Gray, Eberly, Grauch Win Titles at USATF Vertical Mountain Running Championships in New Hampshire

Colorado Results Scoreboard

The 2023 USATF Vertical Mountain Running Championships were held on Saturday (29-April) at Mt. Sunapee Ski Resort in North Conway, NH. The event served as the Team USA selection race for the upcoming World Mountain & Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck-Stubai, Austria June 7-18. The top four finishers earned Team USA spots.

The 4 mile course started at the base of the ski resort on service roads for the first 1.5 miles before crossing a creek and entering single track and more difficult terrain. The final 200m was again on service road to the finish line at the top of the mountain. Participants amassed 1900 feet of elevation gain from start to finish.

Fifteen (15) athletes from Colorado were among the 227 competitors in the USATF championship races.

In the men's race, two-time USATF Colorado Athlete of the Year, Joseph Gray (pictured above), 39, of Colorado Springs ran to victory in a time of 32:23. The win was his 23rd USATF title and it earned him a spot on Team USA for the world championships in June. Morgan Elliott, 31, of Salina finished just 30 seconds behind Gray to finish fifth. While he just missed qualifying for the world team he did find redemption the following day as he finished second in the Mountain Running (up/down) race to make the team for the world championships. Also earning top-ten finishes were Joseph Demoor, 32, of Carbondale, Noah Williams, 27, of Leadville, and Cole Campbell, 23, of Gunnison as they finished seventh, eighth, and tenth, respectively.
 
In the women's race, Alison Rudy, 23, of Leadville finished fifth in a time of 43:08; while her older sister Gwen Rudy, 29, finished just nine seconds behind in sixth place. Sarah Hutchings of Boulder finished ninth in a time of 43:35.
 
In the masters competition Josh Eberly, 42, of Gunnison won the men's 40-44 title and Chris Grauch, 50, captured the men's 50-54 division. Liz Lierman, 44, of Denver finished third in the women's 40-44 division.

IN THEIR WORDS - JOSH EBERLY

It was great to see and catch up with so many great people I have met along this journey! I was thrilled to race the Vertical Championships! There is something special about competition. I love the pain and challenge that comes with it.

Click here to view the complete Colorado results scoreboard.