Click on the Picture for a printable copy of the Race Rules
Welcome to the “ Sinnemahone” (official name the “Sinnemahone Ultra Marathon Trail Run”).
This race is a 33.02 mile (53.14K) run conducted mostly on Pennsylvania Department of Conservation’s Elk State Forest Lands. A number of sections of this race follow the Bucktail Path which has been called the most isolated of the Pennsylvania’s wilderness trails. In addition to the Sinnemahone two other races are offered for those looking for a lesser challenge, a shorter trail run that starts and finishes on the same path as The Sinnemahone but deviates in the middle for a shorter distance (16.24 mile (26.14K)), and an even shorter (7.50 Miles (12.5K) trail run that also starts and finishes on the same path as the Sinnemahone 50K and deviates in the middle for a taste of trail running. The October race date puts it near the peak Fall foliage resulting in a beautiful course.
The trails are marked with engineering flags along the course. The state has regulations for the color paint used for trails with different designations, as a result some trails are marked with yellow paint, some with orange paint and some other sections with no paint, and this has caused confusion for the runners in the past so ignore the paint. The entire 50k course is marked with pink engineering flags 50 yards apart on road sections, closer as needed on more technical areas, turns are marked with yellow signs with black arrows. The 25k course follows the 50k for most of the distance however, where it deviates from the 50k course blue engineering flags are used to mark the course. The 12K course is marked with red engineering flags after it leaves the 50K course and turns are marked with white signs with red arrows, until it again joins the 50k course for the return to the finish line.
Sections the race team feels may be confusing are also marked with signs with arrows. Signs with arrows also mark any changes to another road or trail. Because this is wilderness there is a chance a runner could become injured or lost. If this happens, stay where you are, there is a well trained team available to find, treat (if necessary) and remove you to safety. In the wilderness there is always a chance for an encounter with wildlife, if you ignore them they’ll ignore you but, if you mess with them they might mess with you, so enjoy seeing them and keep racing.
The starting point for all three races is in the center of the town of Emporium, the county seat of Cameron County. It follows the West Creek Rails to Trails to the edge of town where it turns left onto Second Street for a hundred yards. The course then turns right onto State Route 120 for 150 yards where it turns left onto State Route 155. These roads are closed for the start of the race.