This article originally appeared on the ATRA website. Written by Nancy Hobbs.
The sun was shining and temperatures were in the upper 40s on Saturday, November 4, for the ten o’clock race start at the Moab Trail Half Marathon in Moab, Utah, host of the 13th USATF Half Marathon Trail Running Championships. It was a record-setting day for both Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau and Bailey Kowalczyk who took the championship titles.
Course
With a mix of single track, dirt road, wide paths, steep ascents and technical footing, this course had a great mix of terrain for a championship event. Elevations ranged from just over 4,000 feet to 4,800 feet at the highest point on the course.
The race started on Pritchett Canyon Trail for the first 5.7 miles, before connecting to Hunter Canyon Rim Trail for 1.8 miles, then proceeding down to Kane Creek Road for 2.2 miles. After a right hand turn, the route continued up the infamous Kane Road switchbacks for about a mile, then back down to the Hymasa singletrack into the depths of Kane Creek drainage. After one mile in the drainage, runners exited at the Amasa Back parking lot for another ½ mile dirt road before the final ½ mile of singletrack with two crossings of Kane Creek before the finish.
Results
Beaudoin-Rousseau set a course record to win the national title with a time of 1:21:37. A member of the inaugural Trail Team Beaudoin-Rousseau, 23, Sunnyvale, CA, battled through mile nine with Andy Wacker, 35, Boulder, before taking the lead and charging ahead to best Wacker by less than one minute. Wacker’s time of 1:22:14 was also under the previous course record set in 2013 by Joseph Gray (1:23:23). Third to finish was Grant Colligan, 27, Golden, CO timed in 1:23:36.
On the women’s side Kowalczyk adopted the strategy to take the race out fast and led from start to finish. The 28-year-old from Nederland, CO, posted a time of 1:36:44 to break Stevie Kremer’s 2013 course record of 1:38:08. Second was Rachael Rudel, 29, Fort Collins timed in 1:41:24. Rounding out the top three was 41-year-old Alicia Vargo, Breckenridge, CO, who also won the masters title with a time of 1:42:35. Previous record-holder Stevie Kremer, 39, Crested Butte, finished fourth in 1:43:25.
More than 100 runners were registered for the championships division including juniors (U20), open, and masters (age 40 and over) athletes. At stake, USATF medals and $6600 in prize money for top finishers. For their wins, Beaudoin-Rousseau and Kowalczyk each earned $800. Wacker and Rudel were awarded $650, Colligan and Vargo received $550 (and Vargo earned another $350 for her masters’ win). Fourth and fifth place were each awarded $350 and Grand Master male and female titlist each won $150.
Complete results can be found here.
History of the USATF Trail Half Marathon Championships
Bend, Oregon hosted the inaugural half marathon championships in 2010 with just under 40 runners competing in the championships division. There was no championship in 2011, and then Moab, Utah hosted the event for two years (2012 and 2013) before the championship designation was awarded to Lake Padden in Bellingham, Washington for three years.
It was Birkie Trail Fest in Hayward, Wisconsin to host the event for five years starting in 2017 through 2022, only missing the honors in 2019 when Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA hosted. That year 75 runners raced in PA, the highest number to race in the championships until the 2023 event this year in Moab.
USATF Half Marathon Reflections
USATF executive committee member and liaison to the race Joe Jurczyk said the following, “Danelle Ballengee and her team of course markers, aid station volunteers and start/finish line workers put together an incredibly exciting and well-organized event, featuring the trail half marathon, which served as the 2023 USATF National Championship. In addition, Ballengee and her team put on marathon, a 10K and a kids’ run on Saturday as well as a second half marathon on Sunday. All of the races started and finished near the idyllic Kane Creek in Moab, Utah. More than 2500 runners enjoyed the weekend’s events.
“Having run the half marathon on Sunday, I can say that the course, which has incredible views, climbs and descents through multiple canyons, was extremely well-marked with orange ribbons always in sight and with clear signage at potentially tricky intersections. The course was very technical and featured a variety of terrains including sand, singletrack, slickrock and road with an occasional need for hand-over-hand climbs and butt-slide descents. The half marathon course had three aid stations that were well stocked and were staffed by energetic volunteers. Running the race was very challenging, but very fun and exciting!”
Collegiate Running Competition
Sixteen runners competed for individual and team trophies in the inaugural Collegiate Team Trail Running Championships at Moab. Cole Campbell, 28, Gunnison and Solomyn Collen, 21, Gunnison won individual titles and Western Colorado University won titles in both the men’s and women’s division.