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THE PAGODA PACERS A.C., READING, PA PRESENTS THE EVENT THAT IS TO "RACING" WHAT PIG SNOUTS ARE TO "MEAT BY-PRODUCTS"; THE 16TH ANNUAL
MT. PENN MUDFEST
15k Trail Run, Sat, April 3, 2010 (day before Easter)
10 AM-Reading, PA-Limited to First 825 Entries
“ONE OF THE 5 U.S. TRAIL RACES YOU MUST DO”- Nov/00 Issue: Runner's World
“ONE OF THE TOP 21 TRAILS RACES IN THE U.S.”- Oct/98 Issue: Runner’s World
“ONE OF THE TOP 6 TRAIL RACES IN THE U.S."- Fall/98 Issue: Men’s Journal
“A BAD HABIT TO GET INTO"- Nov/08 Issue: Naughty Nuns Weekly
A Pagoda Pacer Event- entry thru www.pretzelcitysports.com ONLY
No Race Day Entry/No Waiting List/No Bribery (unless it cannot be traced-small, unmarked bills preferred)
Race Held in Memory of Fellow Pacer & Race Co-Director Bill Bradley
Rarely has there been a more "complex" item than that unique piece of Americana, the "Mobile Home". This US answer to rural housing is a major contradiction in words, appears to have magical powers and can accurately paint us a mental image of many of its occupants & home sites. For example, few "mobile homes" are, in fact, "mobile". They need help from things like trucks, back hoes, etc to become so and even then, it is TUFF to pull them up the road; the cinder blocks used for their foundation just don’t "roll" that well. And yet, these same units have magical powers and have been know to cosmically attract tornadoes, satellite dishes, cases of Old Milwaukee, abandoned cars and 19 year old unmarried mothers of 4. Lastly, these 2 words paint us a clear mental picture of their occupants & surroundings. Will a mobile home be home to a future Nobel Prize Winner? Be filled with priceless art & antiques? Have easy access to fine dining spots, boutiques, galleries, etc? Probably not. But will you find a Dale Earnhardt jacket hanging on its gun rack? Is its front yard or porch a fine place for any sofa too stained with rib sauce to remain indoors? Will at least one Confederate Veteran be buried in a cemetery nearby? Can you be sure that no one inside has a full set of china, full education or full set of teeth?? Why, you can almost bet your Graceland memorabilia on it!!
The Mt. Penn Mudfest 15k Trail Race is the "mobile home" of rustic trail running. It too is a contraction of words. Yes, it has unique & highly prized pig-themed awards (5-6 deep in many age groups) & tech shirts & aide stations like other legitimate races. Yet, other than the fastest racers, many of you will spend much of your run in a rumba line, without the fun of throwing your hands in the air and shouting "Hot! Hot! Hot!". Like the mobile home, the Mudfest also has magical powers; attracting people that think it makes sense to have an "alternate beverage" station in the middle of the race, people who celebrate the fact that Easter eggs will be hidden at certain parts of the course, people who relish the unusual Clydesdale/Clydette categories where your height AND weight count, people who believe that any trail without 4 bone chilling water crossings is for pansies, etc. And, like the Mobile Home, the words Mt Penn Mudfest conjure up a fairly accurate mental picture of its participants; runners who believe that good competition can be fun as well, those that believe that some races take themselves a little too seriously, runners who followed the Grateful Dead in the past and now come here instead, runners who also count themselves primarily as "trailers" (what could be more closely associated to a "mobile home" than THAT??!!"). The Mt Penn Mudfest remains the 3rd largest rustic trail run in the nation and the largest East of the Rockies. It annually draws runners from 20-25 states to a town with no passenger service via air, rail or wave runner. And why? Because it too is a little piece of Americana that embraces the joy of running, regardless of whether you run 5 minute miles or could be timed with a sun dial. Legal Crap: YOU RACE AT YOUR OWN RISK, you alone are responsible for your well being while here! We don't look for lost runners at this event since they'll probably be too dirty to pick up when we find them. We will have medics on site but they curiously tend to do all procedures in alphabetical order and "autopsy" & "amputation" are much higher on that list than "treatment". Since the race can be challenging to some, it is closed to 1) runners below 18 (can be 16 or 17 IF a parent or guardian is present-no proof and you're screwed 2) anyone who pronounces "Reading" as if it is one of the "three R's" in education and 3) any one who believes that obesity is an illness, rather than the result of 423,852 trips to McDonalds.
WALKERS-PLEASE NOTE: While we respect the desire of “walkers” to see the course, we can’t ask staff to stay at their posts for 30 extra minutes for the benefit of only 2-3. Entrants should be able to run at least half the course, at worst.
Awards: Much-sought-after pig adorned awards to overall M/F 1st thru 3rd and Masters M/F winners plus:
18-29: 7M, 5F 30-39: 7M, 5F 40-49: 7M, 5F 50-59: 7M, 4F 60& over: 5M, 3F 70+: 2M, 1 F
Also, Both Open Clydesdales/Clydettes & Master Clydesdales/Clydettes (40 & over) Awards: 1-5th Male & 1-3rd Female in both (not eligible for age group awards). Men: your weight (in lbs.) divided by your height (in inches) must be at least 2.7 lbs./inch. Women: same formula but your “min” is 2.15 lbs./inch. This method stops the "buff but big's" from taking these awards from the more challenged "fluffies". Sign up is on race day, scale on site to both confirm eligibility & embarrass.
