2026 Report

The fifth running of the 60k edition of the Martha Moats Baker Memorial event was held on Saturday August 8, 2026, on the trails in the North River Ranger District of the George Washington National Forest, west of Harrisonburg and along the Virginia/West Virginia border. 40 runners ultimately checked in by the start, with 39 actually attempting the run. The 40th was long-time ultra veteran Andy Peterson, who had been battling an illness all week and decided at the final minute that it was a better call to turn in his theoretical runner’s bib for an opportunity to do some volunteering on this day. So we will go with a figure of 39.5 starters (video of the starting field at the base of Little Bald).

This year’s run was held on what turned out to be a particularly challenging summer’s day. While the temperatures on the course ranged from the low 60’s to near 80, the humidity, mostly sunny conditions and the 2026 crop of bugs proved to be quite daunting for most of the runners. This led to an unusual finishing percentage. While all but one runner completed either the 60k or the alternative 50k distance on this day, just over 20% actually made the choice at the final aid station to tackle the full distance rather than complete the Party Route. Either way, it was a full day’s work and a job well done for all!

Of particular note was the setting of a new 60k event record by Barret Stanton! Sporting a mid-riff exposing cut-off version of a VHTRC club shirt that no doubt will become the next hot swag item for any Happy Trails runner, Barret led from start to finish. Volunteer and occasional training partner Brennan Henning noted on the runner accountability sheet at the first aid station that Brennan was “pretending to be out of shape.” If so, he appeared to fix that over the course of his 6 hours and 29 minutes to the finish. This took a stout 27 minutes off the previous record of 6:56, set by Mike Jones in 2024. And this took over an 1:45 off of Barret’s previous finish in 2022.

Running in second place for most of the day was Anthony Wolosik. One could make a lot of money by betting on Anthony to finish in second place at MMB: of the five years that the 60k has been held, he has now finish second three times. But what he hadn’t done on his previous two visits to this course was beat the course record. In 2026 he did, finishing in 6:54 to nip that previous best from 2024 by two minutes. Or at least he would have beaten the course record, if it had not been reset about 25 minutes earlier by Barret.

Third place went to Ryan Bahr, who completed not just his first MMB and his first 60k, but his first-ever finish in an ultra race. Congratulations to not just our three podium finishers but to all of the participants on this day!

The challenge of this day is reflected not just in the finishing rate for the 60k versus the 50k, but in particular through a review of the splits. Runners who had enjoyed the early morning on the long climb up the Wild Oak Trail to the top of Little Bald, and then down Bald Mt. Road past not only a number of colorful meadows but THE Martha Moats Baker Memorial stone itself, arrived at the top of Reddish Knob in fairly good order and expected times.

But after that 13.4 mile journey to one of the highest points in Virginia, the 8+ mile descent to Wolf Ridge turned out to be a passage through a convection oven. Most of the runners got a bit of a respite from the suffocating humidity by way of a lunchtime storm that cooled things off for a while. But the sun, the humidity and those pesky little gnats and flies returned, and seemed to help many a runner decide to skip Grooms after the third aid station and settle for that Party Route 50k finish, instead.

Your event directors on this day were sad that circumstances prevented more of the field from seeing the tamed trails up and over Grooms Ridge back to Little Bald. They spent the MMB Friday attacking the infamous tangle of mountain laurel that made the upper half of the Grooms Experience daunting for so many over the years. Grooms had very much been groomed of that tangle, not to mention a number of blowdowns, sawbriers and other encroaching vegetation. Third place finisher Ryan Bahr expressed interest in taking on future overseer duties on that trail, so perhaps those who missed out this year will be back for a future MMB and get the full 60k experience.

As for those who took that Party Route in 2026, last year’s 60k winner, Dan Fogg, was the pace setter with a time of 5:49. This was not only Dan’s second 50k win in the “modern” MMB era (since the 60k debuted in 2022), but it also was the first finish under 6 hours. The previous best was, interestingly enough, a 6:07 set in 2024 by one Dan Fogg. Dan likely would have finished under 5:45 if the RD’s had not taken up so much of his time at the final aid station beseeching him to opt for the 60k so that he could see their handiwork on Grooms.

Joshua Binder took second in the 50k and Jicheng Liu, given his choice of attempting Grooms and finishing third in the 60k, decided instead that he did not need that extra work in the August heat and opted for taking third in the 50k. The first woman was Jamie Austin, continuing her stellar year of trail racing with her fifth place overall in a time of 6:59. Jamie won the 2025 50k, as well, and her time was the second fastest for a woman on this course, bettered only by Erika Fry’s 6:38 in 2022.

There were four women starters in the field of 39.5 this year, and no 60k finishers. 2024 provides quite a contrast, when four of the top six finishers overall (and eight of the 20 total 60k finishers) were women.

2026 was the end of a fun ride for Quatro Hubbard as the director of this event, which founder Dennis Herr had passed along to him too many years ago now to accurately recall. New co-RD Brett Martin shadowed this year, and next year he and his bride Sheila will grab the full reins. There is no doubt that they will be great stewards for this challenging Virginia Happy Trails Running Club event!

Make your plans to come on out on the second Saturday in August, 2027, to play with them and on these fantastic mountain courses. Entry opens a month earlier, so July 14, 2027. Happy Trails!

See below for results, splits and the list of volunteers. If you have additional photographs or reports on the 2026 MMB, please send those to Q to link to this page.

Behind the Scenes at MMB report shared by volunteer Tracy Cooley.

Flickr Album compiled by 50k finisher Costi Sifri.

Collected photos and videos by several participants.

Collection of short videos and stills compiled by 60k finisher Caleb Correa.

Photos

Results

Splits

Aid Station #1: Reddish Knob, 13.4 miles
Aid Station #2: Wolf Ridge, 22.7 miles
Aid Station #3: Grooms Ridge, 30.2 miles
Arrival times were noted, with a start time of 7:01 AM

Volunteers