Tag: raven100kchallenge

Raven Rocks 10k Run and Raven 100k Challenge Return for 2026 – Nov 8, 2026

Trail Runners,

The Raven Rocks 10k Trail Run is BACK for its ELEVENTH YEAR! 🙂

Date is Sunday, November 8, 2026 @9am for the RAVEN ROCKS 10k TRAIL RUN… Woo hoo!

We are also bringing back the Raven 100k Virtual Challenge for the sixth year — with all of the fun elements from last year — activities that make the Virtual Raven 100k challenge a bit more interesting! 

Topline News

2026 shirt design

You can sign up for the Raven Rocks 10k Run or the Raven 100k November Challenge — or you can do BOTH!

Early bird (before early October – details at signup link) signups get the early bird discount.

Sign up for both the in-person and virtual events at the same time and get a discount which appears at checkout. 

Shirts this year will be one design and runners can choose to purchase the long-sleeved cotton shirts (traditional) and/or short sleeved tech fabric shirts. You can purchase one, both, or neither shirt. If you are a purely virtual Raven 100k Challenge runner, we will mail you your shirt (if ordered) — along with your finisher “woodallion” if you hit the 100k goal.

As always, these Raven events support the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. We encourage runners to join as members of the museum during registration to support their non-profit educational and conservation purpose. 

This year we are also planning to support the Friends of the Cross River Mountain Fire Tower. We will be working with the Westchester Parks Foundation and will be raising funds to support Westchester County and NY State in the restoration of the fire tower to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. That fundraising account will be set up under the WPF with a range of support levels. More to come on this news!

See you on the trails!

….Rob, Ciorsdan, and the Raven Cobweb Crew volunteers


More detail about each event:

## Raven Rocks Run – 10k Trail Run ##

The Raven Rocks Run is a challenging 10k trail run at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, NY.

Race is in-person Sunday, November 8, 2026 starting at 9am. 

The race will start in the lower Meadow. The course passes by the spot where the Leatherman’s Loop begins. Instead of heading towards the river as the Loop does, the Raven Rocks Run 10k course climbs and climbs up to the two highest points in the park (Raven Rocks Overlook and the Fire Tower Summit) before heading back for a (mostly) downhill and (relatively) flat finish.

The course passes by the site of the Cross River Mountain Fire Tower which is the highest point in the park. We have worked for over a decade to bring back the tower to its former spot in the park. See Course Map page for course details and the fire tower’s location.

More information about the race and tower project is on the About page and the FAQ page of our ravenrocksrun.org website and also the crmfiretower.org information site.

We are looking forward to November when we will run this event for the ELEVENTH time!


## Raven 100k Challenge ##

The Raven 100k Challenge is simple: first, register for the challenge. Then run, hike, or walk 100k during the month of November 2026.

The official tracking for the Raven 100k November Challenge is via RunSignUp.com – we will provide instructions to all who have signed up.

As a supplement (NOT the official tracking) we will have a Strava group: (https://www.strava.com/clubs/raven2026) where you can join and share your runs – but we can’t get the data automatically from the Strava group, so unfortunately we can’t use it for official tracking.

Note: You can register as late as November 16 and enter your mileage to date for the month when you register. 100k for 30 days works out to an average of around 3k per day or 25k (15 miles) per week.

If you complete the challenge, you will receive a wooden finisher medallion with achievement badges custom to your Raven Challenge journey. Shirts are optional. 

The Raven 100k Challenge helps support the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, with easy donations during the registration for the challenge and 10k race. The Friends group is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization based at the Trailside Museum at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. 

Join the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation for 2026 membership during signup. One of the most popular levels is the $100 “Wood Turtle” membership which gives the member a parking pass for the park either for the rest of 2026 or all of 2027 depending on when you join during the year. (Signup for the Friends of Trailside donation after Sept 1st and your membership will be for the following year.)

