Allie Ostrander, a 2015 graduate of Kenai Central now a pro runner living in Boulder, Colorado, took fifth place in the U.S. Mountain Running Championships on Sunday in Sunapee, New Hampshire.
With the Sunapee Scramble doubling as the championships, Ostrander ran the 9.3-mile, two-lap course up and down Mount Sunapee in 1 hour, 26 minutes and 58 seconds. The two-lap course has 3,300 feet of vertical gain and loss.
Ostrander’s goal was a top-three slot and a spot in the World Mountain Running Championships Classic Up and Down race, but those slots were occupied by Wyoming’s Anna Gibson (1:22:30), New Hampshire’s Lauren Gregory (1:22:53) and Colorado’s Allie McLaughlin (1:23:05).
McLaughlin won the Mount Marathon Race in Seward in 2022, setting the course record at 47:09.
Ostrander has a women’s victory at Mount Marathon of her own in 49:19 in 2017. She also won the girls junior race six times, setting the course record at 28:54 in 2014.
In 2015, Ostrander won the women’s junior title at the World Mountain Running Championship in North Wales.
The men’s winner in Sunapee also has had Mount Marathon success. David Norris, who now lives in Colorado but is from Fairbanks, won at 1:09:55.
Norris is undefeated at Mount Marathon in five tries and owns the course record at 40:37.
Worlds will be in Spain in September. Mount Marathon is July 4.
