From the Youghiogheny River to the Conemaugh Gorge, a record 132 runners traversed the Laurel Highlands Trail this past Saturday, finishing the 45th running of the Laurel Highlands Ultra.
After brothers Joe and Paul Butchko discovered the 70-mile Laurel Highlands hiking trail in the late 1970s, they had a simple idea: run it all. After a first attempt saw no finishers in 1979, the Laurel Highlands Ultra ran for the first official time in 1980, with seven starters and four finishers, and Donald Nokes winning in 14:05. The race grew over the coming decades, but consistency has been its backbone with no permanent changes to the course since 1982, and the event still maintaining a strong connection to its Pennsylvania roots.
In 2000, new race directors, Tim and Loreen Hewitt, updated the infrastructure by increasing aid stations, extending cutoffs and adding a team relay option that attracts many local runners.
“Ultrarunning, especially a 70-mile race, seems a little unattainable for some people, or daunting at the very least,” Dann LG, Laurel’s current co-race director, said. “[The relay]’s a really cool opportunity… to take that first step into trail racing.”
Taking over as race directors in 2020, LG and Jim Paul aim to preserve what makes Laurel Highlands special as they oversee the weekend which now features four races: the hallmark 70.5-mile ultra, a 50k and relays for each of those distances.
“Our vision was to maintain the integrity, maintain the feel and make improvements wherever we could,” Paul said. “We could see how special this race was to so many people.”
LG stressed the importance of helping the local community, sharing that “we started implementing an annual racer volunteer work day… to give some of the racers an opportunity to give back.”
The first section of the course features the largest climbs of the race, and from there, it’s just “downhill with a tailwind.” All in all, Laurel Highlands’s course features about 10,000 feet in vertical gain over 70.5 miles of rugged East Coast terrain.
Maria Reviello finishes the 70.5-mile race. Photo courtesy Ron Heerkens Jr., Goat Factory Media
“We knew that it was going to be a fast day,” Paul added. “Trail conditions were great. The weather was more than cooperating—it was fantastic.”
Eric Kennedy, the 2023 champion, opened up a small lead by the first timed checkpoint at 19 miles in, with his brother Brent trailing just 2 minutes behind him. Fellow racing brothers Jamal and Yassine Diboun were not far behind, creating a unique men’s race.
“Up until mile 46 or 57, we had two brother sets that were running in the top four spots,” LG said. “Jamal and Yassine are a little older, and they’ve been around ultrarunning a little longer, and Brent and Eric were pressing the front of the pack, so it was really fun to watch.”
By the sixth aid station just over 46 miles into the race, Eric Kennedy had blown the race open, with a 17-minute lead over Brent and no one else within an hour. Eric pushed that margin to the finish, repeating as champion in a time of 11:37. Brent Kennedy finished second in 12:31, and Jamal Diboun rounded out the podium in 13:01.
“Eric… understands the course, understands the challenges in the first 19 to 26 miles, and is able to press the pace without giving everything,” LG added. “He’s definitely running really well right now.”
On the women’s side, a fierce race was taking place among Sara Zambotti, Justyna Wilson and Kaylee Frederick, with Leah Yingling’s 2019 course record hanging in the balance. Wilson led Zambotti and Frederick by 20 minutes at the mile 62 checkpoint, but much of the last stretch was run away from the timing equipment.
Justyna Wilson en route to winning and setting a new course record. Photo courtesy Ron Heerkens Jr., Goat Factory Media
“You really don’t know exactly where they are until they ring the bell that’s a couple hundred yards up the trail [from the finish],” Paul said. “When [Wilson] popped out of the woods… the excitement was palpable.”
As everyone at the finish “start[ed] looking at their watches” per Paul, they realized Wilson broke the course record by two minutes, setting a new best in 13:16. Frederick was not far behind in 13:24 and Zambotti finished third in 13:39.
When all was said and done after the 22-hour cutoff, 132 runners had completed the 2024 edition of the Laurel Highlands 70.5-mile race, a record number for the race on a beautiful Saturday.
In the smaller 50k race, Jesse Irwin cruised to victory in 4:48, with Chas Wagner and Brandon Thomas in second and third, respectively, with times of 5:11 and 5:18.
On the women’s side, Hannah Goranson, the sole Canadian in the race, won in 5:35. Stacey Billig and Katelyn Kacsuta finished close behind in second and third, respectively, in 5:42 and 5:49.