Bonus achievements for the Raven 100k Challenge

In addition to running, walking, or hiking 100k during November, there are several bonus achievement badges you can unlock if you are able: 

  • Run 10k on the Raven Rocks Run course (raven badge).This can be done at the Raven Rocks 10k Run race on Nov 9. It can also be done any time at the park. The Course will be fully marked from 11/7/26 – 11/8/26 for those unfamiliar with it.
  • Run 5x on the 10k Raven Rocks Run course (ultra raven badge)
  • Run 10x on the 10k Raven Rocks Run course (full flock badge)
  • Run 33x on the 10k Raven Rocks Run course (Peeter badge). Note: The Peeter badge is named after Peeter Muursepp who ran the Raven Rocks course 33x during the month of November 2020 during the First Raven 100k Challenge. Peeter exceeded his 2020 feat in 2021 with 63 Loops around the Raven Rocks Run 10k course during the month of November 2021. That is more than 2x RRR loops per day average.
    • Note: If you run 64x or more on the Raven Rocks Run course the Peeter badge is renamed after you. 
  • Take a selfie at the Raven Rocks Overlook and send it in (photographer badge)
  • Take a selfie at any Raven related site, store, zoo, etc. and send it in (traveler/citizen badge)
  • Submit a photo of yourself on a run with your “I Voted” sticker or if you can’t vote in the November election, next to someone with an “I Voted” sticker. (bald eagle badge) 
  • Run on Thanksgiving (turkey badge).Submit a Thanksgiving run photo to get a badge upgrade to the Photo Turkey badge.
  • Do a run in the dark to Raven Rocks (night owl badge). Note: you can use a headlamp or flashlight while running!
  • Do a run early in the morning to Raven Rocks (cobweb crew badge)
  • 200k distance in November (snowy owl badge)
  • 300k distance in November (white raven badge)
  • Read a stanza from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” poem and send us a link of you doing this. Use soundcloud, youtube, facebook, whatever service you want. We have most of the poem read by challenge participants last year but need a few more to complete the full 16 stanzas. (wise owl badge)
  • Find your Raven challenge object in the Rez (GPS Badge). See below for details
Woodallion Illustration from 2021. Bonus badges are added to the final woodallion if they are earned during the November challenge.

We will incorporate the badges on the physical wooden finisher “woodallion” that we create and send to you once you complete the Raven Challenge. See sample from 2021’s Raven Challenge here.

Any other badge ideas? We are open to suggestions.

In addition, we will have awards for:

  • First 3 men and First 3 women to 100k
  • Top 3 men and Top 3 women in total kilometers.

This is to prevent participants from “batch entering” their results. We want the participants in the virtual challenge to “see” who they are “running” with. Batch entry at the end of the month or half way through defeats this goal.

If you are contending for a Top 3 spot you MUST be timely with your entries. If you are not timely with your results posting, we will recognize your distances on your woodallion — but not your top 3 status since you didn’t participate in the “race” aspect of the challenge.

Keep your results up to date if you are in the running!

Note: In order to win these awards distance submissions need to be verifiable via GPX files in case it is really close.

See instructions submitting results on RunSignUp Raven 100k Challenge page.

Halfway bonus GPS challenge badge search

Photo of 2020 Woodallion with finisher’s name, distance run in the November challenge, unique achievements, and a number of badges earned added to the final recognition. This year’s woodallion will have a theme around this year’s artwork (see above) with the badges incorporated.

For those in the area near Ward Pound Ridge Reservation we have a special treat in mind that will lead to a bonus badge. If you opt-in via the status form (to be sent to participants in the challenge in November), then after you pass the 50 kilometer mark on your Raven 100k Challenge posted stats, we will send you your own coordinates via “What3Words” app to somewhere in the park where we have hidden a small challenge surprise for you to find. It will be obvious once you get there, but not easy to find unless you have the coordinates.

Everyone will have a different and unique spot somewhere in the park. Some will be further off-trail than others depending on how familiar you are with the park. Let us know when you find your halfway bonus (or if you can’t find it! – we don’t want to leave the challenge items out there!)

