There once was this boy named Bob. He grew up in a little town called Scotch Hill which is pretty darn close to Cook Forest. You may as well say it was his backyard! Having 2 brothers, they spent lots of time in the forest and the river making memories that last a lifetime. Bob always enjoyed running. He even ran on the cross country team for his alma matter North Clarion in high school. Fast forward to years later, he decided to get back into running more often. He started training and decided to do a trail race. That did it...he was hooked!!! Running on the road was nothing like running in the woods. Bob's passion for trail running led him to making lots and lots of new friends he met at different trail races that had the same passion as he did. Bob, his wife Nona and their 6 kids would go on a tent camping week to Cook Forest for vacation every year. They would hike trails, visit the Fire Tower, tube down the river and hear stories of Bob's childhood and his love of the forest. He had a thought that CF would be a great place to have a trail race. After a few years of pondering it, Nona told Bob to just do it! So he did. They put it out there with a cap of 300 people and within 6 months, it was full. After the great cooperation with DCNR, they decided maybe 400 was do-able. So they raised the cap and it filled almost instantly! 

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     As the dust has settled after our 1st Cook Forest 25k Trail Challenge, Bob found a moment to collect his thoughts. He had this to say: "Some ask “Why do you trail run?" Short answer, because I feel like a kid when I do it!" For the last year some have asked “What made you decide to put on a race?" There’s no short answer for that. If you have ever spoken to any of the other local RDs, you can feel something in their words. When Craig talks about Hyner you can feel it, John tells you about a new trail at Pisgah you can feel it. Tim aka “Mr. Smooth” describes the steepest climb at the Raven, you can feel it. As I said at the pre race announcement, I was just a kid with an idea. I think that idea is what drives someone to decide. It’s in the dirt, the trees, and the air. All we want to do is share what we feel when we are running in our dirt. This event overflowed with family. Thank you to my wife for all of her hard work and putting up with me over the last year. And finally to all you runners who took a chance on a kid with an idea, thank you for sharing my dirt with me...."

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     We sincerely hope that you all become part of our Trail Family!! Thank you for joining in with us and making memories that will last a lifetime!!

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