Rachel Carson Trail Challenge
The annual Rachel Carson Trail Challenge will take place on the Saturday nearest the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The Challenge is a 37-mile long, one-day, sunrise to sunset endurance hike on nearly the entire rugged Rachel Carson Trail. Unlike a footrace, the "challenge" is not to win, but to endure, to finish the hike in one day. This time, the Challenge starts in North Park at sunrise and ends 37 miles later in Harrison Hills Park. The deadline for finishing is sunset, 8:54 PM or 15 hours 4 minutes, whichever comes first.
If 37 miles sounds too daunting, we offer two shorter events that same day. The first is the Homestead Challenge, an 18-mile hike from near the Rachel Carson Homestead. The second is an 8-mile Friends & Family Challenge from Tarentum. All events finish in Harrison Hills Park.
Additional Distances
This event also has the following sub ultra distances
Results
37.5 Miles
| Date | Finishers | Top Result (F) | Top Result (M) | Top Result (X) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/20/26 | 516 | 7:29:14 | 6:12:32 | |
| 06/21/25 | 423 | 7:12:42 | 6:25:40 | |
| 06/22/24 | 270 | 8:28:08 | 6:59:54 | 12:32:40 |
| 06/24/23 | 506 | 7:38:47 | 6:39:35 | |
| 06/22/13 | 384 | 7:52:41 | 7:13:14 |
34 Miles
| Date | Finishers | Top Result (F) | Top Result (M) | Top Result (X) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/18/22 | 486 | 6:26:37 | 6:08:52 | 11:43:00 |
| 06/20/20 | Race Cancelled | |||
| 06/22/19 | 501 | 7:33:18 | 6:07:45 | |
| 06/23/18 | 444 | 7:58:34 | 5:49:13 | |
| 06/24/17 | 431 | 6:56:34 | 7:19:04 | |
| 06/18/16 | 452 | 8:21:44 | 6:20:13 | |
| 06/20/15 | 375 | 7:53:39 | 6:41:04 | |
| 06/21/14 | 475 | 7:08:40 | 7:00:14 | |
36 Miles
| Date | Finishers | Top Result (F) | Top Result (M) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/19/21 | 476 | 6:44:10 | 6:23:10 |