I started this route at the Steve Newman Trailhead and ran the loop counter clockwise. Running this direction will take you through some of the muddier and flatter areas early before hitting the hillier section which you'll still do in the first half to 2/3rds of the loop. This puts the first major creek crossing at about mile 10 where you'll likely get your feet wet. The trail through this area is fairly easy to follow (green blazes) and allows horses. The first 5 miles of the trail can be run but if you're doing it in the spring or after some rains there will be a lot of mud and standing water. After the first ~5 miles the trail improves to a single-track backpack trail with more solid footing as you enter the woods and hills for the next 10-12 miles. The second major creek crossing is at mile 18-19 where you should expect, again, to get your feet wet. As you come out of the creek you run the edge of an agricultural field which, at the time I ran, had been freshly plowed and was not runnable. After that, the trail improves again and is runnable all the way to the campground. You'll cross a few smaller creeks along the way, but all can be traversed on rocks if you so choose. Once you get to the campground, you'll have two miles of really poor condition trail due to horse travel. This was muddy and torn up by horses so much that it was also not runnable at the time; this two mile section may require walking. I took the opportunity here to stop at the campground and refill water bottles before continuing. Once you get past the campground, you'll cross the campground road and go back into the woods and a runnable trail before coming to the bike path for a short period. This is the first area most maps are out-of-date. There is a right turn which is not marked that will take you off the bike path, I missed this and ran right past it so had to turn around and come back. The trail is visible at the turn and can't be missed it's just not marked well that this specific turnoff is for the green trail. If you find yourself turning left off the bike path you have gone too far and need to turn back. You'll run a few miles through the woods again before running some tall grass along Greenbriar road. At the point you turn into the woods again (around mile 26) where I found another trail intersection which was poorly marked. The turn into the woods is clear but shortly after there is a trail leading off to the right which is heavily traveled. Don't turn right here but rather continue down the hill to stay on the Steve Newman trail. A few miles further on you'll encounter the largest and last major creek crossing. At times, this can be waist deep and slippery. From here you only have about 4 miles left and the trail is runnable and fairly easy to follow. Make sure you watch for green blazes as you enter the mountain bike area as there are many interconnecting trails here and you can get off course if you aren't paying attention. Finish at the Steve Newman Trailhead marker just as you had started.
This is an enjoyable trail to run though I would recommend this is best done after a dry period or late summer / early fall. East Fork State Park has a tendency to be very muddy and running parts of this which are a shared equestrian trail can be challenging. Spring conditions and a few re-routes to get the trail mapped slowed this one down.