The following article was written by Andy Wacker and features the upcoming USATF Mountain Running Championships.
Mount Sunapee Ski Resort will host the USATF Mountain Running Championships this Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Sunapee, New Hampshire at the Sunapee Scramble.
This year’s championships will act as the selection race for Team USA for the classic event at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships to be held in Canfranc, Spain on September 28, 2025.
The top four US men and top three US women will automatically be selected for Team USA.
Men’s Preview
Three previous US Mountain Running Champions are among eleven men that have previously made Team USA. All sit atop the starting list for Sunapee. Andy Wacker, Dan Curts, and Christian Allen have each won US mountain running titles and will be looking to win this Sunday.
Dan Curts at the 2023 USATF Mountain Running Championships.
Sunapee, NH; April 30. (c) Mike Scott.
Curts is an obvious favorite, having won the US Championship at Sunapee in 2023. Curts recently won the Canyons 25k in California in April 2025 Curts was a member of Team USA at the 2022 and 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.
After winning the USATF Mountain Running Championships in July 2024, Allen placed 8th in the 2024 Golden Trail World Series final. He has represented USA at Challenge Stellina in 2023, and at the World Cross Country Championships in 2024.
Wacker is the 2022 USATF Mountain Running champ. He recently won the Big Alta 28k, and completed a speedy road race season including a 10th place finish at the USATF 25k Road Championships, 4th at the USATF Cross Country Championships and a 4th at the Bolder Boulder 10k.
Youth vs experience
2024 was an interesting transition year for men’s mountain running in America. The Loon Mountain Race, which was a Team USA selection race, was led by a pack of older, experienced runners including winner Joseph Gray (40), 2nd, McCandless (37), 3rd, Jonathan Aziz (33) and 4th, Wacker (35). On the other hand, the US Mountain Running Champs, held at Snowbird Resort in Utah a week later, saw an astonishing level of new, young trail runners including winner Christian Allen (26), 2nd place, Hawk Call (25), 3rd, Zach Erikson (23), 4th, Mason Coppi (26), 5th, Taylor Stack (25). This year’s championship includes many runners from both these fields, pinning young talent against established
US Mountain Running Champs by Year
2015 – Patrick Smyth
2016 – Joseph Gray
2017- Joseph Gray
2018 – Joseph Gray
2019- Joseph Gray
2020 – N/A
2021 – Joseph Gray
2022 – Andy Wacker
2023 – Dan Curts
2024 – Christian Allen
Men that have represented Team USA
Andy Wacker (2022 US Mountain Running Champion)
Cameron Smith
Casey Campbell
Christian Allen (2024 US Mountain Running Champion)
Dan Curts (2023 US Mountain Running Champion)
David Sinclair
Jackson Brill
Liam Meirow
Mason Coppi
Morgan Elliot
Tyler McCandless
Other men to watch include
Ansel Dickey
David Norris
Devin Pancake
Hawk Call (2nd at USATF Mtn. champs in 2024)
Phillip Royer
Remi Leroux (Canadian)
Talon Hull (USA U20 mountain team member)
Taylor Stack (5th at USATF Mountain Champs in 2024)
Zachary Erikson (3rd at USATF Mountain Champs in 2024)
Women’s preview
Eleven women in the field for Sunapee have made Team USA in past years, including 2022 World Mountain Running Vertical champion, Allie McLaughlin, and U20 Mountain Running World Champions Allie Ostrander and Mandy Ortiz.
Three automatic spots on Team USA are up for grabs in the Women’s race, compared to four in the men’s field, as Grayson Murphy has an automatic spot on Team USA after winning the classic event at the World Mountain and Trail Championships in 2023.
Grayson Murphy at the 2023 USATF Mountain Running Championships
Sunapee, NH; April 30. (c) Mike Scott 2023.
Murphy will not race on Sunday, allowing for a new champion for the first time since 2022.
Lauren Gregory will be one of the top contenders. She placed 2nd in the 2024 Golden Trail World Series final race, as well as clocked a 1:09:12 at the Mesa Half Marathon this past February. Gregory has represented Team USA at Challenge Stellina in 2022, the World Mountain and Trail Championships in 2022, as well as the vertical race at the WMRA World Cup final in 2024.
Another favorite is Allie McLaughlin. McLaughlin placed 2nd at Sunapee in 2023, and is the 2018 USATF Mountain Running Champion. She is a two-time World Champion (2014 and 2022) and placed 3rd in the Classic event in the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2022.
Rachel Tomajczyk is another favorite and possibly the most consistent mountain runner in the United States in recent years, placing 2nd in three of the past four USATF Mountain Championships (3rd in 2023). Tomajczyk also placed 2nd at the 2024 USATF Vertical Mountain champs. She has raced for the USA at the 2024 WMRA World Cup final vertical race in 2024, the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2022 and 2023, as well as the XTERRA Trail Running World Championship in 2021.
US Mountain Running Champs by Year
2015 – Morgan Arritola
2016 – Addie Bracy
2017- Addie Bracy
2018 – Allie McLaughlin
2019- Grayson Murphy
2020 – N/A
2021 – Grayson Murphy
2022 – Tabor Hemming
2023 – Grayson Murphy
2024 – Grayson Murphy
Women that have represented Team USA
Allie McLaughlin
Allie Ostrander (2015 U20 world champion)
Anna Gibson
Corey Dowe
Courtney Coppinger
Kasie Enman (2011 mountain running world champ)
Lauren Gregory
Oakley Olson (2024 U20 team)
Mandy Ortiz (2013 U20 world champion)
Megan Lacy
Rachel Tomajczyk (2nd at USATF Mountain Champs in 2024)
Rene Metivier
Other women to watch include
Alexa Aragon (4th at USATF Mountain Champs in 2024)
Emily Clarke
Flannery Davis
Hannah Rowe
Kodi Kleven
Laurel Moyer (3rd at USATF Mountain Champs in 2024)
Rena Schwartz
Sophie Wright
Sydney Petersen
Race details
Along with rain and cool temperatures in the forecast, runners will be tested by the tough, two-lap, 9.3-mile course gaining 3,300 total feet of elevation. The men’s race starts at 9 a.m. and the women’s race follows at 9:15 a.m.
A field of nearly 350 entrants representing 27 states and one Canadian Province (Quebec) are expected on the start line. Link to livestream here.
Paul Kirsch working on the Livestream from the finish line at Sunapee in 2023.
Check out athlete pre-race interviews on The Steep Stuff Podcast here. Enjoy ATRA’s pre-race interviews on Instagram here.
