Morgan Elliott, two-time Team USA mountain running athlete and two-time US Skyrunning Champion, has lived the humble trail running dirtbag lifestyle. He’s slept in parking lots the nights before races, saved money buying low cost foods to fuel his miles of training, and done what he could to cover the many expenses of the professional trail running lifestyle on his own. Compared to many professional athletes, Elliott hasn’t always received the support or recognition that matches his incredible trail running talent.
But in 2023, Elliott’s career launched into an upward trajectory that led to his first major athletic sponsorship on the Merrell Trail Team, as well as some of his top race performances. With continued brand support from Merrell and increasing recognition as an internationally competitive trail runner, Elliott aims to raise his level again in 2025 and beyond to maximize his potential as a trail runner. Most importantly, Elliott hopes to do so while staying true to his roots and why he became a trail runner in the first place.
Elliott shares his desire to remain in the sport and continue improving,“It’s about always keeping the positive attitude that you can do better at the next race, and staying confident no matter what happens. Sometimes you’ve got to be your own biggest fan to make the most forward progress.”
On the rise with Merrell
In September 2023, Elliott earned a place on the Merrell Trail Running Team. But he didn’t join through the usual methods of athlete sponsorship. He earned his spot in the inaugural Get FKT Challenge. This challenge invited six potential Merrell athletes to compete for their spot on the team with a 3.2-mile uphill running challenge with over 2,000 feet of vertical gain on the ski slopes in Steamboat Springs, CO. Elliott won the competition and earned his first major sponsorship. He has since been able to travel the world largely expense free (especially given his tendencies towards camping, booking hostels, and cooking his own food). The result has been extraordinary for his race performances.
In 2023 and 2024, Merrell sponsored the Skyrunning World Series, a series dedicated to a specific discipline of mountain running known as skyrunning. This largely European led movement involves running on highly technical courses, ridgelines and at specific altitudes. Technical skyrunning is also Elliott’s forte, “When it comes down to it, I love mountains and technical terrain. I love pushing my body really hard and seeing epic views. Where I do best is where it gets technical.”
Elliott’s sponsorship with Merrell allowed him to race several skyraces in Europe, where he achieved a fourth place finish in the 2024 World Skyrunning Competition. It’s uncommon for American runners to race on European soil and find the level of immediate success that Elliott has, particularly within a discipline as demanding as Skyrunning.
Asheville and 7K running communities
Exceptional athletes often have equally strong communities behind them. Elliot is no exception. Elliott ran his first trail race in 2013 in Asheville, NC, falling in love with the sport, and perhaps even more importantly the trail running community in the area. “I can’t forget the community in Asheville and I will always consider that place home,” said Elliott.
Elliott and friends at Foot RXAsheville (Aaron Saft second from right).
He connected with Aaron Saft, running coach, owner of local trail running specialty store Foot RxAshville, and community figure who made the 2016 Runner’s World Top 10 Cover finalist for his involvement in local running initiatives. Before Elliott’s Merrell sponsorship, he also received $4,000 from a Go Fund Me page started by ATRA Trail Ambassador Victor Mariano to compete in the 2017 Skyrunning World Series. The majority of the crowdfunding money came from Elliott’s friends in Asheville. While major brands hadn’t yet noticed Elliott’s talent for trails, his community did and fully supported his grandest dreams.
Elliott currently lives in Salida, CO (check out our Trail Town feature on Salida here), and has found an equally supportive environment as Asheville for his training. Similar to Asheville, his closest friends are connected to the local running shop—7,000 Feet Running (the elevation of Salida), “It’s such a great group of people at the shop and I’m there all the time,” said Elliott.
He continues describing his reasons for choosing Salida out of all of the picturesque Rocky Mountain training environments in Colorado that would be conducive to the technical running he prefers, “There’s such close proximity to the mountains in Salida. Being at 7,000 feet is a sweet spot where it’s not too high to hinder recovery, but high enough to train at altitudes above 14,000 feet in nearby peaks. I also have a good balance with year round running in Salida, yet you can do winter activities pretty easily too.”
