races available from our club and received some sweet additional swag for their trouble.
The names:
Bryce Antle, Ben Ash, Danny Cabrera, Taylor Charles, Tyler Davis, David Evans, Rich Fotiades, Sheri Golembiewski (Pacer), Lisa Good, Julia Hager (Pacer), Rita Hall, Brittni Harris (Pacer), Jason Karpinski (Pacer), Tim Kirk, Aaron Kreider (Pacer), Margueritte Ngami, Jesse Rutledge, Megan Sheriff, Forest Williams, Lisa Zwierzyna
If you are unable to use the sign-up page, please contact Elaine Cook directly. On the sign-up page, you can choose a task or allow Elaine (our volunteer coordinator and race director) to help you find a fun job that fits your time frame.
*** We do need 1 or more persons to conduct a course check (usually on bike, but horses are ok also) early on race day.***
For those that use the trails at Blue Marsh, please email bluescruiserd@gmail.com if you see any areas with trees down, or areas that need to be mowed/weed-whacked.
If anyone is on the trail after the race, please remove any of the pink or orange ribbons our sweepers may have missed.
We will meet at the Old Church Road parking area at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, September 7th, and carpool to the lower Stilling Basin lot, to run point-to-point on the Blues Cruise course, starting about 8 a.m.
The run is almost 16 miles. Runners can easily shorten it to just under 14 miles by skipping the Skinner’s Loop portion, and of course adding miles is easy too.
(For those looking for a shorter option, an out-and-back of your desired distance is also an easy option. Just meet us at the Stilling Basin so we can run the first few miles together!)
Please comment on the Facebook Event Page if you have questions or need suggestions. Bring water and nutrition! The route features about 1600 feet of climbing.
This will be a great day to dial in your race-day gear! This includes some of our favorite parts of the Blues Cruise course!
For those who have the time, several of us usually grab lunch together after. Hope to see you there!
The Pacers’ most challenging event is the Blues Cruise 50K, which requires about 100 volunteers and lasts 12 hours from set up to clean up. This year’s race is on Sunday, October 6, with set up starting at 6am, and clean up finishing at 6pm.
While a number of folks are there for the long haul, most of our volunteers work a shift of a few hours. As we did last year, we’re asking volunteers to go to the Blues Cruise page on UltraSignUp and click the green volunteer button next to the registration button in the banner. There you will agree to the waiver which allows you to be covered by our insurance. Then you can select one (or more!) volunteer duties.
We’d love to get some of our newer members out to volunteer! I think all the veteran volunteers will agree that this is a truly rewarding day and a great way to meet more of the club. Many of the BC runners are new to ultra running and our volunteers make all the difference–as the runner surveys indicate.
If you are an experienced ultra runner, your expertise is invaluable; and if you’ve never run an ultra, beware! Spending a day at this event is likely to get you signing up as a runner next year!
If you’d like to volunteer, but can’t participate on the 6th, check out the list. We need course maintenance throughout September, and we need course markers on Saturday October 5th, as well as gear cleanup on Monday October 7th.
Finally, our final Blues Cruise training run is Saturday September 7 for a 14 mile course preview–check out the Facebook event page for details! Thanks everyone, you are the ones who make this race great. Looking forward to seeing you there!
The official route for this run will be a 10k course featuring “Skinner’s Loop.” For those looking for something longer, you can run the course multiple times or add on the “Ski Loop,” which is 7 miles.
More information about the run can be found via Facebook.
This month’s “Weekend 10-Miler” will double as a Blues Cruise Training Run — and runners will have many options to run shorter or longer distances.
The details:
Mark your calendars for a Blues Cruise training run July 27, 7 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Justa Road Parking lot off Brownsville Road.
The route will be a 5 mile “figure 8-ish” loop, with about 700 feet of climbing.
This event will be a fat-ass style run, meaning it is an informal gathering in which participants bring snacks to share. There is no registration or awards. We’ll have cold water and Gatorade and mark the loop. You can run it as many times as you like! The beauty of this system is runners of all paces can enjoy a long run together at their own speed, while intersecting each other multiple times during the event. Bragging rights available to those who complete the most loops or distinguish themselves in any other way that catches our fancy!
Here’s a TENTATIVE course we are considering. Don’t miss out on the chance to see the mysterious Fugawi Aid Station location before race day!
***THERE ARE NO REST ROOM FACILITIES AT JUSTA ROAD. Nearest bathroom is at State Hill Boat Ramp; plan on stopping there on your way in.
Bring a snack to share, hydration vest or belt, reusable cup, lawn chair, and some dry clothes if you don’t want to leave sweaty. Post run refueling at Ganly’s Irish Pub! https://ganlysirishpub.com/
Neil Armstrong. Jackie Robinson. Sandra Day O’Connor. Barack Obama. Kathrine Switzer. What do these people have in common? They were the first of their kind and now they’re legends. What if I said you could be a legend, too?
