December 24, 2025.
Welcome to my blog, and Happy Holidays to one and all! I report on Masters Elite LDR. In addition to this current story previewing an upcoming race, you can find previews and recaps of all USATF Masters LDR and Cross-Country Championships since Fall 2014. I also report on Masters Athletes in major Marathons including Olympic Trials. I cover distance events at some USATF Masters Indoor and Outdoor Championships. I reported on the one World Cross Country Championship that included Masters competition, Australia 2022. I regularly cover the Non-Stadia Road Race Events at World Masters Athletics Championships. I cover other road races from time to time. See the sidebar for easy navigation through the archives. [If you are using a mobile phone, please scroll to the bottom and choose 'View web version' to access the sidebar.] While there, please note the coffee cup logo. That provides a way for you to express your appreciation for the work that goes into these articles.
On Sunday, December 7th, Masters athletes toed the starting line at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR for the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country XC Championships Cross Nationals. The Club XC Championships Club Cross moved to January this year so Cross Nationals could be in December, the perfect time to select a squad for the World Athletics XC Championships in January. The day before, many of those athletes were cheering on some of the best high school XC runners in the nation on that same course. USATF also held Open and U20 championship races on Saturday. All told, there were 8 races the day before. This is the Pacific Northwest in December. Guess if the course was muddy on Sunday! The day before it had been mostly cloudy with brief periods of light rain. From midnight on it was light rain or drizzle until 8 am. When the Men's 8 Km race started at 9 AM, the skies were cloudy. But before all were done, the light drizzle alternating with light rain had resumed and continued through the Women's 6 Km race. The video announcer noted that it was a 'very slick track.' Many mud-spattered legs were observed post-race. [See below written recap for a small gallery of muddy shoe pics taken after race and posted on Strava.] Temperatures were in the low 50's, and wind was moderate at 10-12 mph for the Men's race. The wind picked up to 14 mph, gusting to 22 for the Women's race. You could see the flags outlining the course waving and flapping in the breeze!
NOTE: Some of the recap includes review of past performances and past head-to-heads. That is as much to celebrate past achievements as to make comparisons. Athletes, Masters as well as Open, enter each competition with a fitness that is unknown except, possibly, to the runner and, if a coach, imperfectly to a coach. Every race day and every course is different. Conditions may seem the same but subtle differences affect each runner differently depending on stride and other factors. This is true on the roads but is doubly true in Cross Country.
PHOTOS OF THE COURSE
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| Course Shot of Golf Cart tracks through the muddy part of the course Photo posted by Scott Grandfield on Strava |
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| One of the Turns on the Course Posted by Wendy Terris on Strava |
OVERALL WOMEN In January 2022, Renee Metivier Team Red Lizard, OR appeared on the Masters national circuit for the first time. She enjoyed a break-out win at Cross Nationals on the Mission Bay course in San Diego. She enjoyed a victory margin of nearly two minutes. In December 2023, she first encountered Carrie Dimoff Bowerman Track Club TC, OR. They enjoyed a real duel but Dimoff emerged victorious, winning by 23 seconds. They met again a month later in Richmond VA at Cross Nationals with an almost identical outcome. This would be their first meeting in a Masters race since that encounter. Dimoff, in the interim, had enjoyed another strong win on a muddy pitch last December at Club Cross in Tacoma. Metivier did not race there but came in first Masters at a prestigious Mountain race, the Sunapee Up and Down Scramble in western New Hampshire, clocking 1:36:38 over the 15K up and down course. When the gun sounded, Metivier set the pace with Dimoff a stride back. As they proceeded around the course, Metivier maintained a couple of stride lead on Dimoff. She grew that to a few meters on the first downhill stretch. After a few more rollers, Metivier crossed the 1K mark with a lead of over twenty meters. Metivier grew her lead to 40 meters over the next kilometer. Dimoff, working with Julia Webb Unaffiliated, held it to 40 for the next three kilometers. The 5th kilometer saw Metivier pull a little further ahead. Dimoff closed a bit over the last kilometer.
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| Renee Metivier Claims the Overall Crown in the Women's Masters Race at the 2025-26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
But Metivier held strong to the finish, never threatened, as she won in 22:59, nine seconds ahead of Dimoff.
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| Carrie Dimoff captures the silver medal Overall in the Women's Masters Race at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Webb had let Dimoff go in the fourth kilometer but kept all others behind her, taking the bronze medal in 23:19. The previous December in Tacoma, also over a muddy track, Webb had finished 32nd. What a nice improvement! Metivier's teammate, Alison Crocker, moved up from her 7th place finish at Tacoma. She claimed 4th in 23:31, a half-minute ahead of Ann Kirkpatrick Front Range Elite, CO. Kirkpatrick had thrived at the Masters 5 Km XC in Bouder, winning in 2022 and finishing second in 2024. She showed she can handle a slippery path on the turf, as well, finishing 5th in 24:01.
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| Top Three Overall L to R: Carrie Dimoff 2nd; Renee Metivier 1st; Julia Webb 3rd in the Women's Masters Race at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Posted by Julia Webb on Strava |
Metivier enjoyed her third national cross country title as a Masters runner, adding this to her crowns from San Diego and Lubbock. It was a treat to watch Dimoff and Metivier challenging each other again. It will be fun to watch their Masters rivalry going forward!
Renee Metivier 22:59. Carrie Dimoff 23:08 Julia Webb 23:19
MEN It was a tour deforce for Max King Central Oregon Runners Klub CORK! A decorated Steeplechase, Mountain, and XC runner during his Open career, he is now 45 and deeply involved in coaching. Nonetheless, in 2023, King enjoyed strong outings in Mountain and Trail running. Would he be able to dominate a strong field of 40+ Masters runners on a muddy cross country course? King gave a resounding 'Yes!' to that question.
Neil McDonagh Square State Striders and Nicholas Kipruto Unaffiliated led the field away from the line and up out of the starting field. King was right off of McDonagh's shoulder. They closed with Kipruto. A minute later, King injected some pace and immediately distanced himself from the others by 5 meters. By three minutes into the race, King had opened up a good ten-meter lead. And it kept growing. McDonagh was joined in a chase pack by Ian Batch Red Lizard, Adrian Condit Unaffiliated, Jeremy Parks Unaffiliated and Erik Teig Mill City Running, MN.
McDonagh has finished 2nd overall at 2023 Cross Nationals in Richmond,2024 Clubs at Tacoma, and missed the win at the 5Km XC championships in San Francisco CA by a single second. The 2024 Masters Road Mile Champion was looking for his first Overall Masters championship on the turf. McDonagh's reaction when he learned that King had entered the race was, "That guy is a monster! But bring it on!" He had his work cut out for him.
Batch's last major XC race was in 2021. But he clocked 2:25:20 at the California International Marathon CIM last year and blasted a nifty 1:09:11 half marathon at the Napa Valley Marathon this year. He sped to a 15:12 5K at Carlsbad in 2024 when he was 38.
