Winners of the “shorter” 26.2- and 50-mile races during the 2026 Mohican Trail Run were veterans of the signature Mohican Trail 100 event.
Jacob Kuntz, 35, of Worthington, Ohio, was the first male finisher in the 2026 Mohican Trail Marathon with a clock time of 3:42:23.87.
“I suck at 100 milers, so I’ve started to go to a little bit shorter,” Kuntz said. “The marathon is my sweet spot.”
He has finished the Mohican Trail 50 and attempted the Mohican Trail 100. This year, the 26.2-mile race was perfect for him.
“I’m just getting back into running,” Kuntz said. “My wife just had a baby five months ago, so I had no idea what kind of shape I was in.”
Ashlie Ithurburn, 37, of Birmingham, Alabama, was the first female finisher in the 2026 Mohican Trail Marathon with a clock time of 4:51:03.69.
“I’ve done the 100 twice,” Ithurburn said. “I did it last year.”
When this spring came around, she realized the Mohican races conflicted with life’s schedule.
“I had just enough time to do the marathon,” Ithurburn said. “So figured: ‘Why not make it?'”
The race may have been shorter than an ultramarathon, but her training was short, too.
“You can get by on a lot of pain when you’ve done a lot worse,” Ithurburn said. “So it’s like, ‘I can do this.’ This could hurt for a little while, but I will go home and have lunch and take a nap and sleep in my own bed.”
For 26.2-mile men: second place was Brennon Panovich, 24, of Akron, Ohio, in 3:48:34.16; third place was Brian Polen, 46, of Wooster, Ohio, in 4:08:18.43; fourth place was Kevin Beachy, 41, of Glenmont, Ohio, in 4:14:23.51; and fifth place was Corey Culbertson, 39, of Jackson, Ohio, in 4:19:04.40.
For 26.2-mile women: second place was Lindsey Beachy, 40, of Glenmont, Ohio, in 4:58:42.79; third place was Kristen Sutcliffe, 43, of Oberlin, Ohio, in 5:05:08.44; fourth place was Nikki Houghton, 35, of Marengo, Ohio, in 5:22:31.03; and fifth place was Kristen Johnson, 29, of Columbus, Ohio, in 5:32:06.65.
Winners of the 2026 Mohican Trail 50
Mark Butler, 33, of Madison, Ohio, was the first male finisher in the 2026 Mohican Trail 50 with a clock time of 6:58:40.34.
“I had a good feeling I would at least finish in the top five,” Butler said.
He raced hard from the start, skipping aid stations when possible. He knew the race would be close.
“I was like, ‘If I come out of the woods there and see him, I have to sprint,” Butler said. “I was like, ‘It’s going to be neck-and-neck.'”
He has finished 100-mile races at Burning River and Leadville and had raced the Mohican Trail 50 twice before.
“I love this race. I love this community. I love what they’re doing here,” Butler said. “It’s special to win this just because it’s like, the home race.”
Kristen Soinski, 29, of Lakewood, Ohio, was the first female finisher in the 2026 Mohican Trail 50 with a clock time of 9:05:45.78.
The longest run of her life came at Ohio’s Backyard Ultra where she reached 154 miles.
“I’ve never done a structured 100-mile race,” Soinski said.
But running a whole lot of miles is normal for her, even if they aren’t on a racecourse.
“Last weekend I ran from Cincinnati to Columbus,” Soinski said. “We did the full distance of 128 miles.”
Her jog from the Queen City to the capital of the Buckeye State almost kept her from competing in this year’s Mohican Trail 50.
“Honestly, I was unsure of what to expect today… halfway through the first loop I was thinking: ‘This is going to be a good race,'” Soinski said. “The conditions of the trail were perfect. It was incredible, truly incredible.”
For 50-mile men: second place was Patrick Sullivan, 44, of Redstone, Colorado, in 7:02:03.94; third place was Allen Bishop, 35, of Canton, Ohio, in 7:54:55.49; fourth place was Brandon Freeman, 31, of Massillon, Ohio, in 7:55:55.48; and fifth place was Ryan Stenquist, 32, of Grove City, Ohio, in 8:29:41.55.
For 50-mile women: second place was Kimberly Tanner, 39, of Strongsville, Ohio, in 10:27:07.44; third place was Roxanne Carr, 49, of Dayton, Ohio, in 10:29:41.70; fourth place was Tara Wright, 30, of Akron, Ohio, in 10:57:53.72; and fifth place was Carolyn Hinkle, 42, of Kent, Ohio, in 11:08:01.29.
MORE: Veterans of Mohican Trail 100 greet record field
Shorter trail races help 100-mile runners
Ryan O’Dell, who has directed the race since 2005, said the 2026 Mohican Trail Run had a record number of entrants because many runners developed a love for the sport through shorter trail runs, like the Mohican Trail Marathon and the Mohican Trail 50.
“That is kind of our key. That was something I did,” O’Dell said. “We added the 50 mile and then the marathon because I recognize that that’s a lot for somebody to just go out and try to do 100. So my hope was, and I think it’s been effective, is that somebody would come out, maybe try the marathon and then maybe move up to the 50 and then maybe try the big dog.”
During the 2026 Mohican Trail Run, 200 people finished 100 miles, 188 finished 50 miles and 195 finished 26.2 miles.
Subscribe to Wilderness Weekly on YouTube at youtube.com/@WildernessTube.
Email Us: editor@wildernessweekly.com
