Eastern States 100 runs 102 miles through Tiadaghton State Forest in north-central Pennsylvania. 20,000 feet of climb. 36-hour cutoff. Held the second weekend of August. Considered the East Coast counterpart to Western States — the hard, technical PA 100 with a runnable mid-section that lures runners into bad pacing decisions.
The course
A point-to-point course through deep state forest. PA-classic: rocky single-track through dense hardwood forest, exposed ridge traverses, runnable jeep roads connecting the technical sections. The middle 30 miles is the loneliest stretch of any major 100 — almost zero spectators, few crew-accessible aid stations, and minimal cell service. The terrain is technical but less brutally rocky than Massanutten.
By the numbers
- Distance: 102 miles (point-to-point)
- Vert gain: 20,000 ft
- Vert per mile: 196 ft/mi (mountain-tier)
- Cutoff: 36 hours
- Date: Second weekend of August
How to qualify and enter
Lottery-entry. 50-mile or 100K qualifier required. First-time entrants typically get in within 1-2 lottery cycles. Field is capped at ~250 runners.
The middle section
Miles 35–65 of Eastern States is the loneliest stretch in American 100-mile racing. Long jeep-road climbs, rocky ridges, no spectators, sparse aid. Most runners describe it as the section where they had real moments of doubt — and where a decent number of DNFs happen. Survive the middle and the back half feels almost easy.
Gear strategy
- Vest: 8–12L. Salomon Adv Skin 12.
- Shoes: Hoka Speedgoat 6 or Tecnica Magma. Aggressive lugs for the rocky sections.
- Bug spray: required. August in PA = mosquitoes, black flies, ticks.
- Headlamp: primary + spare. ~10 hours of dark.
- Hydration: heavy. August humidity in PA can make 80°F feel like 95°F.
The Eastern States experience
Most finishers describe Eastern States as the closest thing to true wilderness running in American 100-milers. The course is genuinely remote; the volunteers are tough, friendly Pennsylvanians; the post-race food is local. Underrated, under-promoted, and one of the most authentic 100s east of the Rockies.
What these sessions assume you are measuring with
Every pace, zone and power figure here needs something recording it. These three cover running, long days and the bike.
Garmin Forerunner 965 AMOLED multisport with the training-load and threshold metrics most of these sessions assume you can see day to day.
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COROS APEX 2 Series GPS Watch Sapphire titanium and the longest battery in its class, which is the deciding feature once a day out runs past a few hours.
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Favero Assioma Uno Power Meter Pedal Single-sided pedal power, the cheapest honest entry into training with watts rather than estimating from heart rate.
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