→ Sign up for the Raven Rocks Run and/or the Raven 100k Challenge Today!

You can participate in either event – they can be completely independent of each other. Or you can participate in both events. There is overlap in the 100k challenge and the 10k race since one of the Raven Challenge badges is awarded for completing the Raven Rocks Run course.

We are super happy to be out running on trails with you all! See you out there…

2026 Raven Rocks Run and Raven Challenge Open for Early Bird Registration

If you like to plan your races in advance, sign up now! There is a special combo discount if you sign up for both events (10k race and 100k challenge) at the same time. There’s even a bonus EARLY RAVEN PRICING to celebrate opening of Raven registration.

There’s also currently a TRIPLE TRAIL bundle that lets you sign up for the TWO Run the Farm 5 mile races (spring and fall) plus Raven Rocks 10k Run at the same time – and get a bundle discount!

Raven Rocks 10k Run will be held Sunday, November 8, 2026.

The Raven 100k Challenge is set for Nov 1-30, 2026.

Both events are open for registration now! https://runsignup.com/ravenrocks

Sign Up

Thanks for supporting the race — and the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation!


PS: Run the Farm now has a SPRING race event (May 17, 2026) and a FALL race event (Oct 25, 2026). For more information visit the registration links at https://runsignup.com/muscootspring (May race) and https://runsignup.com/muscootfall (October race).

2025 Last Caw!

Get your badge submissions in — and your distances in BY 12/4!

A bunch of participants are SO CLOSE – don’t forget to count all of your Ks and report them!

Let us know if you are having trouble getting anything to us and we will help!

Thanks!

2025 Raven 100k Challenge Status

••• FINAL STATUS 12/4/25 •••

  • 53 of these 59 participants have entered enough distance to qualify for a challenge woodallion to date.
    • SIX (6) participants have reported SOME distances BUT THEY DID NOT report enough to qualify to receive a 100k challenge woodallion.
  • over 1,300 distance entries have been made by our 59 challenge participants to date.
  • over 9,600 kilometers have been walked/hiked/run AND REPORTED by our challengers!

IMPORTANT:

  • To qualify for Top 3 finisher status you MUST report your distances in a timely manner through the month of the challenge. That means reporting all distances within 36 hours of completing them.
  • If you report a whole lot of distance maybe two or three weeks into the challenge this makes you ineligible to compete head to head with others in the challenge for the top 3 recognition. We will still recognize your distances — but you were essentially running a solo race. The others who reported in a timely way were competing in the challenge together.

  • The CUTOFF FOR BADGE and DISTANCE SUBMISSIONS was THURSDAY 12/4. The table below shows what will be sent to the custom laser engraving company on 12/5 (including distances and badges earned!).
  • We need to get our custom woodallion engraver (Raven Tree Works) the data to print the name and distance customized woodallions — plus the custom badges — so we can get the woodallions to the 100k challenge finishers in a timely manner.

Anyone registered who reaches 100k or higher walking, hiking, or running in November (and who reports their distances!) gets a custom Raven Challenge Woodallion suitable for display — and even suitable to hang on holiday decorations!

FINAL TALLY was cut off and made after the stroke of midnight 12:00am on 12/5/25 with the badge claims and distances you and other challenge participants have reported. We let the engraving company know on 12/5 so you have until 11:59pm on 12/4/25 to update and add.

If you need the link to claim your badges, click here. If you have new badges to claim, you can submit the form as many times as needed and we will “super score” your badge claims (i.e. once you claim a badge you don’t need to claim it again on a subsequent form submission — but it doesn’t hurt to claim it again if you can’t remember!). 12/5 update – Badge claims are COMPLETE! thank you for entering!


2025 Raven November 100k Challenge Distance and Badge Claims

Source for the distances is here (last imported on date shown at the top of this post). The source will have more up to date distances. Badge claims can be made here if you have new claims to make. Scroll right --> to see search bar for table

Submit 2025 Raven 100k Challenge Results

Two submissions needed for the 100k Challenge – first for your runs/walks/hikes, second for your badges.