Registration/Packet Pickup: Race starts at 10 A.M at Rotary Park, List Rd., just off Angora Rd. (near the Pagoda) in Reading; all packet pickup occurs that morning and pickup opens at 8:30. NO RACE DAY ENTRY! NO WAITING LIST! MUST REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.PRETZELCITYSPORTS.COM ; OPENS JAN 1, 2010 & CLOSES WHEN WE REACH 825 RUNNERS OR BY MIDNIGHT, MARCH 29TH, WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST. If you have never been on the Internet and don’t know anyone who has access to the Internet or still think that the "Internet" is a new gastric bypass "screen" that stops fat in your gut from reaching your thighs, call Ron Horn at 610-779-2668 for an alternate way to sign up.
Fee: $33 if entered by midnight, 3/10/10, $38 after that until midnight 3/29/10 or when we hit 825 entries; whichever happens first (race closed 5 weeks early in 2009). Entry fee refunded (but not service charge) if canceling by 3/24/10 (NO FOOLING!), no refund after that. Any substitute you arrange is ok until 3/24 PROVIDING THAT YOU NOTIFY THE RACE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW PERSON'S COMPLETE INFO BY 3/24 AS WELL; ($$$ exchanged is between you & the sub you find & they may be stuck with your shirt “size” & “type”). NO RACE DAY SUBBING-IT SCREWS UP OUR RESULTS! Staff may ask for ID to stop day-of subs. Changes or requests for refunds after above cutoffs will be ignore much like Rhianna seems to ignore clothing lately at a photo shoot. No “carry overs” to following year, has become too difficult to track.
Your Goodies? NICE TECH SHIRTS!! No ads on shirt, just the famous “running pig” logo, finisher awards for all, snack bar, hot & cold food, 4 water stops, medical help on site, nearby parking, on-trail surprises, results on pagodapacers.com about 24-48 hrs & a course where your friends can tell you how bad you look twice without leaving the assembly area (4 times if we count the start & finish)(sorry, no showers). Race is “on” in any kind of weather; NO MAILED SHIRTS OR AWARDS!! NOTE: Rotary Park strictly forbids alcohol, pets, bikes and bratty kids. If you must bring them, please have a tight leash around their necks and muzzle them if needed, especially the kids. And if the Rotary folks ask you to put them back in the car, please comply without any objection, lest we lose this site for future Mudfests.
Directions: FROM PHILLY: DO NOT USE ANY DIRECTIONS THAT INCLUDE THE TURNPIKE, won’t work with these directions: Go to King of Prussia, take 202 S & pick up Rt 422 W from the onramp toward Pottstown; take it past Pottstown to Reading . When you see Target and Giant on your right side, bear right onto Bus Rt. 422W (Mt Penn). **Go 1-2 miles until you pass a Subway & then Arners Restaurant on your right (bright red roof). JUST PAST ARNERS, go right onto Glen Rd (road sign missing, just before start of bridge). When Glen ends, left onto Hill Rd. Take a right past the Park on the right (home of many Pretzel City events) onto Angora Rd. Stay on Angora (stay to right at all time) until your 1st 4-way intersect: List Rd. Go right on List, take 2nd gate on right (Rotary Field; sign is on left).
FROM LANCASTER: Take Rt. 222 N. to Reading, **After passing Mall on left, bear right onto Rt. 422 East toward Pottstown (is also Rt. 222S). Stay on Rt. 422E past Lancaster Ave exit and Rt. 176 South exit until the Mt Penn Exit. Take the exit, go left at the top of ramp. Go to the 3rd light, take left onto Bus Rt. 422W and follow Philly instructs above after the **.
FROM ALLENTOWN: Bus. Rt. 222 S toward Reading (DON’T take new Reading bypass) Go 2 miles thru shopping areas. 200 yards past Pizza Hut & a Loews, go left onto Rt 12 (old Rdg Bypass). Take 2nd exit; Spring Valley Rd. Go right at end of exit. Take 2nd left (past Crab Barn) up Reading’s unique McKnights Gap Rd. Go straight thru stop sign at top to next stop sign 25 yds ahead. Take left and then an immediate hard right up Skyline Dr. Take 1st left on that hill onto List Rd. At next intersect (List & Angola), go straight across; Rotary Park is 2nd gate on right, (sign is on the left).
FROM LEBANON OR COAL REGION: Leb: Take 422 east and follow Lancaster directions above after ** Coal Region: take Rt 61S or Rt 183S to Rt 222S, take RT 222S to 422E, follow Lancaster directions above after **.
FROM GEORGIA, N.C, VIR., ETC: Go north, bear right. FROM VT, NH, MASS, CONN, ETC: Go south, bear right.
MAPQUEST: Use intersect of Angora and List Rds. GPS-AHOLICS: closest home-4 List Rd, Reading, PA 19606
Questions? Concerns? Jokes? Contact Primary Pig Ron Horn at rhornpcs@aol.com or at 610-779-2668
App also viewable on www.pagodapacers.com and www.pretzelcitysports.com
Insurance Provided By Road Runner Clubs of America
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