Mountain State Forest Festival
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About the race
The Mountain State Forest Festival running events take place in Elkins, West Virginia, with a start and finish at 5th Street and Davis Avenue and the event address listed as 400 Davis Avenue, Elkins, WV 26241. The running program includes a 10K run, a 5K run/walk with a new color option for 2026, and a Pump N Run that combines a bench press test with a 5K run.
Event formats and key rules:
- 10K
- 5K run/walk
- Pump N Run 5K plus bench press
Standard rules require participants to complete the course as marked and to complete the course for which they registered. Committee decisions on finish times, places and disqualifications are final. The Pump N Run requires participants to be 18 or older and begins with a weigh-in and a bench press performed at a specified percentage of body weight. Reps must be consecutive with a maximum of 30 reps; each rep deducts 30 seconds from the 5K time, with a maximum deducted time of 15 minutes.
Awards are given as trophies to first and second overall finishers male and female, and first and second within age divisions. Age groups for the 10K and 5K are 19-Under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60-Over. Pump N Run age groups are 18-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60-Over.
The races occur as part of the larger Mountain State Forest Festival, which for 2026 includes nightly live music, a lumberjack competition, forestry and wood exhibits, juried art and photography shows, a quilt show, arts and crafts, amusement rides, three parades, and a royal coronation under the theme Autumn in Color. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