  1. RUNS / WALKS / HIKES – Visit https://runsignup.com/ravenrocks/results#resultSetId-519872;perpage:100 and submit your distance results as soon as you complete the day’s run, walk, or hike(s).
  2. BADGES – Submit your badge achievements/photos/other claims here: https://ravenrocksrun.org/raven-100k-challenge-badge-submission-form/ — you can (and should!) use this form more than once to update us. If you submit more than once we will “superscore” to keep track of ALL of your badge achievements. Trying to keep it simple for you – just submit the new stuff each time.

If you are in the challenge, join the Raven 100k November Challenge Strava Group!

Let us know if you have questions – ravenrocksrun@gmail.com.

Sample 2024 woodallion shown above – when we have a 2025 sample or mockup we will post it. More information about how to earn the “Power Up” badges is here.

test illustration of the 2025 woodallion – test woodcuts coming!

The 2025 Raven 100k November Virtual Challenge has kicked off!

Trail Runners,

The Raven 100k November Virtual Challenge has kicked off!

The Virtual Raven 100k Challenge goes from Nov 1st – Nov 30th. Sign up is here and at the link above.

More information on what the challenge entails is below:

Race / challenge shirts are available as long-sleeved cotton and short sleeved tech versions — but we have limited remaining inventory since we placed the final order over a week ago. Order now to ensure your size & style will be on hand.

You can sign up for the 100k Virtual Challenge (Nov 1-30) or the 10k Race (Nov 9th) — or do BOTH!

Note you can sign up for the 100k challenge after November 1st and enter your distances for the prior dates! 

Hope to see you virtually — and on the trails!

….Rob, Ciorsdan, and the Raven volunteers

—

PS: More detail about the November Raven 100k virtual challenge (and the 10k) is here: https://ravenrocksrun.org/2025/07/raven-rocks-10k-run-and-raven-100k-challenge-return-for-2025-nov-9-2025/ (Click the link to visit the Raven Rocks website.)

PPS: The Raven Rocks Run is the final run of the Trail Mix Series of races in Westchester / Fairfield. More information about the series is here: trailmixseries.org.

Essential Information for the Raven Rocks Run on November 9

To: Everyone who is registered for (or may be thinking of registering for) the 2025 Raven Rocks Run:

Raven 2025 Shirt Art

The TENTH annual Raven Rocks Run is set to go at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation on Sunday, November 9th, 2025.

Register

(The Raven 100k November Challenge is set to start 11/1! More info. You can sign up for the challenge through Nov 15, 2025!)

Race director Rob Cummings, his lovely wife Ciorsdan along with the dedicated raven volunteers have been working hard to set up this year’s event.

Registration link is here if you have any more folks to sign up (or you want to pass this on to a friend!): https://runsignup.com/RavenRocks

Not sure if you registered or want to check if a friend is registered? Click here:
https://runsignup.com/Race/RegistrationLookup/?raceId=25402

Here are some tips that will help you on race morning:

1.) ARRIVE EARLY! The race is set to start at 9am. Bib pickup (and shirt pickup if ordered) begins at 7:15am on race morning. Look for the tent in the Meadow Parking lot. Please plan to arrive at the park by 8:15am — or even earlier if you can swing it.

The regular $10 park entry fee is incorporated in part of the Raven Rocks entry fee so there is no need to stop and pay at the entry booth. Our volunteers will direct you on parking as you arrive. 

If the main meadow lot should fill up, we may need to use our backup lot near the entrance to the park. This would mean about 1/4 mile walk for runners arriving late. Another good reason to be early!

2.) DRIVE SLOWLY in the Park! Pay close attention to the volunteers who are directing the parking. Car pool if you can – this helps the environment – and it makes the race more fun! For a helpful overview of the race location (parking, start, bib pickup), check the logistics page of the website here.