Condit has focused his running on longer road races, including Ultras, and also runs trails. His most relevant recent work includes a 2:41:54 at Grandma's Marathon, finishing just off the M40 podium and a 1:12:43 half marathon at the Eau Claire WI Marathon.
Parks has no recent XC results but ran a heck of a 10K race at the Bolder Boulder this year. His 33:21 allowed him to claim 2nd Masters, at age 48. The Bolder Boulder would be a challenging course at sea level. At a mile high, his time is even more impressive! That effort is probably equivalent to 32 and change at sea level.
Teig ran at 2018 Club Cross in Spokane WA as an open runner, finishing 151st of 425. He raced to a 15:23 5K at the Brian Kraft 5K in the Twin Cities. His 1:10:40 half marathon at Grandma's, coupled with a 4:29 Road Mile, indicate that Teig has the kind of speed and endurance that work well in XC.
It was not Kipruto's day. Top 20 at Club Cross in Tacoma last December and third at last month's Masters 5 Km XC in San Francisco, Kipruto fell away from the chase pack in the third kilometer. King kept the pressure on as the chase pack tried to limit King's lead.
King kept the pedal down all the way to the finish, winning by over a minute in 26:24.
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| Max King Strides Toward the Finish and the Masters Men's Overall win at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Posted by Max King on Strava |
That pressure took a toll on the chase pack. Batch and Teig stayed in contact with the chase pack well into the third kilometer but they had to let the pack go. Condit stayed with McDonagh and Parks well into the 4th kilometer. But then he, too, was dropped. McDonagh and Parks traded the chase lead through five kilometers. Parks started to fall behind from that point on. McDonagh was clear of the other chasers. Despite his best efforts, McDonagh could make no dent in King's lead. But no one threatened McDonagh's silver medal. McDonagh claimed 2nd at 27:38. Parks held tough to the end, finishing third, fifteen seconds behind McDonagh.
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| Top Three Overall L to R: Neil McDonagh 2nd; Max King 1st; Jeremy Parks 3rd in the Men's Masters Race at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of USATF |
Condit pushed to open a 56-meter lead on Teig by the 6th kilometer. Teig chipped away at that, but Condit claimed the 4th spot in 28:03, with Teig crossing the line in 5th, just five seconds later. Batch finished 6th at 28:22.
Max King 26:24 Neil McDonagh 27:38 Jeremy Parks 27:53
AGE DIVISION MEN
M40 The review in the Overall section applies to McDonagh, Condit, Teig and Batch. They finished 2-4-5-6 overall. McDonagh, Condit and Teig mount the virtual M40 podium.
Neil McDonagh 27:48 Adam Condit 28:03 Erik Teig 28:08
M45 The Overall review also applies to King, 45, and Parks, 48. There was a spirited fight between Roosevelt Cook Cal Coast TC, and King's CORK teammate, Jason Donald. Cook has speed to burn on the roads; he captured the Masters win at Carlsbad this year at 15:05. He finished third in M45 at Tacoma last year. Donald, primarily a Mountain runner, provides few results that are easy to compare with others. He finished 8th overall and first Masters, out of 660 entrants, at a Mountain race that may be important but is not known to me. His time of 3:38:32, at the Rut 28K Mountain race in Montana would be very slow if it was on a typical road course. But it could be wildly fast or just really good, going through the mountains. It turns out that it must have been pretty fast. Cook and Donald found each other early in the race and matched strides for the first six kilometers. The seventh kilometer proved crucial as Cook had to allow a 25-meter gap to open up. That was enough! Donald carried the gap to the finish and had the bronze medal in 28:49, with six seconds to spare. Miguel Arce Bowerman TC closed strong to take 5th in 29:03.2
Max King 26:24 Jeremy Parks 27:53 Jason Donald 28:49
M50 A few at the top of this division were at the top of overall XC races a dozen years ago. At Bend's Club XC in 2013, Greg Mitchell Bowerman TC and Ulrich 'Uli' Steidl Seattle Running Club battled for the silver medal. Mitchell took that one behind Lee Troop's gold; Mitchell went on to claim gold at the next few Club XC championships. Mitchell was at the top of the Club Cross list at Lehigh in Bethlehem PA, and, if we remove an athlete who, in 2019, accepted a USADA sanction for drug use, at Boulder in 2015 and at Tallahassee in 2016. Mitchell's teammate, then and now, Ahrlin Bauman, finished top ten at Bend; Todd Rose West Valley TC was top twenty. Torrey Lindbo Red Lizard finished 13th overall at 2017 Cross Nationals in Bend OR. Add Rose's teammate, Julian Marsh, a relative newcomer, although the veteran of several national cross country championships and you have the main contenders at Glendoveer. Mitchell went out with the main contenders for the M45 podium; no one in M50 stayed with him for long. At the kilometer mark, Mitchell had twenty meters on an M50 chase pack consisting of Marsh and Rose, with Bauman and Lindbo on their heels. Mitchell added to that lead throughout, winning in 29:20, with over a hundred meters on a strong field.
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| Greg Mitchell Takes the Men's 50-54 Title at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
After Mitchell pulled away, Marsh and Rose engaged in a dandy duel for silver and bronze. By the third kilometer, Marsh had 25 meters on Rose and it looked like he might go clear. But Rose fought and tightened up the gap.
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| Todd Rose Strides toward the M50 Bronze Medal at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo posted by Rose on Strava |
By the 5th kilometer there were just a dozen meters between them. The gap stayed there until the seventh kilometer when Rose closed even with Marsh and then drew slightly ahead. But Rose could not drop Marsh and, in the end, Marsh went up the terraces and across the finish line in 29:49, five seconds ahead of Rose. Bauman and Lindbo, meanwhile, were vying for 4th and 5th, and important team points. Bauman pulled Lindbo through the first three kilometers. They matched stride for stride for the next three. Bauman had to let Lindbo go on the 7th kilometer! Lindbo held the edge to the line, claiming fourth in 31:03, twenty-one seconds ahead of Bauman. Steidl closed over the last two laps but did not threaten those two as he finished sixth. Terrific stuff!
Greg Mitchell 29:20 Julian Marsh 29:49 Todd Rose 29:54
M55 The primary contenders included Craig Godwin Bowerman TC, Emmet Hogan Club Northwest, WA, Ivan Lieben West Valley TC and his teammate, Charles Mullane. Hogan was the favorite; he finished on the M55 podium at Tacoma Clubs last year. Mullane was 46 seconds back in 5th, with Godwin another 55 seconds back in 8th. Lieben did not compete at Tacoma last year but finished 2nd M55 at the USATF Masters 5 Km [road] Championships in Atlanta in mid-October. He followed that, on November 1st at Golden Gate Park with a 3rd place finish at the Masters 5 km XC Championships, ten seconds behind Mullane. But this group has competed against each other many times. At Clubs in Golden Gate Park in 2022, Godwin, out of M55, broke up Lieben and Mullane. Both of those two finished ahead of Hogan. But that was then and this is now. We knew there would be a battle but we did not know how it would come out. Godwin had a tough training cycle where 'life got in the way.' A 35:47 10K at the local Turkey Trot, though a minute slower than his norm, left him convinced he could run okay, have fun, and help his team.
