They arrived with gravel bikes and road bikes, trail shoes and yoga mats, pickleball paddles and plenty of questions.

Some are experienced triathletes. Others are marathon runners, cyclists, recreational exercisers or women discovering new ways to stay active. Some proudly described themselves as members of the “back of the pack.”

They came from nearby communities such as Emmaus, Easton and Whitehall, and from places as distant as West Virginia, San Francisco and Canada.

For one weekend, about 160 women of all ages, body types and athletic backgrounds gathered at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown for FeistyFest, where movement, education and community united them.

On opening day, Sept. 18, cyclists circled the velodrome in late-summer heat. Women crowded the portable pickleball courts, laughing with each other as they tried to remember the complicated scoring rules. When the weather turned rainy, runners splashed through light rain and clustered beneath tents for workouts, workshops and live podcasts.

Despite the shared experience, no two weekends looked exactly alike. Some women headed into the trails of Trexler Nature Preserve, some hiking, some running. Others rolled onto gravel roads, settled into yoga sessions or gathered beneath tents for workshops on training, recovery and women’s health. Throughout the festival, participants built their own itineraries, moving between athletic challenges, educational sessions and conversations with women who shared similar goals.

For Marlee Pompfret of Washington Township, New Jersey, the weekend represented another step in her evolving relationship with exercise.

Pompfret described herself as “new to everything fitness.”

She said she recently went from “riding five miles and dying” to “riding 27 miles and loving it.” Pompfret plans to ride those 27 miles in a fundraising event to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Along with cycling, she has started running and weight training. During the festival, she joined a guided hike, attended a runner’s clinic and participated in an introductory barbells class.

For some women, the sense of community was worth traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles.

Heather Wolfgram made the trip from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Wolfgram embraced the chance to travel independently while pursuing her athletic interests.

“I brought my bikes from Milwaukee to Allentown over two days with a car full of gear, a cooler full of food and two bikes,” she said.

Wolfgram said she was especially interested in feedback on form and mechanics and all the little things that can make someone a better runner.

Across the venue, women moved between trail runs, cycling sessions, fitness classes and educational workshops. Pre-breakfast yoga sessions emphasized mobility, recovery and mindfulness. Introductory barbell sessions and HIIT workouts, held under tents, were especially popular when the weather turned rainy.

Participants said the event’s welcoming atmosphere and flexible approach were among its biggest attractions.

Renee Carey said she appreciated what she described as the Feisty philosophy.

“If this works for you, great. If not, that’s okay too. It’s not a one-size-fits-all,” Carey said.

That message surfaced repeatedly throughout the weekend as women selected the activities, classes and discussions that best fit their interests, goals and experience levels.

The event was organized by Feisty Media, a women-focused sports and health media company. According to Ella Neumann, event coordinator for Feisty Media, the organization seeks to educate, inspire and connect active women through podcasts, educational programming, online communities and live events. FeistyFest was designed to give women a place to learn from experts, try new activities and build meaningful connections while celebrating movement and health.

That educational mission was reflected throughout the weekend’s programming, helping women feel more confident in spaces that can sometimes seem intimidating or unfamiliar.

One of the featured speakers was Kate Veronneau, director of women’s strategy at Zwift, who delivered the Friday evening keynote address.

A former collegiate basketball player who later became a professional cyclist, Veronneau now leads Zwift’s partnership with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and advocates for increased visibility and investment in women’s cycling.

Veronneau said her mission is creating “as many fans as possible for women’s sports.”

“I teach people how to watch a bike race,” she said. “There’s nuance. It’s complex. It’s beautiful.”

Learning wasn’t the only attraction. For many visitors, the chance to ride at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center was an adventure in itself.

The velodrome, one of the few facilities of its kind in the country, offered many attendees a chance to try something entirely new.

Among those drawn to the facility was Cathy Gries of San Francisco, Calif.

“The velodrome was a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone,” Gries said. “That’s something cool you can’t do anywhere else.”

A longtime triathlete who has competed and ridden bicycles around the world, Gries said she still found new lessons throughout the weekend.

“I’ve been a triathlete for a long time and I learned a lot this weekend,” she said. “It’s really a great community of women.”

For many attendees, the live podcasts were just as much a draw as the athletic activities. Throughout the weekend, participants gathered to hear familiar voices from shows they had followed for years. Sessions included live recordings of Hit Play Not Pause with Selene Yeager; TMI Tuesday with author and journalist Molly Hurford; and Another Mother Runner, hosted by Sarah Bowen Shea and Amanda Loudin.

One recording featured Another Mother Runner’s Back of the Pack Party, hosted by Sarah Bowen Shea and featuring guest Marty Munson. Munson said her goal is helping women move from asking, “Can I really do this?” to “How can I do this?” The session celebrated athletes of all abilities and reinforced a message heard throughout the festival: participation mattered more than pace.

Selena Warnke of Berkeley County, West Virginia, said those podcast communities played a major role in her decision to attend.

Warnke said she completed her first trail run and played pickleball for the first time.

Sara Gross, founder and chief executive officer of Feisty Media, said she would like to bring FeistyFest back to the Lehigh Valley “if not next year, then the year after.”

As the weekend ended, bicycles were loaded back onto car racks, muddy trail shoes were packed away and new friendships continued through social media posts.

“I came to enjoy time with my tribe,” Warnke said.