By Nancy Hobbs | American Trail Running Association
It was a sunny morning with temps in the 60s in Sunapee, New Hampshire for today’s USATF Mountain Running Championships that set off at 9:00 for the men’s race and 9:15 for the women. The Sunapee Scramble also played host to the Collegiate Mountain Running National Championships , and served as the selection race for the 2026 USATF Classic Mountain Running Teams. The top four overall USATF male and female finishers would automatically qualify to represent Team USA to compete at the WMRA World Cup Uphill and Classic finale in Quebec, Canada, on October 10–11 (Team USA selection criteria are detailed here.). Featured image courtesy Joe Viger.
Both starts were fast and methodical as runners would navigate two loops on the 9.3-mile course with the first featuring gentler terrain and the second much more technical. Each loop had significant climbs and descents resulting in a total elevation gain of 3300 feet. Strategy and focus were key to having a successful result.
Men’s race
Christian Allen, 28, Orem, UT, who had to drop out of the 2025 Sunapee Scramble, took the lead early to make a statement as he created a 10-second gap on a charging Mason Coppi, 28, Lakewood, CO, last year’s runner up at the event. The pair reached the first downhill in that order, but Coppi had closed the gap. Ares Reading, 25, Boulder, CO, was in third with Dan Curts, 30, Lebanon, NH, close behind (Curts was not racing the USATF division). At the end of the first loop, it was the downhill speedster Curts leading with Coppi and Allen in close pursuit, Reading in fourth, and the youngest of the group 22-year-old Darius Parker, Hinesburg, VT, in fifth.
This group would trade a few spots and the lead throughout the second loop with Coppi emerging from the final downhill in first to cross the line timed in 1:09:48. Curts finished second in 1:11:03 with Allen in third just 23 seconds behind. In fourth Reading’s time was 1:13:25, and fifth across the line was Parker in 1:14:22. With Curts not in the USATF division, it would be Coppi, Allen, Reading and Parker named to the USATF Mountain Team to compete in Canada in October. Coppi and Allen have both represented Team USA in international competition, while Reading and Parker will be first time team members.
Women’s race
Twenty-six year-old Maya Rayle, Missoula, Montana, is a newly minted member of The Trail Team for 2026 and had a breakout performance. She took an aggressive lead up the first climb with Canadian Elisa Morin, 29, about 15 seconds behind as they reached the first downhill section followed within seconds by Taylor Tuttle, 29, Longmont, CO. Courtney Coppinger, 31, Boulder, CO, (not racing in the USATF division), Rena Schwartz, 26, Boulder, and Kasie Enman, 46, Huntington, VT, were running together in fourth, fifth, and sixth.
Going into the second lap, Rayle held her position in first and Morin was about 10 seconds back with Tuttle, Coppinger, Schwartz, and Enman closely behind. It was in the woods that Morin overtook Rayle and was just seconds ahead for the final descent, a gap Rayle couldn’t close and it was Morin for the win in 1:23:52, followed seven seconds later by Rayle, who, because Morin is Canadian, earned the USATF Championships title. A battle for the final spots saw Schwartz taking third in 1:26:18, Coppinger in fourth timed in 1:26:26, Tuttle fifth in 1:26:41, and Enman sixth in 1:27:55.
Since Morin is Canadian, and Coppinger is not a USATF member, the team spots for the USATF Classic Mountain Team would go to Rayle, Schwartz, Tuttle, and Enman. The only veteran woman on the team will be Enman, who was the World Mountain Running Champion in 2011, and has represented Team USA multiple times in international competition.
USATF masters age group winners
40-44: Ryan Grochal, 43, Harding, PA, 1:46:46 and Sarah Canney, 43, Farmington, NH, 1:53:38
45-49: Justin Neuman, 48, New Haven, CT, 1:35:35 and Kasie Enmanm 46, Huntington, VT, 1:27:55
50-54: Ben Nephew, 50, Westborough, MA, 1:32:39 and Sharon OGrady, 53, Burlington, MA, 1:57:46
55-59: Steve Brightman, 57, Providence, RI, 1:34:36 and Hidee Caissie, 57, New Ipswich, NH, 2:33:18
60-64: Erik Vandendries, 61, Chestnut Hill, MA, 1:40:49 and Karen Encarnacion, 60, Attleboro, MA, 2:23:17
65-69: Richard Fargo, 67, Chatham, NH, 2:00:16 and Theresa Manning-Livolsi, 66, Wakefield, RI, 2:33:51
70-74: Ernst Linder, 71, Durham, NH, 2:08:42 and Lisa Doucett, 70, Andover, MA, 2:44:44
75-79: Allan Bates, 77, Pittsfield, MA, 2:19:58
Collegiate results
Darius Parker, who was fifth in the open race, won the Collegiate Mountain Running National Championship on the men’s side with his time of 1:14:22, while Oakley Olson, 22, Morgan, UT, was first among the women in a time of 1:34:33. She finished eighth in the classic women’s field. There were 23 finishers in the collegiate division.
Final notes
A total of $33,000 in prize money was awarded at the Sunapee Scramble with the top three men and women each taking home $10,000; $3,000; $2,000 respectively and the top finishers in the collegiate division splitting a $3000 prize purse.
If you missed the livestream from the event, you can view on YouTube at this link. Complete results from the event can be found here.
The USATF Uphill Mountain Running Championships will be held on June 19, in Palisades Tahoe, CA, at the Broken Arrow Ascent. The event will also serve as a selection race for the 2026 USATF Uphill Mountain Team which will compete in Canada at the WMRA World Cup finale October 10-11.