It featured heat, mud, silt and rain — but skilled riders were up to the challenge to pursue a $15,000 winning purse.

Some of the country’s top dirt bike racers faced off over the weekend in premier qualifying races and ultimately the “Tough Like RORR” Pennsylvania State Championship Extreme Off-Road Event, held just outside of Tamaqua.

The American Motorcyclist Association race drew more than 200 riders and 2,000 spectators from across the country and abroad.

Races of varying difficulty qualify competitors to advance in the competition.

One race in particular features a 17-mile course, daunting not only for riders, but spectators, too.

Watching the race along the mountainous terrain was a challenge, requiring a climb through loose silt and gravel alongside old strip mines.

If you’re looking for sidewalks, escalators or ramps, you’re out of luck. This is not a handicapped accessible event, and liability is always a concern, addressed through waiver sheets, which must be signed by competitors and spectators alike upon entering the grounds.

Ambulances from Tamaqua and Mahoning Valley were positioned at the gate just in case something bad happened.

But once spectators hiked silt banks and haul roads to access the course, views of the formidable obstacles made the effort worthwhile.

“This is a good event and a challenge. It’s good competition,” said rider Nick Fahringer, 32, of Dayton, Ohio.

Fahringer is a seasoned veteran, ranked in the top 10 nationally for Extreme Enduro racing.

The race also attracts top riders internationally.

“One of them is Wade Young of South Africa,” said event chaplain Joe Young of Hamburg.

Young was staying in the area as a guest of Donnie Fegley of Fegley Mini Mart, a noncompetitive rider and strong supporter of off-road events.

The two days of racing, sponsored by the Reading Off-Road Riders, also featured distinct local flavor because top off-road talent exists in the Tamaqua and Panther Valley area.

Among local favorites was professional Thorn Devlin, Tamaqua, who will represent the U.S. at a major race in Portugal in a few months.

Another, Ben Horvath of Summit Hill, is an accomplished rider, familiar with the course and always a threat.

At least one rider decided to keep his bike on the truck and instead captured the action with a digital camera.

“I sell the pictures and I also post them on Instagram and Facebook,” said sports photographer Scott Mickelsen of Blairstown, New Jersey.

A local organization, American Hose Company, Tamaqua, has been the primary event food vendor for the past five years, relying on volunteer manpower to serve up cheeseburgers, egg sandwiches and a variety of hot and cold food. The firefighters stepped up to help raise funds, working shifts to fire the grill and staff a large tent.

“Right now it’s busy with vacations,” said Jay Stidham, noting that a golf tournament, block party and the off-road event make up the top three fundraisers for the hose company.

Robert Ritsick and Joe Krushinsky, volunteers from St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, McAdoo, staffed a booth and sold coffee and chances to win a 2019 Honda FourTrax 4X4.

A few thousand spectators arrived in campers and motor homes, ready to spend a vacation on the coal banks surrounding the community’s west end.

In the absence of a hotel in Tamaqua, the RORR organization also booked a block of rooms at Comfort Inn and Suites, Barnesville.