3.) LISTEN ATTENTIVELY TO PRE-RACE ANNOUNCEMENTS! Your Race Director will have important information about the course and safety. You will be instructed about potential hazards on the course and current course conditions. 

4.) LISTEN FOR THE START! Following the instructions, we will start the runners.

5.) STAY ON COURSE IF YOU CAN’T CONTINUE! There will be a number of “sweeps” running the course following the slower runners. If for any reason you can’t continue, wait for them to get to you to assess your needs. The park is over 4,300 acres so don’t leave the course unless you know exactly where you are going.

6.) SAME DAY REGISTRATION – If we hit the cap before next weekend, we will not have this available. Online registration is open! 😉 If you or a friend are looking to run the race, sign up ASAP before we reach the cap! 

7.) RESULTS: Results with time and place will be available soon after the finish at the registration area and online later in the afternoon on the Raven Rocks Run website. Check it out at http://www.ravenrocksrun.org/results.

8.) THANK A VOLUNTEER! A tremendous amount of volunteer effort goes into making Raven Rocks a special event. T-shirt designers, registration volunteers, pie buyers, course setters, trail wardens, box lifters, water servers, bagel cutters, coffee brewers, parking coordinators, photographers, videographers, course sweeps, and the clean-up crew—not to mention the Pound Ridge, Lewisboro, and Westchester County Police officers and the dedicated members of the Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps!

If you want to volunteer, please reach out to us at ravenrocksrun@gmail.com. Thank you!

We are grateful that we have such a wonderful group of trail running enthusiasts (YOU!) to share this run with. We are also thankful that we have the thousands of acres of parkland at the Rez to enjoy!

Many runners have become members of the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation group during registration – We thank you for joining! This group, which many of you are now members of, is one of the oldest “Friends” groups in the country and it is powered solely by memberships and volunteers.

Remember, leave only footprints, take only pictures, and please send us your photos via upload!

Expect more news shared on Facebook, Twitter, via email, and our website as the event nears…. See you at the race! 

Good luck and have fun,

….Rob, Ciorsdan, and the rest of the Raven Rocks Run Volunteers!


PS: Some useful links…

• Map and Directions to the Reservation
• Map of the Raven Rocks Run course
• Follow Raven Rocks on Facebook: https://facebook.com/ravenrocksrun
• Follow Raven Rocks on Instagram: https://instagram.com/ravenrocksrun
• Searchable list of registered runners
• Run on the trails on Sundays all year round!

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


The Raven Rocks Run is the last race in a series of trail races called The Trail Mix. The Trail Mix will resume in 2026!

2026 Trail Mix races TENTATIVE plan*:

In addition, we support and attend many other local trail (and a few road) races. Send us some of your favorites for 2026!

(Note: this post went out as an email to all registered runners for the 2025 Raven Rocks Run, the 2025 Raven 100k Challenge, as well as past registrants and trail runners on our email list. If you did not receive this via email and you are registered, you may want to check your spam folder and set up ravenrocksrun@gmail.com on your address book/white list. If you have not yet registered and you plan to run – sign up now!) 

Raven November 100k Challenge 2025

The Challenge: Walk, hike, or run 100k during the month of November 2025. Distance can be done anywhere, the only requirement is that it be on your feet.

Challenge Rewards:

  • You stay active as the days shorten and the weather cools down.
  • You can join our Strava Club to track your November progress to (and past!) 100k and share with other challengers.
  • If you are in the local area of the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, you can check out the Raven Rocks overlook which is on the Raven Rocks 10k Run course (and there have been a pair of Ravens who live there that you might see if your timing is right!).
  • You can earn badges as you unlock the various achievements we have set up.
  • At the end of the month we tally your totals and send or give you a custom finisher “woodallion” with your name and badges and achievements (see image below) along with your shirt (if purchased).
SAMPLE 2024 Raven 100k Challenge “woodallion” (will be updated for 2025!)- The lightly etched outlines will be replaced with physical badge pieces fastened atop as those are earned. So you may have the whole deck filled or just parts. Some of the badges are very difficult to achieve!

