2026 Two Hollows Monster Marathon and Half: Another beautiful race day in the woods and a slightly longer course!
On Sunday, August 30, 2026, 77 runners participated in the fourth annual running of the “Two Hollows” edition of the FLRC Monster Marathon and Half Marathon, now a firmly established race in the Kennedy State Forest in Harford, NY. We had a good number of marathon runners this year, with 20 runners completing the marathon and 52 runners finishing the half marathon, and all runners putting in amazing efforts!
Conditions were excellent for running (we’ve had an amazing run of years, in truth), with cool conditions in the forest after some rains the week before, rising to a high in the mid 70s and clouding up by afternoon. We reorganized the course slightly this year by lengthening the North/East side using additional trail and gravel road for more variety, while shortening and simplifying the western “monster hill” section.
Full race results are now available, but several runners deserve special shoutouts:
In the half marathon, David Stauffer set the benchmark for this newly reorganized course at just under 1:58:56, suggesting a slightly longer course compared to previous years, and setting a record to be tested in future years. Joey Roberts and Hugh Wallace took second and third in 2:06:15 and 2:09:25. The regular flow of finishers continued with Jim Allot (2:11:46), Miles Lamble (2:12:46) and Nico Huber (2:14:29) rounding out fourth to sixth place in the age- and gender-adjusted placing system. Miles Lamble had an impressive showing for a 19-year-old participant, and two 12-year-old participants, Logan Timmerman and Jeremiah Muzyka, deserve huge congratulations for finishing the monster half! A special award for most helpful runner goes to last-place finisher Lexie Hain, who, during her first half marathon on a long (too long!, she protested) and tough trail course, took time out to help a fellow injured runner.
In the marathon, local distance phenomenon Ryan Allen-Parrot continued his winning streak by winning for a third year in a row, though in a slower time (4:51:33) than last year, perhaps due to the slightly longer course. His performance set a benchmark and new record for the reorganized route. Asher Sterrett of Ithaca finished less than a minute behind Ryan at 4:52:08, the closest to a photo finish for any of the top places for either race, and Roscoe Partin finished third in 5:03:58. Then Mark Morrison, Mariah Partin, and Ithaca’s Gerrit Van Loon rounded out the top six places in 5:18:00, 5:20:51, and 5:29:20. A few places later, Javarin Daniels had an amazing first marathon ever as a high school student, in 5:55:28, coming across the finish line looking strong and cheered on by family and at least one Oneida, NY running teammate who volunteered at the start/finish aid station. Similarly, 17-year-old Leo Holloway of Ithaca completed the marathon in 6:45:46. Some comic relief was provided by FLRC’s Joel Cisne, who went on the “extended touring edition” of the marathon but managed to convince us that he had at some point run on all parts of both loops, to finish in 7:25:02 after not too many more miles.
Huge thanks go out to a really large and committed group of volunteers, starting on the Friday before when course markers Sarah Ridenour and Dave Kania were out early doing some solo marking when Dave sacrificed himself to be stung no fewer than five times by ground wasps, as part of our new “human sensors for stinging insects program” during course marking. Dave lost his watch during the kerfuffle and then amazingly later found it. His heroism allowed us to safely guide runners around the wasp nest and avoid any stings on race day. The remaining marking crew of Lucia Chen, Steve Vanek, and Steve Jesch returned on Saturday for another year of marking, logging 11.5 miles in the “walk and jog with pink flags” event to set up the course. Huge thanks to our aid station volunteers Pam Cronk (returning from last year to cheer her husband Jeff again on in the half marathon), Connor De Groat, Bob Swizdor, Lily Andrews, and Ken Bolton. Dylan Raisch reprised his role as the craziest monster the woods have ever known, and was assisted by two young monsters. Steve Desmond did double duty, accompanying his young monster cohort of Ethan and Aurora and taking some amazing photos of runners on the course, many of whom could be seen smiling while passing the monster lair. (Check out the race photos and upload your own!)
Race timing and merch team Adam Engst, Heather Cobb, and Diana Hackett were the reliable backbone of managing the race, while Stephanie Mulinos and Susan Michaels helped with bib pickup, and Stephanie went on the mission to pick up food from the Village Taquería in Dryden. Katerina Tang was essential in the role of serving food, pie, and cake to runners and others. Melissa Wallace hiked into the woods to an important turn to guide runners at the key Spanish/Ukrainian loop intersection on the new course, without which many more runners would have been lost. She was likely instrumental in guiding her husband Hugh Wallace to his second-place half marathon finish. Our course sweeps Paul Maza and Makoto Endo also did an amazing job helping to ensure no one stayed out on course, and picked up flags along the way. Special thanks also to half marathon finisher and local coffee roaster Brandon Evans, who helped us by printing out our new course map on a vinyl sign, and some of the local artists and shops where we were able to purchase our prizes. Finally, a huge thank you and note of appreciation for the Wilderness Search and Rescue team, who support many of our races by tracking our runners through checkpoints and were on hand for any emergencies.
Steve Vanek and Steve Jesch, Race Directors
