Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council Annual Report
Mountain/Ultra/Trail are three disciplines which fall under the umbrella of Long Distance Running (LDR) and each attracts runners of all ages and abilities who enjoy the adventure and challenge inherent in our sport. Below find a few highlights from 2017, which include many podium finishes for our international teams. A summary follows.
Team and Individual Medals for
- NACAC Mountain Running Championships in Golden, Canada = Team gold men; Team silver women; woman individual silver; individual men silver and bronze. Race report can be found here.
- World Mountain Running Championships (WMRC) in Premana, Italy = Team gold senior women; team bronze senior men; team silver junior women; individual junior women bronze; individual junior men bronze. Race report can be found here.
- World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships (WLDMRC) in Premana, Italy = Team silver men; Team silver women; individual bronze men; individual silver woman. Race report can be found here.
- International Mountain Running Youth Cup in Gagliano del Capo, Italy. 5th place for USA girls. 7th place for USA boys. Race report can be found here.
- IAU 24 Hour World Championships in Belfast, Ireland = Team gold women; Team bronze men; individual bronze woman. New WR for Women’s Team cumulative distance.
- IAU / ITRA Trail World Championships in Badia Prataglia, Italy = Team bronze men. Race report can be found here.
Read below for additional details on our teams.
Congratulations to our 2017 athletes of the week from the Mountain Ultra Trail division: February 2, Michael Wardian; Harvey Lewis, III, September 20
Social Media:During the year, we kept our fans up to date on the results of all Mountain Ultra Trail Championships via social media, including live Twitter updates from the World Mountain Running Championships and also from some of our USA Championships. Visit Mountain Ultra Trail at the following: Facebook: Twitter: Web: Web:
- US Mountain Running Team on Twitter: 2100 followers in 2013; 3114 in 2014; 5275 in 2017.
- US Mountain Running Team on Instagram: 532 in 2017 (NEW).
- USA Ultrarunning on Twitter: 800 followers in 2013; 1585 in 2014; 4766 in 2017
- USATF Mountain Ultra Trail on Facebook: 1600 followers in 2013; 2436 in 2014; 4394 in 2017.
- U.S. National 24 Hr Team FB Page- 6849 Followers. Maintained by Tracey Outlaw.
Our leadership reviews and responds to missives from the national office staff, LDR committees, and our constituents. We, through our council and executive committee (EC includes: Michael Wardian, Maria Dalzot, Brandy Erholtz, Traci Falbo, Max King, Joe Fejes, Eric Blake, Alex Varner, Richard Bolt, Roy Pirrung, Howard Nippert, David Fuentes, Joe Jurcyzk and Nancy Hobbs) keep up to date with rule changes that affect our athletes included those established by the IAAF, the IAU, and the WMRA. We are fortunate to have U.S. representatives on both the WMRA and IAU councils as well as the ITRA steering committee. We have a cohesive group which includes our council and executive committee, each of whom are dedicated to our sport and look forward to continued growth, awareness, and promotion of our many programs in 2018 and beyond.
Associations are encouraged to add Mountain Ultra Trail disciplines to their LDR program and to consider hosting a trail, mountain, or ultra championship event at the association, national, or international level. Contact the Mountain Ultra Trail chairperson Nancy Hobbs, or a member of the Council for suggestions and support with starting a program in your association.
Championships: Our championship program encompasses a wide range of distances. The largest USATF presence was at our USA Mountain Running Championships, yet all of our championships had an increase in USATF participation over the past year. In September, we displayed our new MUT-branded USATF banners in addition to the traditional USATF championship banners and finish tape at the USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships in Hayward, WI. The banners are a great addition to our branding efforts, which also include USATF championship bibs.
Championships in 2017, included – at the sub-ultra distances –mountain, half marathon, and marathon, and ultra distance – 50km road, 50km trail, 50 mile road, 50 mile trail, 100km road, 100km trail, 100 mile trail, 24 Hours.
Championships Awarded for 2018 to date
(all for open and masters, men and women).
2018
100km TrailJanuary 6-7 - Bandera Endurance Run, Bandera, Texas
100 Mile trailFebruary 3-4 - Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Trail Run, Huntsville, Texas
50km RoadMarch 4 - Caumsett Park 50K, Lloyd Harbor, New York
30km TrailJuly 28 - Pikes Peak Ultra 30K, Colorado Springs, Colorado
50 Mile TrailJuly 21 - Cayuga Trails, Ithaca, NY
We anticipate additional 2018 and 2019 bids for distances to include mountain, trail and ultra trail events. Present, current and past bids can be found on Google Drive here:
Trail and Mountain Running Teams
For the first time, Team USA was represented with a full squad at the Youth International Cup. This world championship event is for athletes ages 16 and 17, and was held in Gagliano del Capo, Italy, on June 24. The team included Soleil Gaylord, Mary Fox, Joslin Blair, Tyler Scholl, Jamison Cartwright, Nathan Davis and staffers Mark Weeks and Nancy Hobbs. The girls’ team finished fifth, the boys finished seventh. A full report can be found here.
