Round 7 of the 2025 Bullet Proof Designs US Hard Enduro Series, Presented by IRC Tire, saw FMF KTM’s Trystan Hart cross the finish line first, redeeming his 2024 finish at one of, if not the most, difficult hard enduro races in America – Tough Like RORR.
Located minutes from downtown Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, Tough Like RORR’s courses are carved into the steep former coal mines, covered in giant boulder fields and thick forests. Paired with the Locked n Loaded Hard Scramble in a grueling double-header weekend, the two races make up the Keystone Challenge, now in its third annual showing during Memorial Day weekend.
Easing riders into the punishing sections that were to come in Sunday’s main event, Tough Like RORR started the weekend with a qualifying race, accepting only the fastest 120 riders. Despite on-again off-again rain in the days leading up to the race, the terrain easily soaked up the moisture, leaving a fairly dry course. It was Hart out front, taking the win at 43 minutes, only 10 seconds ahead of Rocky Mountain Yamaha’s Cody Webb and FactoryONE Sherco’s Will Riordan. The remaining entries then raced a separate seven-mile loop, vying for only 10 additional spots available for Sunday’s main.
With 130 lucky riders decided, riders lined up 10 wide to take on two laps of increasing difficulty. The first lap consisted of infamous sections like 409, The Wall, and Wrong Side of Heaven. Hart was able to get the holeshot, and the top three – Hart, Webb, and Riordan – were wheel-to-wheel. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder LeBlond was able to overtake for the lead for a short time, but Hart was able to get him back quickly and begin pulling away from the pack. Slowly picking their way through the gruesome rocky terrain, the front positions established themselves in their finish positions and each found themselves riding at a consistent pace nearly 15 minutes apart from one another.
Abnormally cool weather descended on race day, affording riders the ability to push themselves harder without falling apart. For Webb, this was a welcome change from last year’s race, where the high heat paired with tiresome sections ended with heat exhaustion after being the only rider to cross the finish line.
The second lap opened up some different sections, pulling in Hart Attack and Hart Break, and the trio of aptly-named Nightmare sections. Despite the course being slightly tamed down from last year, the Reading Off-Road Riders (RORR) club had a trick up their sleeve. As a treat for reaching the section named Brain Damage quickly enough, a brand-new section called Sad But True was unveiled within the last mile of the course. Not only was this section newly created, it wasn’t fully ribboned in for riders to notice during their pre-race course walk. Webb was the only rider to consider that this would happen, as the club planned to do the same last year. Sad But True had similar rocky terrain to 409 but sent riders in a series of ascents and descents, dangling the carrot that was the finish line just after the section’s exit.
Hart was able to keep a 13-minute lead over Webb to take the checkers first, earning his third Tough Like RORR victory. Webb would take second place, with Riordan finishing 15 minutes behind to round out the podium.
In the amateur classes, it was Makana Barger from Kailua, Hawaii not only taking the overall amateur win on the day, finishing seven of the 12 checks, but also his first career win in the series. Katie Hall-Leah from Pemberton, BC, would take the win in the Pro Women’s class, putting her in the lead in her class for the 2025 season.
Stay turned to the June issue of On the Pegs for a more in-depth look at this year’s event!
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