The Rachel Carson Trail Challenge, a brutal endurance event started eight years ago to get feet out on the 34-mile stretch to help pound a more defined path, is going high-tech.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Brian Jeffrey, 26, of Dorseyville, makes his way down a steep hill in Indiana Township. Click photo for larger image. Related article Fitness for all: Q&A with Barb Peterson

With a record 395 participants last year -- including a whopping 254 finishers -- the event has gotten too big to be tracked with pencil and paper.

Participants (they're called "challengers") on June 19 will be wearing radio frequency identification that will be scanned by computer at checkpoints along the way.

"Last year, in particular, there were so many people that doing it on paper became a monumental effort to keep track accurately,'' said Steve Mentzer, executive director of the challenge.

With the new technology, the event is accepting up to 600 registrations this year. In addition to hikers, who have ranged in age from mid-teens to late 70s, the event also attracts folks who run -- or try to run -- the entire route.

While organizers emphasize that the challenge is noncompetitive, Mentzer did note that the course record was broken last year by a father-son team that ran the 34 miles in 7 hours, 50 minutes.

The Challenge is held on the Saturday nearest the longest day of the year. This year, it begins at 5:50 a.m. in Harrison Hills Park and ends in North Park at 8:54 p.m. It reverses direction each year.

Advance registration is available only online at www.rachelcarsontrail.com/challenge (via active.com). Entry fees are $30 until June 4; $40 until June 16. You can also register on site on event day, which is $50.

Proceeds fund maintenance activities on the Rachel Carson Trail and the Baker Trail, the 141-mile hiking and backpacking trail that extends to the Allegheny Forest.

To get folks prepared, longtime participant Barbara Peterson will be leading four training hikes on different sections of the trail. These hikes are open to anyone; you don't have to be registered for the challenge. A $3 activity fee is charged ($1 for Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy members). More details and directions are available online at the above-listed site. You must register at least 12 hours in advance by calling Peterson at 412-371-2506.

Here is the training hike schedule. Hikers meet at 8 a.m. on each date:

May 29, begins at Harrison Hills Park. Hike approximately 7 miles. Difficulty level: 5 on a scale of 1 to 10.

May 30, Begins on Bull Creek Road near Tarentum. 8.5 miles. Difficulty level: 6.

June 5, begins in Springdale and tackles the "roller-coaster" the sequence of steep hills along power lines. 9.5 miles. Difficulty level: 8.

June 6, begins at Cedar Run Road in Dor-seyville. 8.5 miles. Difficulty level: 4.