Lieben led the way through the first kilometer in 3:46, followed closely by Hogan, Godwin and Mullane in that order. At 2 Km, Lieben and Hogan were still going at it. But Godwin had allowed a 25-meter gap to develop, and there was a similar gap back to Mullane. Hogan and Lieben would continue matching strides, neither giving an inch, as they went through 4, then 6, then 7 kilometers! Hogan had more in the tank at the end. Lieben could not stay with him as Hogan sped to the finish, crossing with the win in 30:22.
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| Emmet Hogan Wins the M55 Division at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Lieben claimed second at 30:36. In the meantime, Mullane closed the gap to Godwin over the third and fourth kilometers. Godwin's training had been off, and it showed after four kilometers. Mullane strode away over the second half of the race, to finish third in 31:09, with over 150 meters to spare. Godwin claimed fourth at 31:50. Eric Hartmann Bowerman TC and Matthew Underwood Cal Coast TC enjoyed a dandy race for 5th and 6th. Hartmann was out faster, building a 35-meter lead over the first three kilometers. But Underwood kept whittling away at the lead. By the 6th kilometer he had pulled even with Hartmann. Underwood's push in the 7th kilometer gave him a 20-meter lead which he was able to carry all the way to the finish. Underwood finished 5th in 32:15, with Hartmann eight seconds back in 6th.
Emmet Hogan 30:22 Ivan Lieben 30:36 Charles Mullane 31:09
M60 Prior to this race, things had been looking up for Nat Larson. After dominating his division for years, Larson encountered some injuries in 2024 and then suffered a skiing accident in the winter of 2024-25. Larson worked through all that, returning in mid-October to enjoy a convincing win at the 5 Km Masters Championships in Atlanta. He followed that in early November with an M60 win over the 5 Km XC course in Golden Gate Park. Unfortunately, a calf injury forced him away from training for several weeks and he had to skip this contest. Will he join the fray at Tallahassee? Mark Zamek Twin Cities Running Company was finally fully healthy again. Many had looked forward to a battle between Larson and Zamek when they were both healthy. We will have to wait. Paul Smith Bowerman TC, who third behind Steve Schmidt and Larson in Tacoma last year, would likely provide the main challenge to Zamek. Larson's teammates, Scott Grandfield Greater Springfield Harriers and Mark Hixson were also in the mix for the podium. Of these, four, Smith had the best race at Tacoma last December. Leading the M60+ field through the first portion of the race, Smith held tough after Schmidt and Larson passed, hanging on to finish third. Zamek, although not at his best, finished 7th, 22 seconds behind Smith. Hixson ran at Tacoma but strictly to provide team points; he had no individual ambitions. His time was several minutes slower than Zamek's. Grandfield did not compete at Tacoma last year but finished 8th [of 46] in this division at Clubs in Tallahassee in 2023. Grandfield has run well at several road races this year. He collected the M60 bronze medal at the Masters 10 km Championships in 37:14 and matched it with an M60 bronze at the Masters road Mile championships; his 5:19 left him 5 seconds behind Zamek. Hixson ran 14 seconds faster than Greenfield at the 10 K to capture the M60 silver medal. It was clear pretty early on that Zamek was loaded for this event. He led the M60 contingent out of the starting area. By the 1 kilometer mark, only Grandfield was within 15 meters of Zamek; Smith was 30 meters astern of Grandfield. Like King in the overall competition, Zamek just kept getting farther and father ahead at each kilometer. By the time he crested the terraces up to the finish and over the line, Zamek had won in 31:02 with 1:22 to spare.
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| Mark Zamek Crossing the Finish Line, First in M60 at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
In his wake, a battle had developed between Grandfield and Smith. Grandfield had 40 meters on Smith at the 2 Km mark; he maintained that lead through three km before Smith started to chip away. By 4 kilometers it was down to 25 meters; by 6 Km down to 15 meters. Smith was pushing but Grandfield was working just as hard to keep the edge. Grandfield held tough t the line, snatching the silver medal in 32:24, just 4 seconds ahead of Smith-quite a duel! Hixson had to hold off Blair Cossey Club Northwest and Scott Lacrosse SRA Elite, who had just finished 2nd M60 at the Masters 5 Km XC in San Francisco, just 13 seconds behind Larson. Lacrosse had a solid lead over Hixson and Cossey at the 3 Km mark. But both would overtake him, with Hixson staying just ahead of a hard charging Cossey. Hixson was fourth at 32:52, with Cossey just four seconds back. Nine seconds later, Lacross finished 6th. It was a big day for Zamek. If we think of Club Cross and Cross Nationals as being the two big Masters XC Championships each year, this is Zamek's first big XC Championship! It would be sweet for. Zamek if he could go healthy into Tallahassee and make it two in a row.
Mark Zamek 31:02 Scott Grandfield 32:24 Paul Smith 32:28
M65 Top contenders included: Paul Brown Twin Cities RC, Doug Keller Twin Cities RC, David Westenberg Greater Lowell Road Runners. At Tacoma last December at Clubs, the order of finish was Youngers, in 2nd, followed by Keller, Brown (then in M60) and Westenberg. For a variety of reasons, Westenberg's 2025 was an up and down year after two very outstanding years. He skipped a number of 2025 championships. Westenberg had finished 2nd M65 at San Francisco Club Cross in 2022, a few seconds ahead of Keller (then in M60). In 2023 at Tallahassee for Clubs, it was Youngers-Westenberg-Keller. Brown did not race. It seems that, at the end of the year, Westenberg has close to his usual fitness again. When the gun sounded, the four headed out. They were tight through the first kilometer in 4:08-4:09. That pace seemed a little too fast for Brown so he let them get a bit ahead on the 2nd kilometer. Fifteen meters behind at the 2 km mark, Brown never fully recovered. Keller pushed the pace through the 3rd and 4th kilometers but Westenberg and Youngers stayed with him. Youngers allowed a small gap of 15 meters to appear as they went through the 5th and 6th kilometers. But when Youngers saw Westenberg push to open a small gap on Keller, he moved to close up with Keller. At the 7 Km mark, Youngers was now 15-20 meters behind Westenberg with Keller right on his shoulder! When those two roared past in the final kilometer, Westenberg had no answer. Keller tried his best to move ahead of Youngers, but could not. Youngers held strong to the tape, claiming the win with just a few strides to spare in 34:45.
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| Ken Youngers right Crossing the Finish Line to Take the M65 Win Ahead of Doug Keller left at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Keller's 34:46 left him in second, nine seconds ahead of Westenberg. They will be talking about that one for a while!
