After a quiet few weeks on the racing front, things are picking up again. Two U.S. National Championships and the Winter Spine Race highlight the week. What else was happening that we haven’t included?
Winter Spine Race – Pennine Way, United Kingdom
The 268-mile one-way winter adventure is underway in characteristically arctic conditions. This event, the longest distance being contested over the weekend, started on Sunday, January 12. Robyn Cassidy gained an early lead in the women’s race, and a men’s group of race veterans featuring John Kelly, Eugeni Rossello-Sole, and Kim Collison lead their race.
Hannah Bruce and Paul Brennan won the 46-mile Spine Sprint race in 12:53 and 9:26.
The Spine Challenger South race took on the famed trail’s southernmost 108 miles. Alice Kershaw won in 43:14, and James Allen in 34:39.
Alice Kershaw, the 2025 Spine Challenger South women’s winner. Photo: The Spine Race/Dave Wood
James Allen, the 2025 Spine Challenger South men’s winner. Photo: The Spine Race/Tom Hoyle
USATF Cross Country Championships – Lubbock, Texas
With no 2025 World Cross Country Championships, this year’s national championships had especially small fields. A couple of trail runners crossed over to compete.
Renee Metivier took the Master’s Women’s crown in 22:24 for the six-kilometer distance. Metivier has raced some shorter mountain races over the years.
If it’s a USATF National Championship, you can count on Joseph Gray being there. He was again the class of the master’s field, winning the 8k by almost two minutes in 25:31. He probably could’ve challenged for the win in the Open race, too.
In the Open Men’s 10k, Andy Wacker was fourth in 30:13. He was only 30 seconds behind the winner.
Wasatch Powderkeg – Solitude Mountain Resort, Utah
The event was the U.S. Ski Mountaineering National Championship for all disciplines, including the new Mixed Relay race, which is expected to be part of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Mixed Relay
Hali Hafeman and Cam Smith teamed up to win the four-day event’s opening race. The team finished in 34:54. Gwen Rudy and David Sinclair were next in 35:20, and Kelly Wolf and Griffin Briley skied 35:52 to finish third.
Sprint
Jessie Young topped Gwen Rudy and Hali Hafeman for the women’s crown. The three leaders finished in 3:48, 3:52, and 3:57, respectively.
Men’s winner David Sinclair skied past Cam Smith late for a 2:50 finish. Smith was second in 2:53, and Ian Clarke was third in 3:03.
Individual
Day three saw an especially close women’s race. Martina Valmassoi (Italy) edged out Maria Lamb and Jessie Young for the win. Valmassoi finished in 1:53:24, 16 seconds faster than Lamb. Young was third in 1:54:50.
John Gaston beat Cam Smith and David Sinclair in the men’s race. Gaston skied 1:34:34 and Smith and Sinclair were in at 1:36:19 and 1:36:24, respectively.
Vertical
The event concluded on Sunday, January 12, and most of the earlier weekend podium-getters were back. For the women, Hafeman got up in 28:40, Sarah Burke was second in 30:14, and Rudy was third in 30:26.
For the men, Smith flipped it back on Gaston and won in 24:00. Gaston was second in 24:17, and Sinclair topped out in 24:33 for third.
Additional Races and Runs
Bridle Trails Winter 50k – Bellevue, Washington
Brittany Kealy and Aaron Haugen won in 4:17 and 3:54. Full results.
Avalon Benefit 50 – Avalon, California
The longtime race is on Catalina Island off the southern California coast. Paige Clarke and Michael Ruf won the 50 miler in 8:18 and 6:28, and Lydia Van Hoff and Siqi Wu were tops in the 50k in 4:41 and 3:58. Full results.
No Hands 50k – Auburn, California
The Inside Trail race was held on part of the Western States trail and over No Hands Bridge. Peyton Bilo and Darren Thomas scored new course records in 4:58 and 4:09. Full results.
Frozen Gnome 50k – Crystal Lake, Illinois
Rachel Reyes and Andrew Schroeder warmed up in 5:24 and 4:41. Full results.
Rachel Reyes, the 2025 Frozen Gnome 50k women’s winner. Photo: Frozen Gnome 50k
Andrew Schroeder, the 2025 Frozen Gnome 50k men’s winner. Photo: Frozen Gnome 50k
Bandera – Rocksprings, Texas
The 100k winners Aimee Jacobs and Dany Racine took it in 11:33 and 10:20. Full results.
Next Weekend – Hong Kong 100k – Hong Kong, China
It’ll be the race’s 15th year and the first event of the second year of the World Trail Majors series. The marquee 100k distance will include some 2,800 runners from 60 different countries on a course that totals 5,800 meters (19,029 feet) of climbing.
The race is among Asia’s most competitive, and the start lists include many past winners and returning podium finishers.
The start of the 2024 Hong Kong 100k. Photo: World Trail Majors
Top women:
- Sunmaya Budha (Nepal) – 4th 2024 Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB 50k
- Lin Chen (China) – 1st 2024 Hong Kong 100k
- Ha Thi Hau (Vietnam) – 4th 2024 CCC
- Veronika Leng (Slovakia) – 11th 2024 CCC
- Ying Li (China) – 2nd 2024 Hong Kong 100k
- Yuan-Yuan Wu (China) – 3rd 2024 Hong Kong 100k
Top men:
- Raul Butaci (Romania) – 3rd 2024 Ultra Pirineu 100k
- Guo-min Deng (China) – 14th 2024 Western States 100
- Dani Jung (Italy) – 8th 2024 Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB 100k
- Long-Fei Yan (China) – 1st 2015 Hong Kong 100k
- Guang-Fu Meng (China) – 1st 2024 Hong Kong 100k
- Min Qi (China) – 1st 2018 Hong Kong 100k
- Jia-Sheng Shen (China) – 1st 2019 Hong Kong 100k
- Pei-Quan You (China) – 2nd 2024 Hong Kong 100k
Call for Comments
What other racing do you want to talk about?
