Megan Kimmel, the Colorado-born skyrunner who broke a 37-year-old Pikes Peak Marathon record and won races on three continents, has died at the age of 45. The International Skyrunning Federation announced her death on Instagram on June 15, 2026. No cause of death has been made public.
“An extraordinary athlete and true skyrunner whose legacy will live on,” the federation wrote in its tribute.
Kimmel was born in Denver in 1980 and raced professionally for ASICS and later Salomon. She broke through internationally in 2014 with a silver medal at the Skyrunning World Championships in Chamonix, France. Skyrunning is a discipline held at elevations of 6,600 feet or higher, on courses that meet specific steepness requirements.
In 2015 she won the Dolomites SkyRace in Italy with a course record of 2:25:57. That same year she took the Matterhorn Ultraks in Switzerland and The Rut in Montana, won her first Skyrunner World Series title, finished second at Sierre-Zinal, and won The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Championships in San Francisco. She captured the Migu Run Skyrunner World Series again in 2016 with wins at Livigno SkyMarathon, Matterhorn Ultraks, Limone Extreme, and The Rut. In 2017 and again in 2019, she won the Yading Skyrun in western China.
Read more at: https://marathonhandbook.com/megan-kimmel-pikes-peak-marathon-record-holder-dies-at-45/