Attention holiday shoppers: There are only two more weekends to go before the calendar ticks over. The year is almost done, and this is the penultimate column for 2025. Let’s make it more fun than an office holiday party!
Hellgate 100k – Fincastle, Virginia
Snow-covered trails marked parts of the first 30 miles of the course, and it was 24 degrees Fahrenheit at the 12:01 a.m. start of the 66.6-mile run.
Less than four minutes separated Lexi Delisle and Isabella Poulos at the front of the women’s race. Delisle won in 13:10, and Poulos was second in 13:14. Delisle had won three Virginia ultras earlier this year, and Poulos won this year’s Wasatch 100 Mile. Rachel Doxey was third in 13:49.
The men ran it close too. Brandon Fogarty was exactly eight minutes ahead of second-place Kevin McKenna. The two ran 11:10 and 11:18. Aaron Slabach was third in 11:25.
Brandon Fogarty and Lexi Delisle, the 2025 Hellgate 100k winners with race director David Horton. Photo courtesy of the race.
Himam Trail Run Race – Al Hajar Mountains, Oman
The event’s long course went for 118 kilometers with 5,820 meters of climbing. That’s 73 miles and just over 19,000 feet of climbing. Maite Maiora (Spain) won the women’s race in 19:02. She was over an hour ahead of the next woman. Men’s winner Ahmed Ayyoup (Morocco) finished in 14:43.
Clara Magnin (France) and Amjad Aljamoudi (Oman) were fastest in the 60k race in 8:20 and 5:46, respectively.
Additional Races and Runs
Frozen Trail Run Fest 50k – Eugene, Oregon
First-place runners Colette Richter and Kyle Terry came through in 4:34 and 4:09. Full results.
Left Nut 50 – Bristol, Rhode Island
In the 50-mile event, Miranda Gajda won for the women in 8:12, and Austin LaBerge won for the men in 7:55.
In the 50k, Holly Koksel came out ahead in 4:32, and Murat Koksel won for the men with a 4:57. Full results when available.
Miranda Gajda, the 2025 Left Nut 50 Mile women’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Austin LaBerge, the 2025 Left Nut 50 Mile men’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Doomsday 50k – Cool, California
The first three overall finishers were all women, and Sylvie Abel was the fastest in 4:37. Calvin Frink was the first man but only fourth overall in 5:21. Full results.
The 2025 Doomsday 50k podiums (left to right): 3. William Cassayre, 2. Michael Fitzsimmons, 1. Calvin Frink, 1. Sylvie Abel, 2. Emily Renner, 3. Marie VanZandt. Photo: Keith Facchino/Facchino Photography
Tucson 50k – Oro Valley, Arizona
The road ultra had Rachel Antol and Ian Sharman as its winners in 4:22 and 3:12. Full results.
Ignite Trail Marathon – Albion, Indiana
The two-loop marathon at Chain O’Lakes State Park had Grace Zoppi and Patrick Periard finish first in 4:25 and 4:14. Full results.
Spirit of Syllamo 100 Mile – Norfork, Arkansas
Racers faced bitterly cold temperatures, and Ashley Nordell and Daniel Arnold won in 21:34 and 22:30. That made Nordell the overall winner. Full results when available.
Ashley Nordell, the 2025 Spirit of Syllamo 100 Mile women’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Daniel Arnold (left), the 2025 Spirit of Syllamo 100 Mile men’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Naked Nick 50k – Leesport, Pennsylvania
The back-to-basics race was won by Gretchen Meise and Nicholas Snow in 6:05 and 5:27, respectively. Full results.
Daytona 100 Ultras – Jacksonville Beach, Florida
The 100-mile winners Nicole Coccia and Oliver Bieser ran 16:18 and 13:34. Jessica Jones and Fernando Holz won the 50 miler in 8:14 and 7:49, and Logan Thorpe and Adam Ping were tops in the 50k in 5:07 and 4:37. Full results.
Texmas 104k – Smithville, Texas
Charmin McKee and Chuck Baker won in 17:42 and 13:02, respectively. Full results.
Charmin McKee, the 2025 Texmas 104k women’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Chuck Baker, the 2025 Texmas 104k men’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Next Weekend: Desert Solstice Track Invitational – Phoenix, Arizona
Fast times at Central High are coming up. The field is limited to 25, with runners competing in the 100-mile or 24-hour events, or both, on the 400-meter track. There’s also a chance to clock a fast 100k time in the process.
For the women, Georgia Porter and Colleen Drahos both ran 75 miles in 12 hours earlier this year, and will likely be looking to go longer and faster. Drahos also ran 133.89 miles over 24 hours earlier this year. Joyce Payne is the third women’s entrant, and she ran 176.81 miles in a 48-hour race earlier this year.
Current 50-mile world-record holder Charlie Lawrence is reportedly chasing a fast time at the 100k distance. He ran a record-ineligible, aided 6:03 in a 100k at the adidas-sponsored “Chasing 100” event at Italy’s Nardò Ring auto-racing track in August earlier this year. Lithuania’s Aleksandr Sorokin still holds the official 100k world record at 6:04.
Other top runners include Zach Bitter, Isaiah Janzen, and Pete Kostelnick. Bitter is the fastest North American ever over 100 miles at 11:19 from 2019. Janzen and Kostelnick are both past U.S. 24-Hour National Team members.
Charlie Lawrence en route to a new 50-mile world record at the 2023 Tunnel Hill 50 Mile. Photo: Zack Lever/@TrailLive
2026 Skyrunner World Series
The 2026 Skyrunner World Series features 19 races in 12 countries across four continents. The series will return to the U.S. with Washington’s Beast of Big Creek race in the Olympic Mountains.
- February 22 – Cuatro Refugios (Argentina)
- March 7 – Andes Mountain Skyrace (Chile)
- March 14 – Acantilados Del Norte (Spain)
- April 11 – Calamorro Skyrace (Spain)
- April 26 – Penang Skyrace (Malaysia)
- May 3 – Skyrace des Matheysins (France)
- May 4 – Ueda Skyrace (Japan)
- May 23 – Skyrace des Gorges du Tarn (France)
- June 20 – Yading Skyrace (China)
- June 28 – Ibarra Skyrace (Ecuador)
- July 5 – Cordillera Blanca Skyrace (Peru)
- August 1-2 – Beast of Big Creek (U.S.)
- August 21 – Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme (Switzerland)
- August 23 – Trofeo Kima (Italy)
- September 5 – Maga SkyMarathon (Italy)
- September 27 – Gorbeia Suzien (Spain)
- October 18 – Mt. Kinabalu International Climbathon (Malaysia)
- October 24-25 – Sobrescobio Skyrace (Spain)
- November 7 – Marató dels Dements (Spain)
Anastasia Rubtsova won the 2025 Skyrunner World Series overall. Photo: Skyrunner World Series
Call for Comments
- Rainshadow Running’s Deception Pass 50k in Washington was postponed ahead of anticipated flooding.
- I was not at all familiar with 2026 Skyrunner World Series race Beast of Big Creek. Might any readers be closer to this race?