The 14th mountain running national championship event was held at Cranmore Mountain Resort in Conway, NH, which also hosted the U.S. Mountain Running Team selection race for our US Mountain Running Team as well as the 4th annual Collegiate Mountain Running Championships. Race report can be found here.
The junior team continues to be selected based on resumes and the team staff continued its outreach to the running community, including the addition of several college and high school programs which have expressed interest in providing candidates for our junior teams. This year a record number of candidates applied.
At the 33rd World Mountain Running Championships in Premana, Italy, 36 countries participated. This was the first year at the championships that Team USA had medals across all four disciplines. Thanks to this year’s team staff – Richard Bolt, Ellen Miller, and Paul Kirsch. Race report can be found here.
The 34th World Mountain Running Championships will be held on an uphill course in Andorra, on September 15, 2018.
At the 13th NACAC Mountain Running Championships hosted by Canada at Golden, BC, Team USA women – Megan Roche, and Soleil Gaylord, earned gold. The men’s team Josh Eberly, David Fuentes, and Mike Popejoy earned silver with Popejoy and Eberly finishing second and third respectively. Richard Bolt was the team leader and Nancy Hobbs was on site to represent the WMRA and assist with team duties. The 14th NACAC Mountain Running Championships are proposed to be held in conjunction with the USA Mountain Championships (July 8), which is in bid form to be reviewed by the EC prior to the annual meeting.
The 13th World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships were held at the Giir di Mont race in Premana, Italy, with nearly 20 countries participating. The U.S. team – up to five run per gender with three to score – included Dani Moreno, Kasie Enman, Kristi Spravzoff, Anita Ortiz and Addie Bracy for the women, Andy Wacker, Tayte Pollman, Mario Mendoza, Cole Watson, and Matt Daniels for the men. Team staffer Richard Bolt accompanied the team and Nancy Hobbs represented the WMRA at the event along with Jonathan Wyatt, Tomo Sarf and Wolfgang Munzel. 14thWorld Long Distance Championships will be hosted at Poland on June 24, 2018. Already earning spots on the 2018 US Teams are Kasie Enman, Tayte Pollman, David Sinclair and Kathryn Ross. The top two men and women finishers at our USA Marathon Trail Championships on November 4, 2017, will also be named to the team.
100 km Team
The 30th IAU 100km World Championships will be held on September 8, 2018 (proposed), in Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia. Team staff: Lin Gentling, Tim Yanacheck, and Dr. Lion Caldwell. The IAU 100Km World Championships are held every two years on the even year. Based on his performance at the 2016 IAU 100K World Championships in Spain, an automatic team berth for the 2018 team has been earned by Patrick Reagan who placed third in the World Championship.
24 Hours Team
The 13th IAU 24 Hour World Championships was held in Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 1-2, 2017. The team staff included: Dr. Andy Lovy, team leader Howard Nippert, and assistant team leader Zane Holscher. Team USA sent a full team of six men and six women to include Courtney Dauwalter, Pam Smith, Traci Falbo, Katalin Nagy, Gina Slaby, Jennifer Hoffman, Jon Olsen, Pete Kostelnick, Rich Riopel, Olivier Leblond, Harvey Lewis, and Steve Slaby. In a very close and hotly contested race that went to the 24th hour, the US women won the team gold medal with a total score of 742.508 KM, scoring .6 KM (about 2000 feet) more than the second place Polish women’s team. The American women captured third, fourth and fifth places to secure the gold medal. Katalin Nagy took the bronze individual medal scoring 250.622 KM (a new American Record (pending ratification)). On the men’s side, the US took the men’s team bronze medal with an accumulated distance of 757.110 KM (top three men score), besting the fourth place Hungarian team by less than 1000 meters (3231 feet). The top three US men finished in seventh, thirteenth and twentieth.
Other International Competitions
The 3rd Trail Running Championships held by the IAU in conjunction with ITRA, was held in the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi near Badia Prataglia, Italy, with the event distance 55km on June 10 (see report above).
The 2018 IAU/ITRA Trail Championships will be held in Penyagolosa, Spain on May 12, 2018, at the 85km distance. The 50km World Championships are TBA for 2018, and there was no event in 2017.
