Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon & Dirty Pony 5K

Volunteer Sunday, May 24, 2026

Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon & Dirty Pony 5K

482 Westley Rd Mohnton , PA

Races: 1/2 Marathon, Dirty Pony 5K

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.

Packet pickup will begin at 7:30 AM Sunday morning. Day of registration will also start at 7:30 AM Sunday Morning.

The Half-Marathon start will be at 9:00 AM in front of Sleepy Hollow Athletic Club and the Dirty Pony will start at 9:15 AM near registration.

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 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 do a bit of a lollipop to the Brecknock Twp Municipal Office building where the runners will get onto a bit of new trail that will lead them 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. The Plowville section includes lagoons; waterfalls; campers; hikers; teenagers, maybe some chores. The only certainty is rocks, mud, and fun.

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. Runners under 16 years old must 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.

The Dirty Pony will start near the registration area and will be an all trail running of the most difficult portion of the Charlie Horse course.

Last day of online preregistration is 5/22/2025. Day of registration will be available for both races.

Pricing:

• Charlie Horse: $65 with a shirt (limited availability), $55 without a shirt.
• Dirty Pony: $25

Triple Trail Challenge 50.3 and Triple Trail Starter Pack

The Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon is the first race of the Triple Trail Challenge 50.3. 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.

New for this year is a race series designed for runners new to trails. The Triple Trail Starter Pack series starts with 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 running one leg of the Blue Marsh Trail Relay in October.

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. Age groups range from Under 18 to 70+ with multiple awards per category.

Dirty Pony Swag and Awards

All participants will be receiving finisher swag and finisher awards.

Post Race Activities

Starting 11 AM we will begin serving pizzas, snacks, non-alcoholic beverages and adult beverages for all race participants. The award ceremony for the Charlie Horse Trail Half Marathon will begin at approximately 12 Noon.

Notices

NO outside alcohol or dogs may be brought onto the premises. There is a 3 hour cut off at the 3rd aid station at approximately 10 miles of the Charlie Horse course.

Start Times:

• 1/2 Marathon: 9:00 AM
• Dirty Pony 5K: 9:15 AM