MUDDY CREEK TWP — Last year’s numbers weren’t bad.

This year’s numbers will dwarf them.

The second annual BHS Glacier Ridge Ultramarathon at Moraine State Park is scheduled for April 14. The inaugural event attracted 177 runners from 14 states and Canada.

With this year’s race still a month away, there are 239 runners from 19 states and Canada already registered. The registrant farthest away lives in Yuma, Ariz.

The majority of entrants come from Southwestern and Central Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio.

“The race was a big success last year and we’re looking to build off that,” co-race director Dan Adley said. “This is just the perfect setting to hold an event like this.

“The entry list will change as the race gets closer. Some will withdraw because of injuries sustained while training or other circumstances.”

The BHS Glacier Ridge Ultramarathon — which runs along the Glacier Ridge Trail and beyond — features three divisions. They are a 50-mile race, a 50K (31 mile) race and a 30K (18.6 miles) race.

Adley and fellow director Bob Fargo are from Washington, Pa., and ran trails at Moraine to prepare for other distance runs.

“Bob has run several 100-mile ultramarathons. I’ve run maybe three,” Adley said. “He’s much farther along than I am.

“We’ve both enjoyed time on the trail up there in Moraine and we talked to people at the park about putting together a race there. Park management has been extremely supportive of us.”

Fargo described the Moraine course as ideal “because we can staff the entire event with only three aid stations. Normally, a 50-mile race would require five to seven aid stations.

“This is a unique Y-shaped course where runners turn around and come back through,” Fargo added.

Proceeds from the race benefit the Moraine Preservation Fund and the Moraine McConnell’s Mill Jennings Commission. Entry fee is $65 for the 30K, $75 for the 50K and $85 for the 50-mile race.

Each entrant receivers a Glacier Ridge Trail Ultramarathon T-shirt and medallions will be presented to winners of the event.

“Bob and I don’t take a dime out of this,” Adley said. “One hundred percent of the proceeds go back to the park. This is a labor of love for us.”

Entries are being accepted through www.glacierridgetrailultra.com.

Fargo expects the final runner count to go above 250.

“We may get a flurry of activity over the next couple of weeks from people who are training and are still undecided about entering,” Fargo said. “But this isn’t something where you can wake up that Saturday morning and decide you’re gonna run 50 miles if you haven’t been preparing for it.”

“This trail has a lot to offer from a running perspective,” Adley said. “There’s a long flat surface where runners can pick the pace up and there’s sections of trail with roots and rocks that require more technical running.”

Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau, worked one of the aid stations last year.

“These runners are such nice people and they’re true athletes,” Cohen said. “They are unbelievable to watch.

“This event could explode in coming years, especially if it expands to 100 miles.”

All three races begin at the McDanel’s Boat Launch.

Last year’s 30K winner was Dominic Wyzomirski, 51, of Allison Park in two hours, 43.38 minutes. The 50K winner was Jeff Nelson, 46, of Titusville in 4:41.21. The 50-mile winner was Alex Barth, 38, of Chester Springs in 7:36.51.

Top local finishers last year were Shawn Huppertz, 44, of Chicora (fifth in 30K), Jeff Lynn, 43 of Slippery Rock (sixth in 50K) and Bill Thompson, 44, of Mars (28th in 50-mile).

“We had rain the entire week leading up to the race,” Adley recalled. “The weather cleared that Friday and we had a beautful race day.

“Hopefully, the weather will cooperate this time around.”

The boom in marathon running over the last number of years has resulted in increased interest in ultramarathons.

“Marathoners are looking for the next step ... What’s harder, longer, bigger?,” Fargo said. “People are looking for an alternative to the urban marathon setting, too, of thousands of runners going through a city.

“We’re looking to design a 50-mile course — maybe next year — that runs around Lake Arthur. A one-way course can bring a relay division into the event. It also might set up a possibility well down the road for a 100-mile race here and that would become a truly national event.”