The inaugural 100K IAU Americas Continental Championship was held on April 8, 2017, in Madison Wisconsin, in conjunction with the USATF 100K National Championships. Three countries were represented with the USA, Canada, and Brazil taking part. Although small in numbers (there are 10 IAU member federations forming the Americas), the competition was a great success and we look forward to having the USA participate in future Americas’ 100k and 24 Hr Continental Competitions. Taking 1st place female in both the 100K IAU and the USA national competition was Caroline Boller in 7:51:02.6 and the first place male was Jesse Davis in 7:06:08.9. En route to her 100K win, Caroline set a national best for her age group (40-44) in the 50 mile (6:09:04). There were no team scores kept.
The 2nd 24H IAU Americas Continental Championships are in the formative stages at this point. A site has been secured with a proposed date of July, 2018. The contract is currently in discussion.
International competitions are also available for masters athletes for mountain, trail, and ultra runners. Visit and for details.
International Admin Updates
IAU Elections: The International Association of Ultrarunning (IAU) Council held their quadrennial elections for 2017 - 2020. Lin Gentling (USA) was elected as the Americas (North, South, and Central America) Representative on the council.
WMRA: There is a newly elected WMRA Council (July 2017) with Nancy Hobbs (USA) elected for a four-year term as treasurer (she has been on the Council since 2000).
Since 2015, the IAU and ITRA have been working together successfully to stage the world championship ultra trail events offering races from 50K to 50 miles.
The IAU and ITRA are committed to working together as a joint commission to offer successful events as has been the case since joining forces in 2015. Division of responsibilities has been agreed upon by the IAU, ITRA and the IAAF. ITRA will be responsible for the technical and communication coordination. On the IAU side, they will be responsible for the administrative issues, the logistics/operations coordination, and protocol (opening, awards, and closing ceremonies).
The WMRA has been working closely with the IAAF and discussions have included ITRA, IAU, and there has been outreach to Skyrunning about the future of our disciplines. There is much discussion about hosting an IAAF World Championship in Mountain and Trail by 2020. Details are also being reviewed as to the IAAF rule book regarding trail and mountain.
Collegiate Running Association
Promoting Healthy Lifestyles among College Students through Running
The Collegiate Running Association (CRA) continues to strengthen its relationship with USATF and has built upon its successes to host two collegiate national championships in 2017. Since their first championship in 2014, the Collegiate Running Association has grown to 8,000 members and has held 10 national championships (5 road, 4 mountain 1 trail), with over $80,000 in prize money awarded and travel funds specifically reserved for college students. Those 10 events and event partnerships have attracted over 117,000 total runners and have collectively welcomed over 11,500 college student participants.
On June 3, the CRA hosted the Collegiate Mountain Running National Championship. The event was held concurrently with the USATF Mountain Running Championships in North Conway, NH, within the Cranmore Mountain Run. Students from 19 colleges and universities participated in the event with graduate students, Patrick Smyth (University of Wisconsin) and Brett Hales (Weber State University) taking top honors for the college men and earning spots on the USATF national mountain running team. Corey Dowe (University of New England) won the college women’s race. For the fourth consecutive year the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K served as the Collegiate 10K Road Race National Championships with $10,000 in prize money available to college students. The 2017 event included over 2,200 students from over 150 colleges and universities.
To learn more about the Collegiate Running Association or sponsorship opportunities, visit or contact them at and follow on social media Twitter/ Instagram/ Facebook/ RunnerSpace/ Pinterest
Snowrunning
Mountain Ultra Trail council members have been meeting for the past five years with members of the US Snowshoe Association including President Mark Elmore. In addition, meetings – formal and informal – have also been conducted with LDR division leaders, USATF staff, and the MUT executive committee. The goal at the Annual Meeting in 2015 was to formally include snowrunning (encompassing snowshoes and traction devices as well as simply “running on snowy terrain,” into the broader category) as part of our program having deferred the decision from 2014’s Annual Meeting in order to get rules and guidelines set up for the discipline. MUT Council member Richard Bolt was the race director for the 2017 U.S Snowshoe National Championship in Bend, Oregon. We plan to have a MUT Council member at the 2018 championships in Bennington, Vermont. There is no movement on the addition of snow running or snowshoe at present.
Special appreciation is extended to our enthusiastic and very active Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council and Executive Committee for their efforts to bring more visibility to our running disciplines within USATF. We have had increased support and visibility from the national office staff and thank everyone in Indianapolis for their dedication to our disciplines.
Submitted on November 3, 2018,by Nancy Hobbs, Chairperson with input from the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council and Executive Committee.