What runs up must run down.

In the early nineteenth century, the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway hauled coal from the mines in Summit Hill down to the Lehigh River using a gravity system for the cars to roll down the track.

Then, when emptied, mules were used to pull the cars back up to the top of the hill.

On Sunday, participants in the 50th annual Switchback Scamper Run, will race up and down the old switchback trail as they compete in the historic race.

The Switchback Scamper is sponsored by St John’s Lutheran Church in Jim Thorpe Heights. Walter Schlenner, who is President of the St. John’s Council, and his church members organize the race that has often attracted hundreds of participants from all around Pennsylvania as well as other northeastern states.

“It’s really a neat thing,” said Schlenner, “There is a 10k run and a 5k walk and its the perfect time of the year for it. Autumn has great temperatures and scenery for everyone who is going to navigate the course.”

From the start in Summit Hill just below St. Joseph’s Church on Ludlow Street, runners will cross Route 902 and proceed to the Switchback Trail. Once off the trail, they will run along Lentz Trail for a short distance before heading back to Mauch Chunk Lake Park and finish at the Koch-Wildoner Pavilion.

“Many folks return year after year to participate in this great event,” said St. John’s council member, Bonnie Hoffman. “Participants get to enjoy the beauty and surrounding woodlands while running through the Switchback Trail and Mauch Chunk Lake Park.”

The 5k walking race will proceed through Mauch Lake Park and conclude back at the Koch-Wildoner Pavilion. Runners and walkers can sign up for the race on the Switchback Scamper Run website. The registration fee is $25 each.

Although the number of participants has dropped in recent years, Schlenner shared an idea as to how the council would like to attract more people to the event.

“We’d like to see younger people from our school districts join the race or the walk,” he said. “We have a variety of age groups in both the men’s and women’s divisions and winners will be awarded trophies and medals.”

Hoffman said that the Switchback Scamper was started by running enthusiasts Richard Benyo and Ed Gildea back in the 1970s. It is now run as the third leg of the local triple crown of races, following the Jim Thorpe Area Running Festival in May and the Race Street Run in July.

The Scamper Run begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Registration will be from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Koch-Wildower Pavilion in Mauch Chunk Lake Park.

The annual event counts on numerous volunteers to make it a success.

A community outreach group will have water stations set up along the course, and church members will provide bean soup, hot dogs, and coffee for all the participants. Police will be directing traffic in the area and medical staff will be on site to attend to runners who might sustain injuries or suffer from dehydration.

“Having this event is still something really special,” said Schlenner. “I don’t know if there is a person who has attended every race throughout the half century it has been held, but I do know for a long time now, a man from Harrisburg arrives and runs the entire race with his dog. We will expect to see him again on Sunday.”

Little did the railroad man think that in the early 1800s when he pulled the lever to start the coal cars moving down the Switchback track that over two centuries later, long distance runners would be heading up and down the same track.

The Switchback Scamper Run has been helping to keep these moments of history alive for 50 years and counting.