2025 Report

HCG Run Report
There were 50 starters for the latest running of the Holy Cowans Gap 50k, held over its traditional Memorial Day weekend Sunday, which in 2025 fell on May 25th.

It was a brisk morning with temperatures in the low 40s when participants arrived at Pavilion 4 to check in for the run start.

39 people did the full course and came away with the highly-prized HCG tie-dye finisher’s sticker. The 11 remaining starters completed between 15 and 28 miles of the course.

The temperatures peaked in the mid 60s, and all were treated to sunshine most of the day, making for incredibly pleasant running conditions and comfortable standing around conditions for the great group of volunteers at this year’s event.

It was a diverse group of runners for this holiday weekend 50k, with runners from the host state of Pennsylvania, and also from Virginia, Maryland, Florida, West Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Alabama and Dee Cee.

Results
The top male finisher was Tyler Seutter. His time of 5:13 set a new course record! The previous course record had been held for a decade by Brad Hinton who had crushed the course in 5:17 back in 2015.

Not only did he have the fastest time; as the sole Oregon runner in the field, Tyler also “traveled” the farthest to pin his number on. Congratulations and well done, Tyler!

After completing this winning and record setting run, Tyler still had energy to burn, as he helpfully moved a stump around the finish line pavilion to create a podium for the finisher photos. See photo gallery below!

Brian Collins placed second, finishing a half hour after Tyler with a stout time of his own (5:43); Eric Smith placed third overall with a time of 5:53.

The top female finisher was Lauren Cenci, who arrived at the finish having toured the HCG course in 6:30. Lexi Delisle (7:01) and Elizabeth Rivera (8:22) were the second and third place female finishers, respectively.

Congratulations to all the runners! And a big thank you to the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club for sponsoring this event, and to all of the volunteers who came out to Cowans Gap State Park in central PA to help.

The 2026 event is scheduled to be held on the traditional Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, which will be May 24. Entry for the run will open on April 10, 2026.

Please mark your calendars, and I look forward to seeing you back for another round of HCG fun next year!

Scroll down for a photo gallery; links to other reports; the results and a list of the amazing volunteers.

Photos

Other reports

• A Return to Ultrarunning, by John Calabrese

Results

The run started at 7:30 AM. One runner, Kathleen Cusick started at 6:45 AM; her finishing time reflects that earlier start time.

Volunteers