The end-of-year countdown is on, but dang, there was a lot of racing this weekend!
Results from roads, cross country, trails, and ski mountaineering are among the highlights.
Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB – Chiang Mai, Thailand
Chiang Dao 160
The long course went for 104 miles with 26,574 feet of climbing. Aleksei Beresnev (Neutral) was the men’s winner in 21:14, and Jia-Ju Zhao (China) and Masatoshi Obara (Japan) were second and third in 21:40 and 21:58.
It was a second straight women’s win for Antonina Iushina (Neutral), and it wasn’t close. Iushina was nearly two hours in front of second-place Careth Arnold (U.S.). Iushina and Arnold finished in 22:34 and 24:33. Rong-Hua Deng (China) was third in 26:07.
Elephant 100
The race went for almost 60 miles with just over 15,000 feet of climbing. There were over 1,000 starters, and after the opening five miles, Miguel Arsénio (Portugal) was at the front. By mile 23, Arsénio had opened an 8-minute lead on the field, and the gap grew from there. Arsénio finished first in 9:14. Just fifth at halfway, Kao Zhou (China) moved into second in the last 10 miles to finish runner-up in 9:51. Dmitry Mityaev (Neutral) was second at the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k under two weeks ago and came back to finish third here in 9:52. He was only 45 seconds behind second-place Zhou.
Hậu Hà (Vietnam) and Ekaterina Mityaeva (Neutral) were together at the front of the women’s race as far as halfway, but Hà outpaced her challenger over the second half. Hà finished first in 10:43, donning her home country’s characteristic nón lá leaf hat to break the finish tape. She won here in 2023, too, and also won the 50k race in 2024 and 2022. Mityaeva, last year’s winner, was second in 11:02, and third-place Yuri Yoshizumi (Japan) came in at 11:30.
Hmong 50
Guang-Fu Meng (China) stopped Rui Ueda (Japan) from repeating as men’s winner. Meng ran 4:31 to Ueda’s 4:35. Hayden Hawks (U.S.) edged training mate Coleman Cragun (U.S.) by five seconds for third. Both were in at 4:38.
If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. Maude Mathys (Switzerland) won the event’s 24-mile race last weekend and doubled back to champion this one over almost 35 miles, too. The race gained 7,874 feet of elevation, and Mathys finished way out front in 5:03.
Robyn Lesh (U.S.) collapsed across the finish second in 5:26, and Yan Lei (China) was third in 5:31. Second in last weekend’s 24 miler, Naiara Irigoyen (Spain) was fourth in 5:31, and Tara Dower (U.S.) was fifth in 5:43.
[In 2015, Maude Mathys received a warning without suspension from the Disciplinary Chamber for Doping Cases of Swiss Olympic for two positive tests for clomifene (previously clomiphene) after it was determined that she was mistakenly taking the drug without first obtaining a World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption.]
California International Marathon – Sacramento, California
The point-to-point race runs with a net downhill, which makes it a hot spot for fast times. Men needed to run better than 2:16:00 and women faster than 2:37:00 to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Men
Christian Allen finished third in 2:09:57. That bettered his former 2:10:32 marathon best from the Houston Marathon in January 2025.
The 50k world record-holder CJ Albertson helped to pace a group of men to Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying times and was 38th in 2:14:56.
Makai Clemons dipped under that Olympic Marathon Trials time too with a 2:15:26 run. Clemons won the San Diego 100 Mile in 2023.
Longtime ultrarunner Chikara Omine finished in 2:21:20.
Women
Kodi Kleven won this year’s Speedgoat 30k and finished eighth here in 2:29:17.
Andrea Pomaranski just missed an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying mark with 2:37:45 on the clock. Courtney Dauwalter was just back of the mark too in 2:38:54. Dauwalter went through halfway in 1:18:31.
Sophie Seward was second at this year’s USATF 50k Road National Championships and ran 2:39:41 here. Riley Brady, who identifies as non-binary but races in the women’s field, finished in 2:41:25.
Kepler Challenge – Te Anau, New Zealand
The 60k (37 miles) race through Fiordland National Park is one of New Zealand’s biggest trail events.
Dan Jones won the men’s race for a record seventh time, finishing in 4:42. Quentin Succo was second in 4:58, and 2024 race winner Daniel Balchin was third in 5:06. Jones won $1,800 in prize money for his win.
Second in 2024, Frances Redmond moved up one spot and led the women’s race in 5:59. She was five minutes faster than her 2024 finish. Hannah Wall and Julia Chamberlain were next on the podium in 6:03 and 6:17, respectively.
In the accompanying 27k (17 miles) Luxmore Grunt race, Cameron Swales and Penny Mouat were the fastest in 1:53 and 2:29, respectively.
USATF Cross Country Championships – Portland, Oregon
The race was a qualifier for the January 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida. A top six finish in the 10k or a top two finish in the 2k would give U.S. runners a rare chance to represent the red, white, and blue in the world championships being raced on home soil. The race was held on a muddy track at a golf course.
There were only a handful of runners with ties to trail racing.
Open Men 10k
He’s not totally a trail runner, but Sam Chelanga has raced some hill climbs in the past couple of years. Chelanga was the top finisher with trail ties at 28th in 31:25.
