Charlie Horse Half Marathon and Dirty Pony 5K
Sunday, May 25, 2025 @ 9:00 am
Location: Sleepy Hollow Athletic Club
482 Westley Rd, Mohnton PA 19540
Race Day Information: Please note that Registration and Parking is located at the FINISH.
Start/Finish:
Sleepy Hollow
Description
Join us Memorial Day Weekend for the 28th running of the Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon or the Dirty Pony 5K to benefit Berks Co. Special Olympics. The majority of this race will be run on the Horse-Shoe Trail in Brecknock Twp, PA. It is well aided with 3 strategically placed aid stations at mile 3, 6 and 10. Packet pickup will begin at 7:30 AM Sunday morning. Day of registration with start at 7:30 AM Sunday Morning. The Half-Marathon start will be at 9:00 AM in front of Sleepy Hollow Athletic Club.
The Charlie Horse is not your typical race. It is part trail, part road, and part adventure. It has everything a masochist runner needs. The race will start in front of Sleepy Hollow Athletic Club on Westley Rd. For the first ½ mile, the race will be on roads to spread out the field. The course then gets onto the Horse-Shoe Trail and begins heading west. The trail is mostly single track in this section. At approximately 4.5 miles in, the course will begin a country road section for about 1.2 miles to some private trails that will lead runners back to the Horse-Shoe Trail. There runners will be directed to head east on the Horse-Shoe trail back toward Sleepy Hollow. At Sleepy Hollow Runners will continue east on the Horse-Shoe trail and enter the Plowville section of the trail for the last 5k of fun which will loop runners back to Sleepy Hollow for the finish. What’s the Plowville section? It’s a mystery to us too: lagoons; waterfalls; campers; hikers; teenagers, maybe some chores. The only certainty is rocks, mud, and fun. Hope to see you there.
Restriction: There is a CUT-OFF at Aid Station #3 (10 miles) of 3 hours. After which, the sweepers and aid station crew will have the final determination of who continues. We ask that runners under 16 years old contact the race director for approval prior to registering. Entries are limited to 300 for the Half Marathon. Availability of shirts for the half marathon cannot be guaranteed for registrations after May 1st, 2025.
Dirty Pony 5K: The Dirty Pony will start near the registration area at 9:15 AM and will be an all trail running of the most difficult portion of the Charlie Horse course on the Plowville Section.
Registration
Day of registration will be available for both races. Charlie Horse $65 with a shirt (limited availability), $55 without a shirt. Dirty Pony $25
Triple Trail Challenge 50.3
The Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club introduced a trail race series last year and we are doing it again. The Triple Trail Challenge 50.3 starts with the Charlie Horse Trail Half Marathon (not the Dirty Pony 5K). The second Pagoda Pacers trail race in the series is the Run for the Ages Trail Chase 10K in June. The final race in the series is the Blue Marsh Trail Ultramarathon 50K in October. Any runner completing all three races will receive a sweet bit of runner swag at the finish line at the Blue Marsh 50K. You can register now for all three races at once at
https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=123848 Not ready to commit to the series? You can still sign up for the races individually on Ultrasignup and still complete the challenge.
Triple Trail Starter Pack
New for this year is a race series designed for runners new to trails. The first race in the series is The Dirty Pony 5K. The second race is the Run for the Ages 10K Trail Chase. The final race is doing one of the legs of the Blue Marsh Relay in October. Please note that runners doing a leg of the relay must be a member of a team registered to run the relay. You can register now for all three races at once at
https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=123848 Not ready to commit to the series? You can still sign up for the races individually on Ultrasignup and still complete the Starter Pack.
Half Marathon Swag
The entry fee includes a T-SHIRT (Male and Female sizes), FINISHER AGE GROUP AWARDS and FINISHER SWAG, Some pre-packaged goodies in your finisher bag. All participants are welcome to stay for post event activities.
Half Marathon Race Awards
5 Year Age Groups:
Overall Male 1st, 2nd, & 3rd; Overall Female 1st, 2nd, & 3rd; Overall Master (40+) 1st Male & 1st Female
Under 18 (1M, 1F); 18-24 (3M, 3F); 25-29 (3M, 3F); 30-34 (3M, 3F); 35-39 (3M, 3F); 40-44 (3M, 3F);
45-49 (3M, 3F); 50-54 (3M, 3F); 55-59 (3M, 3F); 60-64 (3M, 3F); 65-69 (1M, 1F); 70+ (1M, 1F)
Dirty Pony Swag and Awards
All participants will be receiving finishers swag and finisher awards. Finishers will also be able to attend the post race activities
Notices
NO outside alcohol may be brought onto the premises.
There is a 3 hour cut off at the 3rd aid station at approximately 9 miles of the Charlie Horse course. After which, the sweepers and aid station crew will have the final determination of who continues.
FROM NORTH (READING, ALLENTOWN): Take Route 422 towards Reading. About 2 miles east of Reading, take I-176 South and travel 2.9 miles to exit 7 (Green Hills). At the light, turn left onto Rt.10 south. Travel 3.1 miles to Westley Road on the right. Look for the Sleepy Hollow sign along route 10, or the Charlie Horse race sign at the intersection to turn. Go 1.2 miles on Westley Rd. and look for Sleepy Hollow on the left.
FROM SOUTHEAST (PHILLY): Take the turnpike West (I-76) to the Morgantown exit (exit 298). After toll, exit immediately (exit 1A) and head towards Beckersville (Rt. 10 N). Follow Rt.10 about 6 miles. After passing Plowville Church on your right, you’ll go down a long hill. Westley Rd. will be on the left at the bottom of the hill. Look for the Sleepy Hollow sign along Rt. 10, or the Charlie Horse race sign at the intersection to turn. Take a hard left, go 1.2 miles and look for Sleepy Hollow on your left.
FROM LANCASTER RT. 222: Take US-222 North and exit at the Adamstown and Knauers interchange (Rt. 568). Turn right at the stop sign and travel east on Rt. 568 (Alleghenyville Rd) towards Knauers and Green Hills for about 7.5 miles to Rt. 10. (NOTE; at 3.0 miles, Rt. 568 bears left at the Y onto Kurtz Mill Rd.) At the Rt. 10 stop sign, turn right, go south on Rt. 10 for about 1.3 miles, turn right on Westley Road. Once on Westley Road, follow about 1.2 miles to Sleepy Hollow on the left.