Three ways to start
MIDNIGHT START
12:00AM · The main event
Headlamps, the grill heating up, and everyone on the line together. You're the Midnight Crew: you eat first (grilled cheese at 12, pancakes and bacon at sunrise) and get the best parking, inside the compost center.
Required for: 100 Miles-ish Ride, Double Cross 100, Double Cross 50/50, Full FSX Season in One Day, the 16:20 Challenge and the Rock Relay.
Open to: every other distance, too.
8AM GROUP START
8:00AM · The sunrise crew
Sleep in, eat breakfast, start with a pack and still finish by 4:20.
Good for: 10k-ish, Half Marathon-ish, Marathon-ish, 50k-ish Ultra, the 50k / 50 Mile / 100k rides and Double Cross Lite.
OPEN START
Any time after midnight · Your call
Roll in whenever works for you. Your clock starts when you start, and you just have to finish your distance by 4:20PM.
Good for: the same distances as the 8AM start. Do the math on your pace before you sleep in.
What you need to know...
MIDNIGHT TO 4:20.
Year six of the best-worst idea in the Lehigh Valley. On Black Friday, November 27, the Fifth Street Cross course opens at 12:00AM and closes at 4:20PM. Run it, ride it, or both. Solo or with your crew. Your only job is to finish the distance you picked before the clock hits 4:20.
Call it an active protest against buying dumb shit instead of being with your friends.
Be there at midnight. That's when it starts for real: headlamps, the grill heating up, and everyone on the line together. Midnight starters are the Midnight Crew, and the Midnight Crew eats first and gets the best parking, inside the compost center. Not a night owl? Join the 8AM group start, or roll in whenever you want with an open start. Just know the 4:20 cutoff doesn't move for anybody.
PICK YOUR DISTANCE
Every distance is "-ish." Laps are 1.6 miles-ish. Events marked MIDNIGHT require a midnight start.
- RUN: 10k, Half Marathon, Marathon, 50k Ultra, Full FSX Season in One Day (60k, MIDNIGHT)
- RIDE: 50k, 50 Miles, 100k, 100 Miles (MIDNIGHT)
- DOUBLE CROSS (run AND ride): Double Cross Lite (Half Marathon + 50k ride), Double Cross 100 (50k run + 50k ride, MIDNIGHT), Double Cross 50/50 (50k run + 50 mile ride, MIDNIGHT)
- MIDNIGHT CHALLENGES: the 16:20 Challenge (most laps in 16 hours, 20 minutes, run OR ride) and the Rock Relay
BRING YOUR CREW: RELAY TEAMS
Every distance can be a relay. There's no separate relay event. You pick a distance, then build your team during registration. Teams are 2 to 8 people. One teammate on course at a time, unless you stay together the whole way.
- Captain goes first. Register for your team's distance. At the Group/Team step, choose Create a Group/Team, pick Relay Team and name your team.
- Then send your teammates the link. Each one registers for the same distance, chooses Join a Group/Team and searches for your team name.
- Everyone pays their own entry ($30 each, so a team of 4 is $120) and brings their own 6-pack.
Don't skip the Group/Team step. If you do, you're registered as a solo. Pass the computer, not a baton: run one GPS device and hand it off at each exchange. Doing the Rock Relay? Same steps, but choose Rock Relay Team, and teams are exactly 3.
HOW YOU WIN
Elapsed time, not clock time. Your clock starts when you start. Start at 7am, finish 100 miles at 4pm, and your 9 hours beats somebody's 14 hours from midnight. Timed events go to whoever covers the most ground. The 100-mile mark to beat is Aaron Longstaff's 9:22 from 2023.
THE 6-PACK RULE
This is a 6-pack event. Bring one (beer or the like) with your entry fee, or bring an extra $20 for the prize pot. Winners take home their category's haul at 4:20.
THE MENU
One hot thing off the grill every 2 hours, midnight to the cutoff. The Midnight Crew eats first.
- 12:00 AM · Grilled cheese
- 2:00 AM · Hot ramen + sipping broth
- 4:00 AM · Griddled PB&J (Elvis option with banana)
- 6:00 AM · Pancakes, eggs & bacon
- 8:00 AM · Pancakes, eggs & bacon, round 2
- 10:00 AM · Griddled pierogies & onions
- 12:00 PM · Grill pizzas
- 2:00 PM · Last-lap cinnamon-sugar donuts
- 4:00 PM · Finisher dogs
All night: hot chocolate (12 AM–10 AM), coffee (4 AM–2 PM), hot apple cider (10 AM–4:20 PM).
THE GOOD STUFF
The grills are fired up all day, so bring your own meat too. BYOB. Midnight Crew parks inside the compost center if you arrive before midnight; after that, use the regular FSX lot.
RULE #1
Don't be a dick.
FINE PRINT
NO USAC MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED TO RIDE / NO REFUNDS
USATF Permit 165809 for insurance purposes.
165 Klines Lane, Emmaus, PA 18049
Race Location
Emmaus Compost Center
165 Klines Lane
Emmaus, PA 18049 US
View Location on Map
