Round two of the Ohio Hard Enduro Championship Series, presented by Lancaster Sportcycles, brought riders to Chesterhill, Ohio, April 25-26, for the Black Rock Hard Enduro, where course designer Jeff Husted delivered exactly what hard enduro has quickly become known for—tight, punishing terrain blended with just enough flow to keep racers guessing for the full duration.
Story & Photos by Steph Vetterly
The roughly 10-mile circuit, used by both amateur and pro classes, with added splits for the latter, was deceptively brutal. Overnight rain, followed by intermittent showers during the day, turned the already rock-littered hillsides into a slick, unpredictable battlefield.
In the Pro/A ranks, the three-hour, three-lap race quickly boiled down to a relentless fight among Champion Brick teammates Tobin Miller and Braxton Hintze and Maverik Thaxton. Early leader 3 Seas Recreation’s Mark Fortner set the tone, but by mid-lap of lap one, the front-running trio had pulled away—and from there, it became a bar-to-bar war.
Lead changes came constantly. At nearly every major obstacle, the order shuffled, sometimes separated by just mere seconds. Miller’s strength on the tight, twisting single-track proved decisive, but it wasn’t enough to end the elastic battle early. Thaxton clawed back time in the rock gardens and technical descents, while Hintze applied consistent pressure—until small mistakes began to add up.
By the final lap, Miller knew exactly where the race would be won. The slick rock sections had been a toss-up all day, but the faster trail offered an opening. He surged just after a quick gas stop, pushing the pace through the trees and opening the gap he needed to secure the win.
“I had a lot of fun,” said Miller with a smile. “This brings me back to my roots of Midwest hare scramble racing. Lots of tight, twisty trees, little logs, angled logs—all of it. Chris [Davis] did a really good job throwing in some really gnarly sections. I may have underestimated it coming into this.”
Behind him, Hintze’s charge was hampered by mechanical issues, including a damaged shifter that required multiple stops to address. In a race where momentum is everything, those seconds proved costly, relegating him to second despite matching the leaders’ pace.
Thaxton, still feeling the effects of the grueling heat from the previous weekend’s Moab Hard Enduro, rounded out the podium. His pace in the harder sections was undeniable, repeatedly closing gaps as the course turned ugly, but cumulative fatigue showed late in the race.
Earlier in the day, the amateur race told its own story of grit and unpredictability. Cory King emerged victorious after a chaotic two-lap, three-hour battle as rain intensified the already treacherous terrain.
Bentlee Bredekamp appeared poised for a commanding win, holding a seven-minute lead late in the race before mechanical issues allowed King to capitalize at the closing checkpoints. The race also highlighted the camaraderie unique to hard enduro, as riders helped each other through impassable sections before resuming their individual battles.
Luke Barto rounded out the amateur podium with a hard-fought third-place finish, overcoming an early tangle in the opening-lap rock garden that briefly left him stuck under his bike. Regrouping quickly, Barto clawed his way back through the field, using his confidence on the steep up-and-down sections to regain lost ground and secure a well-earned spot on the podium. CN
2026 Ohio Hard Enduro Round 2 Results
PRO/A OVERALL (Top 10)
- Tobin Miller (KTM)
- Braxton Hintze (KTM)
- Maverik Thaxton (KTM)
- Mark Fortner (Bet)
- Makana Barger (KTM)
- Nick Fahringer (She)
- Leiber Ponce (KTM)
- Donnie Alborn (KTM)
- Tim Burwick (Hus)
- Daniel Fortner (Bet)
