Customer Snapshot
- Event Founded: 2023
- Years on RunSignup: 4
- Reach: 30 states & 3 countries
- Venues: 2 (Mohawk Mountain, CT & Amicalola Falls, GA)
About IronHike Endurance Productions
Founded by a group of Army veteran friends and their annual “giddy up list” — figuring out the next challenge to take on, usually around Thanksgiving — IronHike has grown from a single 11-person test weekend into three annual series across two states. Along the way, RunSignup has handled the registration complexity of a genuinely unconventional format: three formats, multiple checkout options, and a fast-growing veteran-built brand.
Background
IronHike started with that group of Army veteran friends and their “giddy up list” tradition. In late 2022, the group found an event where participants climbed a mountain and took a gondola down over 36 hours — registration opened at $7,000 per person and sold out in 20 minutes. Rather than let the idea go, they set out to build something similar themselves, minus the chairlift and minus the price tag.
The first IronHike ran in fall 2023 at Mohawk Mountain Ski Area in Cornwall, Connecticut, with about 11 participants — an intentionally small test before scaling up. It’s since grown into three annual series: Mohawk Mountain Fall and Spring in Connecticut, and a new Amicalola Falls State Park fall series in Georgia.
How IronHike uses RunSignup
On RunSignup, a Race is the umbrella for an entire event — think of it as the container — while individual Events are the specific distances, formats, or options participants choose within it. That structure is what lets IronHike run genuinely complex logistics through a simple front door.
Behind “pick a mountain, pick a format” sits real complexity. IronHike’s series is anchored by four signature mountain events — Kuwohi, Denali, Everest, and flagship Olympus Mons Ultra — among seven signature events total, five of which run in three formats: Solo, Trail Buddy, and Trail Family. RunSignup condenses all of that into just three Races — one each for Mohawk Fall, Mohawk Spring, and Amicalola Falls Fall — each carrying roughly 17 checkout Events, about 51 total, alongside standing discount codes for veterans, military, first responders, and Trail Buddy registrations.
John, whose background is in programming and engineering, put it simply:
What I like about RunSignup is you’re building a platform that allows for scalability. It’s one of the biggest reasons we chose RunSignup — the ability to handle the complexities of what we’re producing.
John Kolker — Founder and CEO
- Website V2 — IronHike runs its event sites for all three series on Website V2, RunSignup’s newer site builder. John picked it up firsthand at the recent RunSignup University event in Minnesota and has since moved all three series over.
Amicalola Falls Fall Series Event Website
Mohawk Mountain Fall Series Event Website
- AI tools on Website V2 — the team is using RunSignup’s AI-assisted content tools on their Website V2 pages to help manage and update site content across three series without duplicating work three times over.
- Incomplete Registration Report – John reviews the Incomplete Registration Report and personally reaches out to those individuals to help get them to the registration finish line.
Results
- Grew from ~11 participants in Fall 2023 to 254 total Mountain Athletes who have registered for and attempted an IronHike event since — dozens becoming hundreds across two seasons.
- Draws entrants from 30 states and 3 countries.
- Now in its third full season, with registrations at their highest levels ever.
- Expanded from a single series at one venue in 2023 to three full series today, across two venues in two states, each a multi-day event spanning four and a half days.
- Runs 7 signature events total, five of them across 3 registration formats (Solo, Trail Buddy, Trail Family) — condensed into just 3 Races on RunSignup, carrying roughly 51 total checkout Events.
- IronHike’s Olympus Mons Ultra has had only 3 finishers in its history, among the hardest ultra endurance events in the world.
- Built entirely bootstrapped from registration revenue and the Cadre’s own internal investment — growth funded from the mountain itself.
What’s Next for IronHike
IronHike is watching several other RunSignup developments closely: Memberships, to automatically manage Alumni and Tribe pricing and perks; deeper AI-powered analytics for a clearer read on series performance; and expanded reach through RunSignup’s included email marketing platform.
Meet the Cadre
John Kolker (“Ironheart”) — Founder and CEO. Army Intelligence veteran and sudden cardiac arrest survivor who embraced extreme events in 2012 as a path of recovery and growth.
Dr. Scott Festa (“Ukulele Scott”) — Co-Founder. Former Green Beret and Army PA, first-ever finisher of the Olympus Mons Ultra in just over 63 hours, still the unofficial fastest known time.
Cliff Anders (“Bushwacker”) — Co-Founder. Army Apache pilot, former D1 football player, and Team USA bobsledder who completes his Yearly 100 on the AT without fail.
Dan Allen (“Turnpike”) — Co-Founder. Army MP veteran and world-class Masters swimmer who keeps the wheels on the machine as IronHike’s IT lead.
Dave Darcy (“Mr. Darcy”) — Strategic Advocate. Former marathon coach and TGO Challenge finisher who holds more IronHike finishes than any Mountain Athlete in the world.
Tasha Boyd (“Unstoppable”) — IronCoach. ER nurse, bodybuilder, and IronHike Everest finisher who leads participant coaching.
IronHike’s growth traces back to three things: a genuinely different event concept, a founding team willing to run it small before running it big, and a registration platform built to handle the complexity of a multi-format, multi-venue series without slowing the team down. As John put it, the appeal of RunSignup was straightforward — a platform built to scale right alongside them. That’s the kind of partnership RunSignup aims to be for every event, from a first-time 5K to a three-series mountain endurance operation.