Ken Youngers 34:45 Doug Keller 34:46 David Westenberg 34:55
M70 In this division last December at Clubs in Tacoma, Jim Linn Shore AC and Kevin Dollard Shore AC finished together in 36:42. Linn captured 3rd in M70, Dollard 16th in M65. This year both are in M70. Jack Pottle Boulder Road Runners finished 20 seconds behind them, 5th M70. Douglas Lewis Bowerman TC and David Parsons Club Northwest were about a minute behind Pottle in 7th and 8th. Linn had generally enjoyed an edge over Linn until the 4 Mile [road] Championships in Peoria in June. Pottle overtook Linn in that race, winning by a half-minute in 26:38. Perhaps Pottle could ride the confidence he gained last June to an edge over Linn on the turf? Would Dollard be able to capitalize on his 'new kid in town' status in M70? What about the Shore AC teammate of Dollard and Linn, Harold Leddy? Leddy has been a strong runner for a long time. On the Lehigh course in Bethlehem PA in 2019, Leddy finished just a minute astern of Dollard. This year, Leddy has again stepped up! At the 10 Km Championships, he was a strong #2 runner for Shore behind Linn, finishing 7th overall in 43:42. He was even more of a factor in Atlanta at the October 5 Km Championships. Linn, Dollard, and Leddy finished 2-3-4 in M70, all within 5 seconds of one another. Linn ran 21:13. Linn was going to make sure anyone who beat him would earn it. He covered the first kilometer in 4:22, with Pottle and Dollard 20 meters back. Parsons, Leddy and Lewis were running together twenty meters further back. Dollard and Pottle caught up to Linn by the 3 Km mark, with Leddy and Lewis 15 meters back. Parsons was further back and did not recover to be a factor. In the 4th km, Dollard and Pottle moved past Linn into the top two positions, with Leddy also passing Linn. Lewis lost contact in the 4th kilometer and did not regain it. The 5th km saw Dollard move to the front and Leddy start to close on Pottle. Linn was now 40 meters back and would not move up or back the rest of the way. Leddy could not keep pace in the 6th km with Dollard who now enjoyed a 25-meter lead. But Leddy had gapped Pottle, now 25 meters behind Leddy. Dollard and Leddy closed strong to take 1-2 in 37:26 and 37:29!
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| Kevin Dollard left, sprinting to the Finish Line ahead of Harold Leddy right at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
What a race for Leddy--wow! Pottle had the bronze medal in 37:56. He has a nice set of podium performances at national XC championships. Linn finished 4th in 38:31 with Lewis 7 seconds behind in 5th and Parsons 16 seconds further back in 6th.
That was a big win for Dollard, his first national Masters LDR age division championship that I can recall!! Perhaps it was his first ever? Big congratulations to Dollard whether I am right or wrong on that count! A terrific run!
Kevin Dollard 37:26 Harold Leddy 37:29 Jack Pottle 37:56
M75 Last December at Tacoma, Doug Bell Boulder RR, David Crawford Club Northwest, Leslie Sharpe Club Northwest, and Doug Winn Bowerman TC finished 15th, 14th, 20th, and 17th in M70, with times ranging from 39:28 to 41:13. Jerry Learned Atlanta TC finished 4th M75 in 41:52. None of the three who finished ahead of him were entered here in Portland. On paper, it looked like the new kids on the block might sweep the top four spots. But for Masters runners, you might be up for several, perhaps many races, and then you might be down. It depends on injuries, health, life, family events, and motivation. When these five athletes stepped to the line, they could not be certain about how the race would unfold. It did not matter that Winn had won M65 in 2018 Club Cross in Spokane or that Bell had won M70 Clubs at Tallahassee in 2021. They were ready to compete with all they had on the day.
Crawford went out hard, covering the first kilometer in 4:45; he had a good 40 meters on the field. But Winn had him in his sights and pulled even over the next km. Sharpe and Learned were thirty meters behind them; Bell was in contact a couple of strides back. Crawford and Winn continued to battle stride for stride through 5 kilometers. One of these two would likely get the win. Sharpe was now over 100 meters behind them; there was a gap of 45 meters back to Learned. Bell was battling but falling further back. Crawford accelerated in the 6th km and enjoyed a 25-meter gap on Winn with 2 km to go. That move paid off as Crawford strode to the win in 40:34.
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| Doug Winn finishes 2nd in M70 at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Winn focused on holding his position, finishing with a strong last kilometer to claim the silver medal in 41:24. Sharpe, in the meantime, had continued to pull away from Learned, finishing third a half minute behind Winn. Learned was fourth in 42:33, with Bell fifth at 43:59. It was a great day for Crawford. Before Tacoma last year, Crawford did not compete at national Masters LDR Championships. He was a top runner at races in the Northwest. This was his first national championship. When you beat a field like this one, it is worth celebrating! Winn enjoyed his best outcome since Spokane!
David Crawford 40:34 Doug Winn 41:24 Leslie Sharpe 41:56
M80 Przemyslaw 'Przemek' Nowicki Shore AC finished second M80 at Tacoma last December. His three main rivals for this contest were all from the Boulder Road Runners. None of them ran at Tacoma. Jeffrey Dumas and Thomas Lemire did run at the Masters 5 km XC championships in Boulder in both 2022 and 2024. Dumas won M75 in 2022 at 26:13 and finished 4th in 2024 with a 26:24. Lemire wass three minutes behind Dumas in 2022 but only two minutes back in 2024. Nowickii did not run at Boulde rin either year so there is no direct comparison. William Repphun, the third member of the Bopulder crw did not run in those races either. He did run the Bolder Boulder 10K in May of this year, finishing about a half minute behind Lemire. The three Boulder runners moved to the front overr the first kilometer in the order one might expect. Dumas was at 5:39, with Lemire 20 meters back, and Repphun a few strides behind him. Nowicki was 40 meters behind Repphun. It was much the same in the second kilometer. But in the third kilometer, Lemire started to drift back a bit from Repphun and Nowicki cut his deficit to Lemire in half. Dumas, during this whole time, was stretching his lead. Dumas won in 47:28, a minute ahead of Repphun, who was never challenged by the other two.
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| Jeffrey Dumas claims the M80 Win at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Nowicki pulled even with Lemire by the 4th kilometer and had forged a 50-meter lead by the 5th kilometer. It was not Lemire's day, but he competed. After falling behind by 80 meters in the 6th kilometer, Lemire rallied, cutting the lead to 50 meters by kilometer 7. But that was it. Nowick rallied in turn, finishing well to claim third in 50:16. Lemire was 22 seconds back in fourth. Ed Bligh Atlanta TC finished 5th in 54:28. Dumas had another gold medal to put with his 2022 gold from the Masters 5 Km XC!
Jeffrey Dumas 47:28 William Repphun 48:28 Przemyslaw Nowicki 50:16
M85 Roland Cormier Shore AC has run on many a cross country course in his day and under many conditions. He can, no doubt, slip-slide with the best of them. Today he had no rivals.
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| Roland Cormier Takes the M85 Crown at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
He paraded home, the M85 winner in 1:10:50, safe and sound, splattered with mud, like the other champions! 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing
Roland Cormier 1:10:50
WOMEN W40 The top 5 women overall came from this division. Hence Metivier, Dimoff and Webb mount the division podium as well. Crocker and Kirkpatrick finish 4th and 5th.
