Kimber Mattox and David Sinclair Win A Hot & Humid Ragged 50K

Written by USATF championship liaison Paul Kirsch and Richard Bolt. Photos by Michael Scott.

Yesterday, Sunday, August 8th the Ragged 50K hosted the USA Track & Field (USATF) 50 km Trail Championships; a point to point race across technical trails, fast dirt roads as well short sections of paved road. Race day weather was forecast to be as challenging as the course with high humidity and temperatures in the 80s.

Located 100 miles North of Boston, the starting town of Lake Sunapee is encircled by rough, technical trails crossing Mount Sunapee (2743′), Mount Keasarge (2936′) and Ragged Mountain (2296′). Upon this rugged backdrop, the 33 mile point-to-point championship course has 6300′ of vertical gain & loss en-route to the finish at Ragged Mountain Resort.

A strong elite field was lead by 2018 USATF 50 km Trail Champions Kasie Enman and David Sinclair. Challenging the returning champions were 2018 USATF 50 km Road Champion Eric Lipuma, US Mountain Running Team veteran Kimber Mattox, US Skyrunning Team member Ben Robinson and U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier Peyton Thomas to name just a few.

Men’s lead pack at mile 5. Photo: Michael Scott.

The Race

The men started out in a pack of through the faster dirt road and trail sections of the race. This pack included David Sinclair, Ben Robinson, Pier Pennoyer, Eric LiPuma, Nick Aguila and Morgan Elliott. This pack began to separate as the course became more technical near the half-way point.

At mile 19, David Sinclair and Morgan Elliott were well ahead of the others, coming through the aid station in about 2 hours 14 minutes. They were followed by Pennoyer and Robinson about 3 minutes back and then Nick Aguila another 4 minutes back. By this point the rest of the pack had stretched out considerably.

Near mile 22 Morgan pushed the pace but then encountered some stomach/overheating and ended up having to sit for about 10 minutes to recover. At Mile 26, Sinclair was the clear leader at 3 hours 18 minutes having extended his lead on Ben Robinson to 10 minutes and by about 20 minutes over Pennoyer and Aguila. Moving up through the pack was Philip Royer who overtook Aguila sometime after the mile 26 aid station.

David Sinclar moves into the lead at mile 11. Photo: Michael Scott.

At the finish line David Sinclair would repeat his 2018 solo win to become the 2021 USATF 50 km Trail Champion. Robinson finished second, Pennoyer (non-USATF) third and Royer taking fourth overall and 3rd position in the USATF Championship.

Kasie Enman leading over Kimber Mattox at mile 5. Photo: Michael Scott.

The women had a similar thinning of an early pack as the race progressed. At Mile 6, there was a lead pack of Kasie Enman, Kimber Mattox, Peyton Thomas, Colleen Chase and Abby Levene. At mile 19 Enman had a strong lead, with Mattox following 4 minutes behind her.

Somewhere on the trail after Mile 20, Enman missed a turn and went considerably off course. By the time she got back on course, she was back around fourth place and knew she was way too far off the lead. Mattox came through around Mile 21 in the lead and never relinquished it becoming the 2021 USATF 50 km Trail Champion. She was followed by Britta Clark (Goshen, VT) who took the silver in the USATF championship and Abby Levene who took the bronze medal. Enman came home in fourth place and was first female masters finisher.

2021 USATF 50 km Trail Champion Kimber Mattox. Photo: Michael Scott.

While the day started off with clouds and relatively mild temps, the sun, heat and humidity definitely became a factor, especially later in the course where there are more exposed sections. This was the fifth year the Ragged 50K and 75 Mile Stage Race has been organized by Tom Hooper and SIX03 Endurance.

Ragged 50K Results

Top 10 USATF Men:

David Sinclair
Ben Robinson
Philip Royer
Nick Aguila
Canyon Woodward
Jason Harcum
Eric LiPuma
Morgan Elliott
Peter Bonito
Paulo Amaral (also top 40+ masters)

Kimber Mattox leads Kasie Enman at mile 11. Photo: Michael Scott.

Top 10 USATF Women:

Kimber Mattox
Britta Clark
Abby Levene
Kasie Enman (also top 40+ masters)
Tory Grieves
Haley Heinrich
Colleen Chase
Rebecca Barney
Joanna Fortier
Kayla Campesino

2nd place finisher Ben Robinson. Photo: Michael Scott.

Official USATF results with associations and masters age group award winners are listed below. Ragged 50K race photos are now available for viewing and purchase from Joe Viger Photography.

USATF Men’s Results:

USATF Women’s Results:

For more information about USA Track & Field Mountain, Ultra and Trail running national championships, world championship opportunities and records, check out the USATF MUT pages on this website.