FORKS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Volunteers are setting up for the 10th annual Ultramarathon at World Ends State Park near Forksville. The race includes both a 100k and 50k.
"We have a foot race that goes either 32 miles or 64 miles, in which they have 12 hours or 19 hours to complete the circuit; it's about 12,000 feet of elevation gain in which they will have to navigate," said David Walker, Racer Director Worlds End Ultramarathon.
300 runners from across the country and around the world will be participating. The marathon course will have orange and reflective tape, so runners stay on track. There will be other safety procedures as well.
"We have AT&T first net, they bring their mobile asset units in, so we will have these extra towers, the state has their incident management unit they bring in, and the local county EMS, they bring in their people and first responders are here," said Walker.
"I've done a number of marathons over the years; a couple of years ago, a couple of real good friends of mine got me into trail running and have done a 50k, so they've done this before, and supposedly it's a great race so I figured why not go for 100k," said Joe Gillespie, Montgomery County.
The marathon will have eight aid stations throughout the course where runners can get food and water.
"All kinds of goodies that they can have, so they'll usually carry some type of food with them—gels and water, and then they get to refuel at the aid stations along the way," added Walker.
Both marathons are on Saturday. The 100k will take place from 5 a.m. until midnight, and the 50k will go from 7 a.m.- 7 p.m. Organizers plan to host a half marathon at Worlds End State Park in the fall.