Below are the badge images and names from last year and further down are the descriptions of the achievements. We are open to suggestions on adding more badges – especially if you are outside of the local Raven Rocks / Ward Pound Ridge area! Maybe an international badge if you run a Raven related course outside the USA!

Badge descriptions:

– Run 10k on the Raven Rocks Run course (raven badge)
– Run 5x 10k on the Raven Rocks Run course (ultra raven badge)
– Run 10x 10k on the Raven Rocks Run course (full flock badge)
– Take a selfie at the Raven Rocks Overlook and send it in (photographer badge)
– Submit a photo of yourself on a run with your “I Voted” sticker (bald eagle badge) or if you can’t vote in the election, next to someone with an “I Voted” sticker.
– Submit a photo of you running on Thanksgiving (turkey award)
– Photo of a raven anywhere (citizen award) (merged with traveler badge)
– Do a run in the dark to Raven Rocks (night owl badge)
– Do a run at dawn to Raven Rocks (cobweb crew badge)
– 200k distance in November (snowy owl badge)
– 300k distance in November (white raven badge)
– Read a stanza from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” poem and send us a link. Use SoundCloud, YouTube, Facebook, or whatever audio service you want. (wise owl badge)

New badges last year include the “Peeter Badge” named for Peeter Muursepp who during 2020’s Raven 100k Challenge did 32 loops of the 10k Raven Rocks course. Get 32 loops or more to earn the badge. In 2021 Peeter upped the ante with 62 Raven Rocks 10k loops during the month of November. That’s more than 2 per day! If you surpass it with 62 (or more) and the badge name changes to your name. But we think Peeter is safe since that is a huge number. Only 3 people have ever earned this badge.

Jacob Benesch proposed a badge for anyone doing 5x Raven Rocks 10k course in one day (50k total in a day!). We already had a badge named the Ultra Raven Badge (for 5x course runs over the a month), so we now have a new badge called “The Raven Rockstar Badge” which is shown on the photo sample above. Only 3 people earned this badge in 2021-2024.

Note – If you are in contention or you think you might be in contention for one of the “TOP 3” achievements (first, second, or third to 100k, top 3 finisher overall at end of November), you must enter your distances within 36 hours of completing them. That way the others in the challenge who are pushing themselves to the limit can track how they are doing relative to the competition. If you enter all of your data in batches and you come into contention for one of these achievements late in the challenge, you will not be eligible for the achievement.

More information about badges and achievements can be found here: https://ravenrocksrun.org/raven-challenge-badges-and-achievements/

Let us know if you have any questions about the Raven 100k Challenge for November 2025 – email ravenrocksrun@gmail.com. Thanks!

See you on the trails!

Rob

Raven Rocks Run and Raven 100k Challenge in 2025

The Raven Rocks Run is a challenging 10k trail run at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, NY.

Race is Sunday, November 9th, 2025 starting at 9am. 

The race will start in the Meadow – parking is in the meadow lot and overflow parking is on the upper meadow.

The course passes by the spot where the Leatherman’s Loop begins. Instead of heading towards the river as the Loop does, the Raven Rocks Run 10k course climbs and climbs up to the two highest points in the park (Raven Rocks Overlook and the Fire Tower Summit) before heading back for a (mostly) downhill and (relatively) flat finish.

The course passes by the site of the former Cross River Mountain fire tower which is the highest point in the park. We have been heavily involved with a group working towards getting back the tower to its former spot in the park and there is good news on the return of the fire tower!

See Course Map page for course details.

More information about the race and tower project is on the About page and the FAQ page of our ravenrocksrun.org website.

Sign up ASAP – summer and early fall signups get the early raven discount! 

We have gotten close to our limit the last few times we put on the race — so it could get full, or it may not. It depends on the runner demand!