This year we’re excited to announce the inaugural Pagoda Pacer Triple Trail Challenge 50.3. To complete this challenge and gain celebrity and fame forever, one must complete the three following Pagoda Pacer trail races:
Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon* (May 26, 2024): The majority of this half marathon takes place on the Horse-Shoe Trail and benefits the Berks County Special Olympics. The later portion of the course always offers a *unique* little twist (iykyk), and it will definitely leave you with some good stories to tell.
Run For The Ages 10K (June 30, 2024): Let’s just say, this is NOT your average 10K. Its age-graded start times allow for a level of competition that you can’t really get anywhere else. If you’re an older runner, it’s your chance to show up those young whippersnappers. If you’re a younger runner, show everyone what it’s like to throw down some speed and not hobble to the car afterwards.
Blue Cruise 50K* (October 6, 2024): Fantastic 50K for first-time ultra runners and seasoned runners alike. The course offers a beautiful, very runnable loop around Blue Marsh Lake and some of the best aid station volunteers (and food!) around.
After completing the challenge will the masses build a shrine in your honor? No.
Induct you into the trail-running Hall of Fame? Nope.
Will it make your non-running coworkers care about your running stories? Also, probably not.
But will you get a sweet bit of extra special runner swag, bragging rights, and the chance to say you liked it before it was cool? Yes, absolutely!
Registration for Charlie Horse and Blues Cruise is already open on Ultrasignup. Run for the Ages registration will be opening soon on Runsignup. Check out the Pagoda Pacers’ website, Facebook page, and any of the race pages for more details.
*Please note: in order to successfully complete the challenge, runners must finish the longer distance at Charlie Horse (not the Dirty Pony 5K) and the full Blue Cruise 50K (not the relay/team option).
This month, the Pagoda Pacers Long Run Committee has teamed up with the Blues Cruise race directors to offer a group long run on the Blues Cruise course!
Runners will have the option of completing the 22-mile “lower loop” on the southern portion of the lake border trail, or a 16-mile point-to-point route, ending at the Stilling Basin.
Those planning to do the 16-mile route should meet at theLOWER parking lot at the Stilling Basinat 9:10 a.m. in order to carpool to the start on Old Church Rd.
For those who have time, we’ll get together at the Blue Marsh Italian Restaurant / Pizzeria after the run.
Leftover Blues Cruise swag from previous races will be given away at this run–for free!
Updated details about the run will be posted to the Facebook Event Page as they are worked out. Hope you can make it!
Two great volunteer opportunities are on the horizon!
The Pacers RaceMates program helps athletes from IMABLE to experience the completion of a 5k race. We use 2 or more volunteers to push each athlete in a “race chariot.” The final race of 2023 is September 10th at 630 Evans Ave in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. We race at around a 10-minute mile and are in need of 3-4 additional runners for this event. Please see our post on the Facebook Discussion Group and email Dale at Racematesrunning@gmail.com or contact Michael Whalen (bluescruiserd@gmail.com).
Blues Cruise is also in need of volunteers for the October 1st 50k trail race at Blue Marsh Lake. Volunteers can work as many hours as desired for this all-day event. Free t-shirts will be given to all who register to help. Go to https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=100611 and click the volunteer tab. Choose an activity that interests you, and Elaine Cook (co-race director) will be in contact to discuss times and duties.
We are less than 10 weeks away from the Blues Cruise 50k ultramarathon, and the management team is working hard to produce another great Pagoda Pacer event. We have close to 140 registered racers, and the number has been climbing daily. Please considering running this exciting race. Sign up at by clicking the link below!
The race is Sunday, October 1, 2023 with start/finish activities located at Blue Marsh Lake’s Dry Brooks Day Use Area.
As the club’s most logistically ambitious event, we need 100 volunteers to create a safe, smooth, and fun event. Volunteer tasks includes trail maintenance the entire month of September, food shopping and prep, trail marking the eve of race day, final course check, photographers, lots and lots of help on race day (volunteers can schedule themselves 1–12-hour shifts), and post race help putting all the equipment and supplies back into service. This is a great opportunity for “first time” Pacer volunteers! We will sign your Pacer Passport for any work you provide!
To ease the task of volunteer management, we are ask all volunteers to please pre-register at https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=100611. You DO NOT need to be a member of Ultrasignup to register as a volunteer, and there is no fee. The page is set up by category; feel free to sign up for several tasks that interest you, and we will be in contact to place you in a position that fits you well. If you are not running and cannot volunteer, consider spending 30 minutes along the course cheering on our runners!
We will be posting practice runs at Blue Marsh that are open to anyone. We will be posting additional race information on the Pacers’ Blues Cruise 50k Facebook page. Please contact Elaine Cook or Michael Whalen with any questions (bluescruiserd@gmail.com).
Pagoda Pacers News 