Renee Metivier 22:59. Carrie Dimoff 23:08 Julia Webb 23:19
W45 Gretchen Hurlbutt Boise Betties finished 2nd overall at Club Cross in Spokane WA seven years ago. Last year in Tacoma, Hurlbutt was first in W45 at 23:35. Vivien Hyman finished 6th overall at Tallahassee Clubs in 2023. Last year in Tacoma she finished 4th in the division, nearly a minute behind Hurlbutt. Laura Breymann Club Northwest ran 14 seconds slower than Hyman last year at Tacoma. In W40 at the time, her 24:39 earned her a 16th place finish out of 45. Jessica Hruska has had plenty of success on the roads. In 2022, Hruska won the overall 5 Km Championships on a hilly course in Atlanta, with an 18:14 effort. This year in Peoria, she repeated that feat, winning the overall Masters championship over 4 Miles; her time was 24:48. She has done well on the turf too, but has not been able to match her road success. Hruska finished 15th overall at Clubs in Tallahassee. Last year in Tacoma she finished 7 seconds ahead of Breymann, taking 15th in W40.
Hurlbutt wasted no time; she moved to the front and enjoyed a good 30 meters on the field. Hyman, Breymann and Hruska followed in that order separated in each case by a stride or two. Hurlbutt was never threatened. She worked her lead up to 150 meters by the end of the 6 km run, earning the division win in 24:38.
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| Gretchen Hurlbutt captures the W45 Win at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Breymann led Hyman and Hruska through the 3 km mark with just 5 seconds between them.
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| Laura Breymann takes a corner on her way to the W45 podium at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo posted by Breymann on Strava |
Hruska started to fall off the pace over the 4th kilometer and did not recover. Hyman passed Breymann in the 7th kilometer and held the lead all the way to the finish line. Hyman took the silver 50.medal, 2nd in 25:26, a dozen seconds ahead of Breymann. Hruska finished fourth at 25:53. That gave Hurlbutt two division gold medals in her last two national masters cross country championships!
Gretchen Hurlbutt 24:38 Vivien Hyman 25:26 Laura Breymann 25:38
W50 Holly McIlvaine Club Northwest and Carla McAlister Cal Coast finished 2-3 in this division at Clubs in Tacoma last December. McIlvaine's 25:08 left her 19 seconds ahead of McAlister. Marlene Farrell Seattle Running Club finished 15th at Tacoma, 26 seconds behind McAlister. Jennifer Saam Club NW and Gwendolyn Twist Janes Racing Elite were a couple of minutes behind that trio at Tacoma. Twist finished 21st in W45 with a 27:37; Saam crossed the finish line two seconds later, taking 12th in W50. McIlvaine also led McAlister and Saam at Clubs in San Francisco in 2022. Twist claimed 6th W45 at Tallahassee in 2023 Clubs, but none of these other four were there.
Farrell tore away from the starting line; she would make McIlvaine and McAlister catch her if they could! She enjoyed a thirty-meter lead at the 1 km mark. McIlvaine and McAlister were running together in second and third. It was 20 meters back to Twist and another 20 to Saam. Farrell kept the pressure on for the next 2 Km, but McIlvaine decided she needed to be closer. McAlister decided to give them some slack and see what would happen in the later stages. McIlvaine had closed to 15 meters by the end of the 3rd km. McAlister was 30 meters behind McIlvaine. The 4th kilometer saw a different story unfolding. McAlister was the one making the move. She closed to within 15 meters of McIlvaine and, for the first time, was within forty meters of Farrell. McIlvaine fought hard to stay ahead of McAlister but by the 5 km mark, McAlister had a slight edge. They were just twenty meters behind Farrell now. Farrell kept pumping but McAlister found another gear for the final kilometer. She sped past Farrell and kept going, finishing first in 26:48 with nine seconds to spare!
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| Carla McAlister right Crosses the Finish Line, 1st in W50 at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Farrell had run her race, making McAlister turn in an outstanding race to take the win. Farrell held off McIlvaine, finishing 2nd in 26:57. McIlvaine was never threatened for third. She took bronze at 27:21. Twist got off the mark faster than Saam. Behind by thirty meters at the 2 Km mark, Saam could not dent that lead. Twist took 4th in 28:13 with Saam fifth in 28:34.
Carla McAlister 26:48 Marlene Farrell 26:57 Holly McIlvaine 27:21
W55 Based on Tacoma results, the top athletes appeared to be Deb Fletcher Club NW, 10th W50 in 27:31; Wendy Terris Red Lizard, 7th W55 in 28:05; Tania Fischer Janes Elite 8th W55 in 28:07. Jennifer Brennan Ideal Performance Athletics finished 13th W55 in Tacoma and seemed unlikely to be competitive. Her teammate, Christina Howard, finished even further back in Tacoma, finishing 28th (of 31) in W50 with a 33:18 time. But things can change in a year. Terris led them out in 4:28 for the first kilometer. Brennan showed she was serious about competing; she was 15 meters behind Terris almost 20 meters ahead of Fletcher. Fischer, content to run her own race, was another 25 meters back from Fletcher. Terris was on another planet today! No one was going to challenge her! She led the field by 150 meters at the half-way point and claimed the win in 27:28 with over a minute-and-a-half to spare.
It took Fletcher a while to work her way up to Brennan. But by the 3 Km mark, Fletcher had passed her and created a 15-meter gap. The 4th kilometer saw Fletcher stretch that gap to 70 meters. Fischer did gradually close on Brennan. Behind by 17 seconds at the 2 Km point, Fischer cut the gap to 10 seconds by the 4 Km point. But she could get no closer; in fact, Brennan stretched her lead in the last 2 kilometers. Fletcher claimed the silver medal in 29:06. Brennan was 20 seconds back in third place. Fischer claimed 4th in 29:45. And what bout Howard? She did not crack the top 5, but she gave Patti Shore Impala a heck of a battle for fifth. Shore is a seasoned veteran for Impala. She was top 20 W55 in the deep field at 2022 Clubs in San Francisco and had just finished 6th W5 at the 2025 Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships in Golden Gate Park. Howard got out fast, with Shore right on her heels. They were even at 2 km. Howard pushed the next 2 km and opened up a 35-meter gap. Howard held that through the 5th kilometer. Shore had kept enough in her tank for a big push at the end. Howard finished with a solid 5:04 last km. but Shore stormed to a brisk 4:50, catching Howard and edging her by two seconds. Great work by Shore to keep things together and finish like that. But great work by Howard to put herself out there and make Shore work!
