Celebrating Philadelphia Prettiest Park

Wissahickon Valley park is the crown jewel of the Philadelphia Park system. It is over 2000 acres in size and features more than 50 miles of trails. The park combines natural beauty and history, with many historic buildings and bridges located within the park. The Forbidden Drive Trail is the most used and most know trail in the park. Over 1 million people use the trail every year and it was awarded PA Trail of the year in 2018. It is 5.45 miles long, 25 feet wide and features a max grade of 3%. The smooth gravel surface of the trail on Forbidden Drive makes it a perfect choice for runners, who usually run on pavement, but would like to run in an area immersed in nature on a surface that is more forgiving than pavement. And for the trail runners, we keep it interesting by adding a few trail sections as well. Let's celebrate Philadelphia Parks by running the Forbidden Run Fest at the Wissahickon Valley Park. This race is limited to 750 runners, so please register early. We are looking forward seeing you at the starting line in November.

Distances

10 KM
10 Miles
Half Marathon+

Bib Pickup

There will be no expo. Bibs and swag pickup on race day only.
Starts at 7:30AM at the Start/Finish

approx. address: Houston Playground, 900 Grakyn Ln, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19128

Start Time

13.1+ 9:00AM
10 Miler 9:15AM
10 KM 9:30 AM

Fees

13.1+ $75 till 7/31/25 $79 till 9/30/25 ($85 after)
10 Miler $65 till 7/31/25 $69 till 9/30/25 ($75 after)
10 KM $55 till 7/31/25 $59 till 9/30/25 ($65 after)

Refunds

Refunds will be processed up to 30 days prior to race day. No refunds or deferrals after. Refund is entry fee minus $10. Please mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
UES
c/o ForbiddenRF
2137 Old Lancaster Pike
Reinholds, PA 17569


No refunds or deferrals within 30 days of race day.

We reserve the right to cancel or postpone the race due to weather, acts of God or other reasons outside of the control of Uberendurancesports. No unauthorized bib transfers, please contact Rd at Stephanweiss@comcast.net to find out if and how you can transfer your bib.

Awards & Swag

Every runner will receive an awesome Philadelphia themed finisher award (tbd) and an awesome race shirt without any advertising on it.
Trophies for Top 3 overall and Top 3 age group 19 & under, 20 - 29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 & Top 3 60 plus

Time Limit

Every runner has to be finished by 1pm. This makes all distances hiker friendly.

Water Stops

Aid stations are spaced 2-3 miles apart.

10 KM: 1 Stop at Mile 3
10 Miler: 3 Stops at Mile 3 ,5 & 7
13.1+: 4 Stops at Mile 3,5,8 & 10

We recommend carrying a bottle to keep hydrated. Gatorade and water will be available at all the aid stations. There will be the usual trail fare and carbs to keep you fueled at the race (bring your own gels, if you rely on them).

Timing

This race is chip timed. Please do not fold your bib nr, it will damage the timing chip.
Top 3 will be determined by gun time (whoever crosses the finish line first), age group awards are determined by chip time (your actual net time). Live results will be posted at www.2Lraceservices.com

Post Race Party

Award ceremony, live music and pizza party at the finish line. Stick around to cheer for all the runners.

Course

10 KM:

Mile 1: Downhill on mostly smooth compacted dirt trail (last 1/4 mile is somewhat rocky and steep downhill)
Mile 2 & 3: Very gradual downhill on smooth wide gravel trail (Forbidden Drive)
Mile 3.1: Turnaround
Mile 4 & 5: Very gradual uphill on Forbidden Drive
Mile 6: Mount Misery - 1/4 mile rocky uphill section followed by compacted dirt trail back to the finish line.

10 Miler:

Mile 1: Downhill on mostly smooth compacted dirt trail (last 1/4 mile is somewhat rocky and steep downhill)
Mile 2-5: Very gradual downhill on smooth wide gravel trail (Forbidden Drive)
Mile 5: Turnaround
Mile 6-9:Very gradual uphill on Forbidden Drive
Mile 6: Mount Misery - 1/4 mile rocky uphill section followed by compacted dirt trail back to the finish line.

13.1+:

Mile 1: Downhill on mostly smooth compacted dirt trail (last 1/4 mile is somewhat rocky and steep downhill)
Mile 2-5: Very gradual downhill on smooth wide gravel trail (Forbidden Drive)
Mile 6-9: Loop featuring 3 miles of rolling single track trail, 0.5 Miles paved bicycke trail and 0.5 miles gravel trail
Mile 10-13: Very gradual uphill on Forbidden Drive
Mile 14: Mount Misery - 1/4 mile rocky uphill section followed by compacted dirt trail back to the finish line.
And yes, our Halfmarathon is 14 miles long

With this course we try to introduce new runners and road runners to trail running. We have a generous timel limit, so one could even power hike it. The entire course is located within Wissahickon Park, so you are in nature the entire run. If you enjoy trail running, you will enjoy our 13.1+ course ( closer to14 miles really) featuring 5 miles of dirt trails and 8 miles of gravel trail on the scenic Forbidden Drive.

Event's current local time: 2:27 AM ET