Photo: Peter Maksimow
US team dream
In 2013, Elliott was first introduced to the US Mountain Running Team when he was working as a snowboard instructor in Vermont. In minus thirty degree Fahrenheit weather, he dreamt of trading his winter sports passions for running. He found immediate success in trail running as he started competing in local races. In the following years, Elliott began to travel across the US in search of competitive races and tougher challenges. He hoped to one day achieve a spot on the US team.
In the same east coast mountains where Elliot’s trail running first took off, he found the opportunity to earn his spot on team US at the 2022 Breakneck Point Trail Runs held in Beacon, NY. Elliott’s race for the red, white, and blue jersey couldn’t have been more exciting. After holding a fourth place position for the majority of the race (only the top three athletes were selected for the team), Elliott overtook US Mountain Runner and Ski Mountaineering athlete, Joseph Demoor, whose pace slowed in the final miles due to the extreme heat. Elliott remained strong and snagged the spot on the team with a third-place finish. Elliott would go on to compete at the inaugural World Mountain and Trail Running Championships held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Elliott placed forty-second place in the 11.2 kilometer Classic Up/Down mountain running race in Thailand.
In 2023, Elliott competed again at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships for Team USA. Elliott found himself in a similarly exciting situation in his journey to make the team for a second time. He decided to compete for the qualification spot at the 2023 Lake Sonoma 50, but his plans were derailed with stomach issues during the race. This left only one opportunity left for the season to make Team USA at the Classic Up/Down race at the Sunapee Scramble. Elliott had been training for a 50 mile race, but he still managed to put together enough speed for the shorter Up/Down race. He finished runner-up to none other than four-time World Mountain Running Champion Joseph Gray and earned his second Team USA jersey.
The World Mountain and Trail Running Championships is held every other year, which means 2025 will be a championship year. Elliott shares his current thoughts about earning his spot on Team USA for a third time, “Running for Team USA were such amazing experiences and it lived up to everything I thought it would be. My goal is certainly to make the team again this year,” said Elliott.
The 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships will be held in Canfranc, Spain from September 25 to 28, 2025.
Fishing for medals
Elliott might be one of the only professional trail runners in the world who routinely runs with a fishing pole. “The two things I grew up loving the most was running and fishing with my dad. So it’s been really great to go back to those things I enjoy doing the most.”
Elliott has a collapsible fishing rod that he carries with him on runs in the summertime, “Pretty much every long run I go on I will target alpine lakes. I just fish for a little bit, take a little break, eat my lunch, then take off running again.”
Fortunately for Elliott, there’s a sport that combines both trail running and fly fishing—the Flyathlon. In 2013, the concept of joining trail running, fly fishing and drinking craft beer was pioneered by Andrew Todd in Saguache, CO. The original Rocky Mountain Flyathlon has raised over $400,000 for native trout populations and inspired outdoor communities to engage in conservation efforts. Elliott, who has competed in two of these events describes his experiences, “It’s a fun party at these events…I highly recommend it and the people are incredible.”
In spite of Elliott’s busy professional trail running lifestyle and world travels, he is committed to fish, “It’s actually my goal to catch a fish in every country I go visit for racing.”
It’s about time fishing as well as running.
Not for the payoff
Elliott’s talent has shined throughout his career in a variety of disciplines and distances, but not always seen the recognition it deserves. His wins include the 2019 Georgia Death Race, 2016 and 2017 Audi Power of Four 50K, 2016 and 2018 Black Mountain Marathon, and the GoPro Mountain Games Pepi’s Face-Off, among many other wins and top performances at competitive trail races across the world.
Elliott is continuing to improve his running at thirty-two years old. He believes his best results are still ahead of him. Elliot speaks of his dedication to pursue a career in trail running through the sponsored, as well as un-sponsored times, and what it’s like to chase his dream of being the best runner he can be, “Nothing has ever stopped me from doing what I want to do, there’s always a way to make it work if you live simply. It’s great to have the support I have now, but you can always make it happen and improve with hard work.”
As prize and sponsorship money continues to increase in the sport, the “dirtbag” trail running era may be fading. However, there remains a nostalgia and respect for those athletes such as Elliott who have poured themselves into the sport for the lifestyle, not expecting a payoff.
Learn more about Elliott, his list of accomplishments and his online coaching services at his website here. Follow Elliot on Instagram here.
