Rock ’N The Knob Trail Challenge
September 11, 2027 at Blue Knob All‑Season Resort.
Allegheny Trailrunners is pleased to announce that the sleepy giant who took a nap last year has awakened.
Rock ’N The Knob Trail Challenge returns in all its terrible glory on September 11 at Blue Knob All‑Season Resort.
Back are the nightmare courses that test all who dare try:
The 10K packs a wallop, featuring Throat Punch - one of the most infamous climbs in Pennsylvania trail racing.
The Half Marathon crests the Alleghenies’ northernmost 3,000-foot peak and tangles with the wonderfully ominous Euros (“The East Wind”), which seeks out the unworthy and plucks them from the earth.
The 50K exists for one reason only: to be one of the baddest, meanest trail experiences in the Mid‑Atlantic.
Registration opens in February.
You’ve been warned.
Course Takeaways
10K course
The 10K course may be the most challenging 10K in PA* (*based on the fastest and average finish times.) The 10K features trails like Lost Porcupine, Code-Red, Tree-odge, Devils Hairpin, Throat Punch Hill and Soul Sucker Slopes! Two major climbs give you nearly 1500 feet of climbing. There is one aid station at the base of the first climb called Throat Punch Hill at 3.7 miles. [No pacers, drop bags, or crew.]
There is no cutoff at the one and only aid station, however all participants need to finish the race in 7 hours (5pm).
Rated #14 as the Toughest Trail 10Ks in the Northeast by Trails Collective and #1 Toughest in Pennsylvania.
10K: 1496 feet of climb in 6.2 miles is 241 feet of climbing per mile [“back-half” is 390 feet/mile]
Course Description | Course Maps
Half-Marathon
In 2019, we added a half-marathon course! Get ready - this half-marathon is a doozy. We took our marathon course and cutting it in half but leaving in more than half of the challenges and suffering in with over 3500 feet of climbing on the 13.51 mile course! The half features some gnarly sections like Blister Blaster, Teal is Real up Deep Hollow Notch, I’ll Nettle Do This Again and I Need a Sherpa!
Rated in the Top 10 (#8 ) among the Toughest Trail Half-Marathons in the Northeast by Trails Collective.
Half Marathon Stats:
Plotaroute: 13.99 miles | 3435 feet of climb
Hello, Drifter: 13.80 miles | 3389 feet of climb
Strava: 13.58 miles | 3545 feet of climb
[No pacers, drop bags, or crew.]
Course Description | Course Maps
Mountain 50K
For mountain-goats, this course has broken the will of many as you repeatedly attempt to ascend Blue Knob Mountain, the most northern 3,000+ foot peak in the Alleghenies. The 50K is our infamous mountain marathon “boosted” to an ultramarathon which includes all the ‘greatest hits’ of both the half and 10k races.
50K runners will have the opportunity to have two drop bags and two locations to have access to crew. (See chart below. Please keep drop bags a “reasonable size”.)
50K Stats:
Plotaroute: 30.59 miles | 7450 feet of climb
Hello, Drifter: 30.5 miles | 7533 ft of climb
Strava: 30.9 miles | 7765 feet of climb
UltraPacer: 30.6 miles | 7524 of climb
Trail Run Project: 31.8 miles | 7040 feet of climb
Cutoff: 10 hours to complete the race.
Additional Course Info
DYK that mountain goats are great at math! Here is some data on the climbs and descents for Rock ‘N The Knob Trail Challenge. The number in parentheses indicates which course - 6, 13 or 31 mile course) www.alleghenytrailrunners.com
- Major Climbs -
STOEHR CLIMB (13,31)
149 foot climb in 0.27 miles - 10% grade
RAVEN’S WHYSONG (13,31)
253 foot climb in 0.42 miles - 11% grade
CONRAD RIDGE UPHILL (31)
656 foot climb in 0.88 miles - 14.1% grade
BEAVERDAM CANYON/I’LL NETTLE DO THIS AGAIN (13,31)
1048 foot climb in 1.3 miles - 15.2% grade
SOUL SUCKER SLOPES - ALL 3 SLOPES (6,31)
560 foot climb in 3333 feet - 16.8% grade
HOGBACK RIDGE (31)
538 foot climb in 2693 feet - 20% grade
THROAT PUNCH HILL - ALL (6,31)
480 foot climb in 1787 feet - 27% grade
EURUS - “THE EAST WIND” (13,31)
387 foot climb in 0.27 miles - 26.9% grade
TEAL IS REAL/DEEP HALLOW NOTCH (13,31)
332 foot climb in 1161 feet - 28.5% grade
I NEED A SHERPA (13,31)
198 foot climb in 475.2 feet - 40% grade
UPPER THROAT PUNCH HILL (6,31)
194 foot climb in 475 feet - 40.8% grade
BEAR TRAP! - (SECOND OF THREE SOUL SUCKER SLOPES) (6,31)
110 foot climb in 264 feet - 41.7% grade
- Major Descents -
CONRAD RIDGE DOWNHILL (31)
656 foot drop in 0.88 miles ‑14.1% grade
DEVILS HAIRPIN (6,31)
613 foot drop in 0.8 miles ‑14.5% grade
HERMAN STEPS/BLISTER BLASTER (13,31)
625 foot drop in 0.6 miles. ‑19.7% grade
HANS GRUBER’S FALL (13,31
429 foot drop in 0.4 miles ‑20% grade
EXPRESSWAY (13,31)
515 feet in 0.34 miles ‑33.3% grade
EDGESET (13,31)
183 foot drop in 528 feet ‑34.6% grade
