Hellbender 5k & Half Marathon

The Hellbender is back for 2026!  This is a great course for both road or trail runners.  Fast, flat, out and back along the scenic lakes and beautiful Weiser State Forest. Falcon Race Timing has teamed up with the RCVCA to help promote clean water in the state forest and surrounding Roaring Creek Watershed.  Proceeds with help benefit RCVCA.

Registration  – 7am Half Marathon Start – 8:00am 5k Start – 8:30am Packet Pickup: Race morning starting at 7am. Race course will close at Noon. Race shirts, finisher medals and a post-race meal is included in the entry fee for all participants.

Where: Route 54 Parking Area (Located on PA RT 54 between Mount Carmel and Elysburg) Weiser State Forest Roaring Creek Tract Bear Gap, PA 17824

The race can only be accessed on the Route 54 side of the park. The entrance is 3.5 miles west of the intersection of Route 54 and 61. 4.3 miles east of the intersection on Route 54 with Route 487. (Lat 40.8213, Long -76.4922).

The race gets its name from the species of aquatic salamander known as the hellbender, which are native to the hills and mountains of the eastern U.S., and can grow to as much as two feet long. Because they breathe through their skin, they require healthy, pristine, unpolluted streams and creeks to survive. Due to development and urbanization over recent decades, however, many of their habitats have become fouled and their numbers have drastically declined — they’re just one of the many species the race organizers hope to benefit over the long term with their efforts here.

Both the 5K and the half marathon races follow out-and-back courses that start and finish at the Route 54 parking area in Bear Gap, which lies between the two small towns of Elysburg and and Mount Carmel. From there, runners make their way along the roads that wind along the reservoir lakes inside this 9,000-acre park, one of 16 tracts that make up the Weiser State Forest in what is known as the ridge and valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

The course for the half marathon is mostly fast and flat through the Roaring Creek Tract, and takes runners both along the shores of the lakes inside the park.