Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority Assistant Executive Director Caytlin Lusk speaks at a check presentation event Friday at the Nanty Glo Fire Department. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

NANTY GLO — This year’s Chernisky Ghost Town Trail-a-thon combined the foot race and cycling events into a single day of fun, which generated about $62,000 that will be split between two beneficiaries, Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky said Friday.

While presenting a check to the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority and the Cambria County Regional Firefighters Association at the Nanty Glo Fire Department, Chernisky said the event is “a win-win across the board” because it helps the county’s local economy, promotes outdoor recreation and helps firefighters obtain the equipment they need to maintain the county’s fire academy in East Carroll Township.

Tony Sestrich, the firefighters association’s first vice president, said they are able to obtain grants for the facility’s larger projects, such as the new training tower unveiled earlier this year. But the funding for smaller expenses, like purchasing lawn mowers to maintain the site and fuel needed to operate firetrucks during annual trainings, is paid for through donations, Sestrich said, noting the money received from the Chernisky Ghost Town Trail-a-thon each year is “really helpful.”

“The cost of everything today is just astronomical,” Sestrich said, adding firefighter equipment is “changing all of the time.”

Chernisky commended the firefighters in attendance, noting they drop everything when a call comes in at 2 a.m. and rush to the scene to protect other people’s lives and property.

“We need to make sure that they can go home to their families by getting the training they deserve,” Chernisky said.

The Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority will use the funding it receives to maintain its trail system, according to Caylin Lusk, the authority’s assistant executive director.

Like the fire school, there are grants available to build trails but not to maintain them, Lusk said.

“What good is a trail system if you have a major washout and then you find a big gap,” Lusk rhetorically asked. “We have to be resourceful and creative with finding funds to be able to maintain these trails and keep them in pristine condition. So events like this being able to bring in $62,000, that’s instrumental to being able to upkeep with the trails.”

The event took place in October on the Ghost Town Trail in Ebensburg, Chernisky said, adding participants were challenged to complete a marathon run, 15-miler run/walk, 5k run/walk with an optional athletes with disabilities division, a 0.0k couch potato event or a 26.2-mile bicycle ride.

Now in its fifth year, the event saw a “jump” in sponsors and volunteers from last year’s event, which raised nearly $50,000, Chernisky said, noting 119 race sponsors helped offset this year’s costs so that more proceeds could go to the beneficiaries.

Chernisky said he started the event after talking with Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority Executive Director Cliff Kitner several years ago. Cambria County used to have a marathon event every year and it went away, Chernisky said, adding officials wanted to have a marathon on the Ghost Town Trail and promote outdoor recreation.

Chernisky said outdoor recreation is a $19 billion industry in Pennsylvania. It’s also an important part of Cambria County’s economy, he said.

Lusk agreed, noting the county’s trails are open 365 days a year and they attract thousands of visitors to communities like Ebensburg.

“It’s not just hiking, running and biking on the trail, it’s also fat biking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing,” Lusk said, adding the conservation and recreation authority partnered with the Young Peoples Community Center in Ebensburg to purchase bikes and cross country skis that people can rent to use on the Ghost Town Trail.

“It gives you another way to get out there and enjoy the trail in the wintertime,” Lusk said. “There is honestly nothing more beautiful than seeing a fresh layer of snow on the trail.”