Wendy Terris right Finishes first in W55 at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing
Wendy Terris 27:28 Deb Fletcher 29:06 Jennifer Brennan 29:26
W60 Suzanne La Burt Shore AC has been the 'Big Dawg' in this division since joining it in 2023. She has won on the road and on the turf. She won on the roads at the 2023 Masters 12 Km Championships in New Jersey and kept on winning. On the turf, she took first in Tallahassee Clubs in 2023 and repeated that at Clubs in Tacoma last December, winning in 26:05. She had to miss the Masters 5 Km championships in San Francisco in early November due to a plantar issue that interrupted training. That patient approach paid off; La Burt was at the starting line for this race. Margi Bell Prado Racing would likely provide her toughest opposition. Bell had been fifth at Tacoma in W55 in 27:25. She would have to run faster this time to stay with La Burt. Pamela Ricker, La Burt's teammate, would not be far back. With La Burt missing at the 5 Km Championships, Ricker led the way for Shore, finishing third in 22:01. Eileen Brennan-Erler Impala Racing and Kris Huff Atlanta GA would be in the mix also. Brennan-Erler had finished 10th at Tacoma last year in W60 but had finished 7th W60 in San Francisco Clubs in 2022 and 6th in Tallahassee the year following. Huff had finished 47 seconds ahead of Brennan-Erler in 2022 while inn W55, but finished 22 seconds behind Brennan-Erler at Tacoma last December.
La Burt set the pace, hitting the kilometer in 4:36, with Ricker and Bell together a dozen meters back. Ricker and Bell kept that margin through two kilometers but then the gap started to grow. La Burt had over thirty meters on Bell by the halfway point and was never threatened. La Burt won in 27:50 with a victory margin of over half a minute.
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| Margi Bell Crossing the Finish Line to Claim the Silver Medal in the W60 Division at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Bell tried to keep in touch with La Burt and, as a result, found herself gapping Ricker. Bell had over 50 meters on Ricker by 4 kilometers and claimed the silver medal in 28:27, 48 seconds ahead of Ricker. Ricker enjoyed the bronze medal, finishing a good 150 meters ahead of the rest of the field. Brennan-Erler had been cautious from the start, allowing Huff to build a 50-meter lead by the 2nd kilometer. The gap continued to grow in the third kilometer but then Brennan-Erler went to work. The gap was down to 25 meters by the 4th kilometer and to ten by the 5th. Huff, despite her efforts, could not respond when Brennan-Erler passed her in the 6th kilometer. Brennan-Erler was fourth in 30:11; Huff finished 5th fourteen seconds later. La Burt was back with a big win, but Bell acquitted herself well.
Suzanne La Burt 27:50 Margi Bell 28:27 Pamela Ricker 29:15
W65 Trisha Kluge Ideal Performance won this division at Tacoma last December in 29:02. Her two chief rivals would be Joannie Siegler Golden Valle Harriers and Jennifer Teppo Red Lizard. Teppo had won W60 at Clubs in Spokane, finishing a good minute ahead of Siegler. Neither competed at Tacoma but they squared off over 5 km in San Francisco in early November. Siegler claimed that W60 championships in 22:55 with a half minute to spare. Kluge and Siegler met, at 2022 Clubs, over 6 Km in Golden Gate Park in 2022. At that time, Siegler ran more than three minutes faster than Kluge. Gail Hall Club Northwest looked to be in the mix too. She had finished a half minute ahead of Kluge in San Francisco in 2022. Hall finished tenth in W60 at Tallahassee Clubs in 2023.
Kluge and Siegler ran even for the first kilometer. Siegler injected a little more pace in the 2nd km, pulling out to a 30-meter lead by the 2 km mark. After that it was all Siegler. Kluge never gave up and did not allow Siegler to run away with it. Still, Siegler had the win in 29:55 with 55 seconds to spare.
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| Joannie Siegler won the W65 Division at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Apart from Kluge trying to stay with Siegler in the early stages, Kluge, Teppo and Hall pretty much ran their own races. At the 1 Km mark, Teppo was 7 seconds behind Kluge and Hall was twelve seconds behind Teppo. All of those gaps grew gradually during the rest of the race. Kluge was second at 30:44, with Teppo third at 31::11 and Hall fourth at 31:38. It was another fine West Coast win at a national championship for Siegler. She adds Portland to her two championship gold medals at Golden Gate Park!
Joannie Siegler 29:55 Trisha Kluge 30:44 Jennifer Teppo 31:38
W70 It is odd. This division had only two entrants and neither was from the West Coast. There were two veteran competitors from the East Coast, Susan Stirrat Shore AC and Helene Myers Potomac Valley TC. Stirrat typically beats Myers by a wide margin. But Myers loves to run and compete at national championships. Because Myers often competes and always finishes, she amasses quite a lot of Masters National Grand Prix points. She won the national W70 Grand Prix championship in 2024 and finished second this year. Stirrat finished second in the W65 Grand Prix. Stirrat, as expected did her usual good job out on the course and brought home the victory in 35:47. Myers finished second, ten minutes later.
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| Helene Myers captures the Silveer Medal in the W70 Division at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Susan Stirrat 35:47 Helene Myers 56:17
W75 Jeanette Groesz Red Lizard was the strong favorite for the win. Since Sabra Harvey, the USATF 2017 Masters Athlete of the Year, reduced her competing to the occasional championship, Groesz has reigned supreme. The only exception was in 2022 when Groesz persuaded Harvey to compete for her Red Lizard team at the Masters 5 Km XC Championships in Boulder CO. Groesz took the W70 win at 2022 Clubs in San Francisco, in 2023 at Clubs in Tallahassee, and last year in Tacoma she captured the W75 win. Her main rivals on the 7th in Portland were two Impala Racing teammates, Arlene McCarthy and Irene Herman. Both are very solid runners. But they cannot usually stay with Groesz. In San Francisco, Herman finished almost ten minutes behind Groesz. At Tacoma, McCarthy finished six minutes behind Groesz and Herman was three minutes behind McCarthy.
Everyone ran more or less as expected, although the outcome at the top was closer than in the past. Groesz tore up the course, winning by over four minutes in 33:13.
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| Jeanette groesz Crossing the Finish Line, Claiming first place in the W75 Division and Attaining the Highest Overall Age Grading Score at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
McCarthy claimed second in 37:26! Herman enjoyed the bronze medal in 44:30. Nelda Williams Impala was fourth, followed by Kathleen Allen Atlanta TC in fifth.
Jeanette Groesz 33:13 Arlene McCarthy 37:26 Irene Herman 44:30
W80 Although Michelle Watson PDX Athena shows up in the W80 results, I think that is a mistake. Athlinks indicates that Michelle Watson finished 22nd in the Women's 40-49 division. The overall results on the website show Michelle Watson finishing 37th overall. The finish line photo does not show an 80-year-old.
W85 Joyce Hodges-Hite Atlanta TC keeps rolling along. Hodges-Hite is not fast, but she shows up and competes all over the country. Hodges-Hite has won the W85 Masters National Grand Prix for the past three years.
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| Joyce Hodges-Hite bears the Muddy Badge of Honor as She Wins the W85 Division at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo courtesy of Athletic Timing |
Hodges-Hite was unchallenged, winning in 1:37:05.
