PHUNT 25K/50K Trail Race

Race - Jan 18, 2020

Dogs No Dogs

Features Birding · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The PHUNT 25K/50K trail race is held at the Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area in Elkton, MD, typically on the second weekend in January. The course is runnable w/ moderate climbs/descents of 50-100 feet, and becomes a lot more challenging due to the unpredictable winter weather.

Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area has over 80 miles of singletrack trails.

The race/course starts at the Edward L. Walls activity hall at the intersection of Ranger Skinner Drive & Kennel Road. From the hall, you'll begin on asphalt and quickly turn left over the Rt 273 overpass along Training Center Drive.

After a few hundred yards, you'll turn right onto a gravel road that leads towards the Bow Hunting area parking. The gravel road quickly turns to a carriage path that runs through a pasture that parallels Rt. 273.

After a mile, you'll turn left into a pasture that leads down to a singletrack at the edge of the woods. The remainder of the course is mostly singletrack on several unmarked trails, and a few sections of marked trails. The use of marked trails include sections of the Orange, Green, and Yellow Trail.

Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area is a 5,600 acre park that was a former Dupont estate. The park has a deep history of equestrian events, such as fox hunting. Today, the park is still used for equestrian events, and many user groups routinely use the trail system.