Jackson Brill was 79th in 35:00, and Zach Szablewski was 99th in 36:48. He ran 131 miles at the Fat Ox 24-Hour race two weeks ago.
Andy Wacker dropped after the 3k mark.
Men 2k
The world championships has a mixed-gender 2k relay, and the top two finishers in the 2k here qualified for the national team. Wearing the you-know-the-one ACG singlet, Liam Meirow was seventh in 5:37.
Masters Men 8k
The next-day Master’s race had Max King on top in 26:23. He was over a minute in front. Further down, Uli Steidl, the 2009 The North Face 50 Mile Championships winner, was 38th in 31:43.
Open Women 10k
The top six made the national team, and Allie Ostrander was just outside of this in eighth at 34:34.
[In 2023, Ostrander was suspended for four months after testing positive for canrenone, a metabolite of spironolactone, after it was determined that she mistakenly took the drug without first obtaining a World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption.]
Masters Women 6k
Former U.S. Mountain Running Team member Renee Metivier won the race in 22:58.
Additional Races and Runs
Lake Como 5k – Lake Como, Italy
Held as part of a half marathon event, Francesco Puppi (Italy) stepped down in distance and up in speed to finish second in 14:28 in the 5k. Full results.
Nike Cross Nationals – Portland, Oregon
The high school national championships were held on the same course as the senior cross country national championships. Sophia Rodriguez was 53rd in 18:26. She was 14th in the Under-20 Classic race at the World Mountain Running Championships in Spain earlier this year. Full results.
Colossal-Vail 50/50 – Vail, Arizona
The fundraiser for the Arizona Trail Association saw Jose Delgado and Casey Mattix win the 50-mile race in 7:10 and 9:40, respectively. Johnny Ramos won the 55k in 4:30, and Brianna Grigsby also set a new women’s course record in 4:40. Full results.
The 2025 Colossal Vail 50 Mile men’s podium (left to right): 2. Ivan Estrella, 1. Jose Delgado, 3. Karl Peterson. Photo courtesy of the race.
Casey Mattix, the 2025 Colossal Vail 50 Mile women’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Ray Miller 50/50 – Malibu, California
The 50-mile winners, Riley Robertson and Megan Hyland, ran 7:30 and 8:29, and Robert Webber and Kate Olson were first in the 50k in 4:33 and 5:20. Full results.
Brazos Bend 100 Mile – Needville, Texas
Jimmie Strahorn and Kayla Straub ran fast 14:30 and 16:23 times at the top of the 100 miler. Full results.
Jimmie Strahorn, the 2025 Brazos Bend 100 Mile men’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Kayla Straub, the 2025 Brazos Bend 100 Mile women’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
McDowell Mountain Frenzy – Fountain Hills, Arizona
Keegan Oldani won the men’s 50 miler in 7:23, but Abby Hall was the women’s and overall winner in 7:12. Greg Close and Natalie Sandoval were best in the 50k in 3:40 and 3:57. Full results.
ISMF Ski Mountaineering World Cup – Solitude, Utah
The U.S. needed to beat Canada to gain entry into to the 2026 Winter Olympics, and Cam Smith and Anna Gibson did way better than that. They won the whole thing! They finished in 32:17, almost a minute better than everyone else. Emma Cook-Clarke was part of the sixth-place Canadian team, and 2025 Trail World Championships Short Trail phenom Tove Alexandersson was part of the eighth-place Swedish team. Full results.
Anza Borrego Cuyamaca 50 Mile – Julian, California
Race winners Juan Rocha and Brittany Poor finished in 7:09 and 9:06, respectively. Full results.
Juan Rocha, the 2025 Anza Borrego Cuyamaca 50 Mile men’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
Brittany Poor, the 2025 Anza Borrego Cuyamaca 50 Mile women’s winner. Photo courtesy of the race.
2026 Mountain Running World Cup Schedule
The World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) dropped a 10-event, 10-country, 16-race schedule for its 2026 Mountain Running World Cup. It’s the 42nd year of the WMRA and the 27th edition of the World Cup. The 2026 series will award 250,000 Euro in prize money between the Uphill, Up and Down, and Long disciplines.
- April 19 – São Brás Cross (Portugal)
- April 25-26 – To be determined details in China
- May 7-9 – Transvulcania (Spain)
- June 19-21 – Broken Arrow Skyrace (U.S.)
- July 5 – Großglockner Mountain Run (Austria)
- July 18-19 – Vauban Mountain Trail (France)
- August 8 – Sierre-Zinal (Switzerland)
- September 5-6 – Vertical Nasego and Trofeo Nasego (Italy)
- September 19 – Marathon Trzech Jezior (Poland)
- October 10-11 – Défi des Couleurs (Canada)
Call for Comments
- The UTMB World Series has added Rothrock in Pennsylvania to its circuit. The event dates back to 2009, and the May 16-17, 2026, edition will host 50k and 25k distances.
- Weeks earlier, Gorge Waterfalls announced a $75,000 prize purse across three races at its April 2026 event. That’s huge, and this week the Broken Arrow Skyrace went even bigger with a $150,000 prize purse between three races in June 2026. The 23k race will award a whopping $30,000 to its winners.
- Tom Evans decided not to start Spain’s Valencia Marathon. Are there are trail runners or ultrarunners among the top results? Full results.