Joyce Hodges-Hite 1:37:05
AGE GRADING Best performances relative to runner's age. The age grade performance level percentage PLP identifies the athletes with the best performance, adjusted for age. Based on World data, it measures, in a rough sense, how close to the best possible time a runner of their exact (to the year) age could possibly run, with 100% being, in principle, the highest score. A runner could, therefore, set an American Record and score less than a 100 PLP because the data are from the entire world, not just the USA.
WOMEN Jeanette Groesz, 76, added to her collection of cross country age grade medals by running the 6 Km in 33:13 for an 82.95 PLP. That earned first place and the gold medal! Joannie Siegler, 68, was not far behind; her 29:55 merited an 81.64. Suzanne La Burt, 62, made the trip from the East Coast worthwhile with an age division win, a team win and a bronze age grade, at 80.88 from her 27:50 tour of the course. Trisha Kluge, 66, edged Jennifer Teppo, 67, 77.27 to 77.25.
Jeanette Groesz 76 33:13 82.95 Joannie Siegler 68 29:55 81.64 Suzanne La Burt 62 27:50 80.88
MEN King collected a rare double! It is not often that the overall winner will also top the age grade leaderboard. King, 45, ran to an 85.97 PLP, leaving him a good percentage point ahead of Mark Zamek, 62, out of the Twin Cities, Zamek’s nifty 31:02 placed him second at 84.59. Parks, 48, earned 83.38. That gave him a matched set of bronzes. It was tight again between fourth and fifth with Gregory Mitchell, 52, edging Emmet Hogan, 56, by 0.05 percentage points, 81.96 to 81.91.
Max King 45 26:24 85.97 Mark Zamek 62 31:02 84.59 Jeremy Parks 48 27:53 83.38
TEAMS Note: The finishing position of each team's first five (for M40+ and M50+) three (for Women and M60+ and above) scoring runners are recorded and summed. The team with the lowest score wins.
MEN M40+ Red Lizard, out of Portland OR and West Valley Track Club, out of the San Francisco Bay area, enjoyed a dandy battle for the win. None of the first five overall were on complete (at least 5 athletes) teams. So the first runner to count was Ian Batch. Because only runners on complete teams are scored, he counts as a '1'. His teammate, His teammate, Aaron Coe, who finished 16th overall, was the 2nd runner to score for a complete team. Red Lizard had three points from their first two runners. That was a great start! But Andrew Touchstone, Julian Marsh, Todd Rose, and Andy Crawford responded by taking the next four spots, 3-4-5-6 or 18 points. Red Lizard had 3 pts. from 2 runners. If their two runners scored 7th and 8th, it would be tied up again. Red Lizard did get 7th from Steven Short, but 12 seconds later, Ivan Lieben got the number 8 point for WVTC, closing off their score at 26 points.
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| West Valley Track Club M40+ Team-1st Place L to R: Mullane, Crawford, Touchstone, Lieben, Marsh, Rose at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo posted by Marsh on Strava |
Red Lizard got 9th and 11th from Torrey Lindbo and Christopher Sheaffer for a final score of 29. That was close! Red Lizard entered a 'B' team. Its five scoring members were, in order, 11th and 13th through 16th: Chad Killian, Ryan Carlson, Max Smith, Tommy Neal and Jeffrey Schlimgen. Note: Central Oregon Running Klub would have been tightly competing for the win with West Valley. Apparently CORK did not get their full roster declared to a competing team. CORK received no team score for M40+.
West Valley Track Club 26 Team Red Lizard A 29 Team Red Lizard B 69
M50+ The Bowerman Track Club swept the first five scoring positions, giving them a perfect score of 15 points. That can never be beaten! Greg Mitchell, Ahrlin Bauman, Craig Godwin. Oscar Bauman, and Eric Hartmann did the damage in that order. It was a 15-46 win.
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| Bowerman Track Club M50+ Team First Place L to R: Mitchell, A Bauman, O Bauman at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo posted by Mitchell on Strava |
The Atlanta Track Club fielded a team that finished 6-8-9-11-12. The scoring members, in order, were Gary Moore, Brian Sydow, Brad Slavens, Christophr Cadiou, and Mike Anderson.
Bowerman Track Club 15 Atlanta Track Club 46
M60+ Six clubs, including an A and a B team from Bowerman, contested this division. Mark Zamek gave Twin Cities Running TCRC the coveted #1 spot. But that is just a start. In 60+, it takes three runners for a complete score. Separated by just a half minute, Scott Grandfield and Mark Hixson gave Greater Springfield Harriers, out of the Connecticut River Valley area of south central Massachusetts. the #2 and #4 spots for six points from 2 scorers. Paul Smith split those two to give his Bowerman A team 3 points. Blair Cossey gave Club Northwest their first score at #5. Steve Day's 6th place gave Bowerman 9 points from their top two, just three behind Springfield. Atlanta Track Club's Lester Dragstedt and Ken Youngers took 7th and 9th to give Atlanta 16 points from two athletes. Northwest's Steve Heaps split the two Atlanta runners, giving Northwest his 8 points for a total of 13 from two runners. Doug Keller was right on the heels of Youngers, giving TCRC another 10 points and 11 from 2 runners. At that point the teams with two runners in, lined up as: Springfield 2+4=6; Bowerman 3+6=9; TCRC 1+10=11; Northwest 5+8=13; and Atlanta 7+9=16. Eleven seconds later, Alejandro Heuck closed off the scoring for Springfield with his 11th place. They had 17 points from their top three. The other teams were now battling for second place. Bowerman had the best chance. If their #3 finished 12th that would give them 211 points. Instead, David White-Espin gave Northwest another score; his 12 points moved them to 25 points as a final score. Four seconds later, Paul Brown closed off the scoring for TCRC. His 13 points gave TCRC a final score of 24 points and a good claim on 2nd, just ahead of Northwest. Bowerman could still beat TCRC, though, if their third runner came in next! In a classic 4th guy makes the difference, Northwest's Tony Young took away the 14th position by finishing next. As a result, Bowerman's John Clifford finished 15th instead of 14th. That gave Bowerman a total of 24 points (instead of 23) leaving them in a tie for 2nd. And, unfortunately for Bowerman, the current tie-breaker is the finishing position of the final scoring athlete for each team. TCRC's third runner finished 13th rather than 15th. That better score gave TCRC 2nd place on the tie-breaker.
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| Twin Cities Running Company M60+-2nd Place L to R: Keller, Langhout, Brown, Zamek at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo posted by Zamek on Strava |
Bowerman was third with the same 24-point score and Northwest was fourth with 25 points. Wow! That was close! Atlanta finished 5th at 37 points, with Bowerman B 6th at 54.
Greater Springfield Harriers 17 Twin Cities Running Company 24* Bowerman Track Club A 24*
*TCRC gets second on a tie-breaker.
M70+ The Shore Athletics squad demonstrated the value of a tight pack and nearly scored a perfect 1-2-3 win. Kevin Dollard and Harold Leddy took the top two spots. Jim Linn crossed the line for Shore a minute after Leddy crossed the line. Jack Pottle of the Boulder Road Runners outgunned Linn to take 3rd. But Linn closed off the scoring in 4th place and secured the win for Shore at 1=2=4 = 7 points.
