My adventures in the 50 states marathon circuit has lead me here to a small residential area in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania and a 12 hr ultra event called What the Duck 12 hour.
I needed Pennsylvania again for my 2nd time around the 50 states and this one popped out at me. It was very easy for me due to logistics and it being on Memorial Day weekend 2023. I found this race on runningintheusa website. Well, that said, I came prepared and ended up catching an uber to the race venue that Saturday morning with a friend of mine. The task was to do as much miles that you can within a 12 hour period. The course loop was about just shy of 1.4 miles around the Spring Meadows Park in lovely Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. And so, What the Duck 12 hr ultra is a small but great event that started before Covid ruined the world but they're back! There was one main aid station at pavillion 4 where the packet pick up on race day was held from 6am to 7am and a lot of the aid was staged throughout the day's event. My friend and I opted to place our gear near the course, so we didn't have to venture far off course to get stuff if we needed. I didn't know that there was a local road that ran into the middle of the park and a small parking that helped support pavillion 4. It was a nice setting for a race that ended up being perfect weather conditions that day. No rain, but yet, it got warm in the middle to late in the day when the sun was on us relentlessly.
The overall experience here at the What the Duck 12 hr ultra running event was good and encouraging, while participants and volunteers were inspirational and awesome throughout the event. The course was a box loop, circumnavigating the Spring Meadows Park here in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, which was about 45 min away from Harrisburg, PA. The course was nice and maintained by the local park authority, which was nice. It was great to see nice outdoor space and just everything opening back up like it was in 2019 where everyone seemed to not care about face masks and such things dealing with Covid-19. There was one timing station on the course, which we passed as each loop was completed. There was also a laptop on a table next to the timing station, which gave instantaneous results / feedback for us participants on how much laps we completed and how many more we can go before the 12 hours had expired. What the Duck 12 hr ultra running event is a low key event that gives you the satisfaction of doing long distance endurance while keeping it in a small local community park with minimum cost. Quite the event they have here and you may want to consider coming to this one, if you wanted to rock whatever distance you want to or try for a longer distance to test your limitations, physical, mental, or both, and or other.
What the Duck 12 hour ultra marathon running event is staged at the Spring Meadows Park in Boiling Springs, PA. Registration for this annual event is usually online and prices are fairly good for a 12 hour event. Registration comes with a race bib with chip timing and a race t-shirt. However with this race, as mentioned before, the only race finisher medallion is for individuals or teams who finish cumulatively 35 miles. For those who don't, get nothing but the credit of miles logged in electronically. My main intention was the credit of the miles. I knew going in I just wanted the marathon or 50km distance. The medallion was secondary, although it would have been nice to carry home something extra to remember the race by. For the most part though, I ran and got the marathon distance here in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania in 2023. It is my 30th state marathon/ultra, 2nd round in a quest to do it again. Many people car pool here, but my friend ultimately decided to take Uber to and from the race venue. There's plenty of parking at the Spring Meadows park. Just arrive early enough to secure your parking. There's also places along the course to set up tents and for family and friends to cheer you on. They do provide ample aid for you as the miles wears on, but at the end of the day, the accomplishment of running a distance you can be proud of is immeasurable and simply sweet. If you are a 50 state marathoner or just someone who wants to dabble in long distances, consider coming to What the Duck 12 hr ultra event in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. While it is loops around a small park, it's a different vibe that doing a big city race like in Philadelphia or in Pittsburgh. Just different and laid back. No time pressures for a specific distance but you'd need to finish within 12 hours time, which provides a very generous amount for a marathon or 50km distance finish. It was nice to see familiar faces along the course and meet new friends that day. Definitely recommended if you are in the area or want to pick up Pennsylvania for your bag of States.
5.0 stars for the overall experience.
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