That event was the Hex Hollow Half, and the following is a race report for it.
Event Overview:
This was just the second year for this event. Both years there have been two options for running: a one-loop 6.66 mile event and a two-loop 13.13 mile that of course equals a half-marathon. It is held at Spring Valley Park in southern York County PA not too far from the town of Glen Rock.
This event is still rather small but fairly well known around the local trail running community. I can see this event growing in the coming years as more people learn of it.
If you are wondering about the name of this event and 6.66 mile distance—there’s a reason for it. The park is very close to the location of a famous local story from many, many years ago which involved witchcraft and a murder. If you want to read more about it you can here at Wikipedia or do a search for Rehmeyer’s hollow.
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| A view from near the start/finish area of the race. |
The Course:
The Hex Hollow Half events consist of a lot of single track but in the beginning of the race the course is open for runners to sort themselves out mimicking a cross-country feel to the course. There are several double track areas on the course too and just a few spot where you’re running on an unpaved road. Regardless of the width of the course though you should expect to go up and down the entire time. About the only flat sections are the unpaved roads.
This was the first year I ran this event. I was not running trail races last year at this time due to a non-running injury. Both years have had windy conditions for the race but with temperatures at the mid-40’s it was warmer than last year from what I heard from other runners. It was nice day for running other than the high winds.
It had rained about an inch the day before the race so there were many muddy sections on the course. Honestly I thought it would be worse. You still had to watch your footing though considering how the trail wound around with so many twists and turns.
According to ultrasignup.com, there was about 1085ft of climbing/descent per loop. For two loops that would be 2170 ft, with my Garmin VivoActive HR recording ~2370ft of total elevation gain and loss. My legs (quads mostly) feel like either amount really. It’s just tough—plain and simple!
The course starts off downhill and flattens briefly before continuing downhill some more then finally just rolling little hills for awhile. After reaching the first unpaved road, runners face a steady climb before heading down the other side of the ridge to a small water crossing. From there, it’s just more up and down—as the entire course was. The biggest climb was roughly about mile 5. This one reduced me to power hiking most of it to keep my heart rate lower. After that, it was gradual downhill to a quick road section and then back up again only to go downhill yet again, With a quarter mile of finish is the steepest hill of the course. It is rather daunting this late in the course and both laps I switched to sidestepping for part of my journey up the hill as my quads were tiring quickly.
The course was very well marked with ribbon and directional arrows both painted on the ground and signs attached to trees. I heard of only one runner making a wrong turn and not following the course. Me personally, I think that person was just not paying attention!
Since I did not carry water, I was glad for the aid stations on the course (three in total for the half-marathon, one for the 6.66 mile event), even though water was the only item they had.
A big (and often overlooked) aspect was having volunteers at just about every of the road sections that we used in the park. I tried to remember to thank them as I passed by for even though these roads are not used much (at least I think), it was nice to know us runners would be safe by having volunteers attend to any traffic on these roads.
Other Items About The Event:
The cost for signup was $35 (for the half-marathon) and included a race t-shirt. I believe the 6.66 mile event was $25 to sign up. I thought this price was reasonable.
There was plenty of parking at the park. The are multiple porta-johns at the parking area so there was very little wait which was nice.
One of the best parts about this event was the post race food! To drink, there was water and chocolate milk from Perrydell Farms, which is known locally for making some delicious products! Food included baked potatoes, pizza, slices of subs, candy, and cookies—all of which tasted so good after a hard race like this one! Most people eating after the race were huddled around the heaters that were under the pavilion with the food.
My Finish:
Overall, my official finish time was 2:08:34. That was 13th overall of 47 finishers and 5th in my age group. I was hoping to finish a bit higher, perhaps top 10, but I’m still satisfied with my result. This is a difficult course with lots of elevation gain/loss and the muddy conditions made for slowing at spots to assure of good footing. I think I went out a little too strong on the first lap too. Although the second lap didn’t go badly, I definitely felt it was hard and did a bit more power hiking up the hills. I was tired by the end of this race and my quads were fatigued in the evening.
Wrapping things up:
This is a fun course, there’s a good mix of trail types so it isn’t really boring at any point. I especially like how the course would wind through the woods having just one turn after another after another. Just don’t go to this race trying to set a PR. I like hills and after climbing the very steep hill near the end and heading up the gradual uphill to the finish line, I was ready to be done. Don’t get me wrong, I had a good time challenging myself but I was more tired than usual after the race.
If you like a challenge, consider adding this to your list of races next year. Get out there and get to know some of the trail running community—there are some talented local runners showing up to these trail events.
I hope you liked this race report—again, consider it if you like trail running and don’t care about a PR. Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or thoughts regarding my blog and thank you for reading!