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| Shore AC 1st Place M70+ L to R: Leddy, Stirrat, Dollard, Linn at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo posted by Dollard on Strava |
Bowerman and the Cal Coast Track Club soon joined the fray. Bowerman's Douglas Lewis finished 5th and Cal Coast's Tomas Rodriguez finished 6th. Twenty seconds later, Douglas Chesnut contributed his 7th place finish to Boulder's points; they were at 10 from two runners. Reno Stirrat, Shore's 4th runner today, affected the scores of rival teams. He took 8th. That meant that Bowerman's' Doug Winn took 9th rather than 8th. That gave Bowerman 14 points on two runners, four behind Boulder. Jerry Learned provided the first score for Atlanta at 10th. Doug Bell closed off the scoring for Boulder at 11th, giving them 21 points and second place. John Combs and Michael Avrey scored 12th and 13th for Cal Coast, closing off their scoring at 6+12+13=31 points. Harold Ketting, Cal Coast's 4th runner, scored 14th, meaning that Bowerman's Lawrence Barclay finished 15th rather than 14th and Bowerman's final total was 29 points. Shore enjoyed a fine win! Boulder enjoyed a strong second place finish. It was close, in the end, but Bowerman still managed to land on the team podium in third, with two points to spare. Cal Coast was fourth and Atlanta, the only team consisting of scoring runners entirely from M75 and M80, finished fifth.
Shore Athletic Club 7 Boulder Road Runners 21 Bowerman Track Club 31
WOMEN W40+ Team Red Lizard romped to the win with a perfect 1-2-3 placing for 6 points. Renee Metivier led the way, followed by Alison Crocker, 4th overall but only the 2nd scoring runner on a complete team, and Eva Vail, 7th overall. Club Northwest enjoyed a solid second place showing. Laura Breymann, Ziyang Liu, and Alison Mandi finished 6th, 8th and 11th for 25 points and the silver medals, with room to spare.
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| Club Northwest's Women's Teams Finished First in Women's %0+ and 2nd in Women's 40+ and 60+ Divisions at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo posted by Breymann on Strava |
It was much tighter for the bronze medals!! Vivien Hyman got the Janes Elite Racing on the board with her 4th place. Allie Keogh contributed the first points for Team Athena PDX at 7th. Santa Barbara's Rebecca Glusac scored a 9 to put them on the board. Jessica Gordon added a 10th place finish for Athena. Lynn Fitzgibbons scored a 12 for Santa Barbara Running and Racing. When Santa Barbara's Kerry Small scored 12 seconds later in 13th, that gave Santa Barbara their final score of 34 points. Could anyone match them? Tamar Gamliel finished 14th for the Janes; they now had 18 points from two runners. Santa Barbara's 4th and 5th runners took the two next spots at 15 and 16, pushing the Janes' 3rd runner, Cambria Wu up from 15th to 17th. That gave the Janes 35 points instead of 33. That is a case where depth beyond the top three made a big difference. The Janes finished a point behind Santa Barbara instead of a point ahead. What about Athena? Michele Watson scored 18th for them instead of 16th. They too had a final score of 35 instead of 33. The Janes finished fourth on the tie breaker, ahead of Athena. But the big deal was that Santa Barbara nailed third by a single point and landed on the W40+ team podium!
Team Red Lizard 6 Club Northwest 25 Santa Barbara Running and Racing 34
W50+ Northwest took this division by storm. Holly McIlvaine, Jennifer Saam, and Deb Fletcher gave Northwest a 1-3-4 finish and a winning score of 8 points. It was close for second place between Red Lizard and Ideal Performance. But each of Red Lizard's runners scored ahead of their Ideal Performance Athletics counterpart. Every time Ideal Performance would answer the challenge, a different Red Lizard would issue a new one. Red Lizard had Wendy Terris, Jennifer Seibel and Jennifer Teppo finishing 2nd, 7th and 11th for 20 points. Ideal Performance had Jennifer Brennan, Trisha Kluge and Christina Howard finished 5th, 9th, and 12th for 26 points. Atlanta Track Club was actually level with Ideal Performance after their 2nd runners scored. Ideal had 14 points from Brennan and Kluge. Atlanta had 14 points from Kathy Wiegand, 6th, and Kris Huff, 8th. Laura Scholz finished their scoring at 19th, securing fourth place ahead of Impala and Santa Cruz.
Club Northwest 8 Team Red Lizard 20 Ideal Performance Athletics 26
W60 Shore AC, Club Northwest, and Janes Elite battled for the win! Shore got the early, best points with Suzanne La Burt and Pamela Ricker taking 1-2. Then they had to hold on; their third runner, Leslie Nowicki, has improved a lot over the past two years but it is hard to keep up with the kind of athletes that Northwest and Janes have. Northwest answered Shore's opening salvo with Michelle Neal at 3rd and Gail Hall at 4th. The Janes, with just 1:27 between their first and third scoring runners, had the tightest pack. Annie Seawright, Victoria Cook-Chapus, and Elizabeth Buckley-Wheeler finished 5th, 6th and 7th, laying down a final score of 18 points. The more teams entered, the more runners there are to push up other team scores. A tight pack is very valuable in that circumstance. It is always good to have a tight pack. But with just three teams in the race, the value is limited. Kay Pinkstaff finished a minute behind Buckley Wheeler; her 8th place gave Northwest 15 points. They were the team leader at that point. Nowicki got it done for Shore. A half minute behind Pinkstaff, Nowicki finished 9th, giving Shore 12 points and the win!
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| Shore AC 1st Place W60+ Division L to R: La Burt, Nowicki, Ricker, Stirrat at the 2025/26 USATF Cross Country Championships on Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland OR Photo posted by Shore AC on Facebook |
Shore Athletic Club 12 Club Northwest 15 Janes Elite 18
W70 The Impala Racing Team had the division to themselves. With no challengers, Impala's Arlene McCarthy, Irene Herman, and Nelda Williams finished 1-2-3 for a perfect 6 points and the win. That gave them two in a row on the turf. They won the Masters 5 Km XC W70+ championship a month earlier at Golden Gate Park.
Impala Racing 6
All of these performances counted on the 2025-2026 Masters National Grand Prix. Next up after this was the Masters Half Marathon Championships, held on December 14th in Spicewood TX outside of Austin. The recap of that championship will appear next on these pages.
Sources: USATF Events website, my archives, Athlinks, Strava, and Facebook.
Happy Holidays as we see out 2025 and welcome in 2026! Thanks for the visit! To express your appreciation for the creation and maintenance of this resource, please click on the coffee cup logo in the sidebar. Cheers!
MUDDY SHOE GALLERY
Post-race shoe photos posted on Strava by, in descending order on the pics below, Laura Breymann, Julia Webb, Wendy Terris, Scott Grandfield, and Mark Zamek!
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