Wisconsin’s Birkebeiner Trail is best known for hosting the biggest cross-country skiing race in the country, but last Saturday Anna Dalton prevailed there at a national championship trail running race.

Dalton, of Anchorage, finished the USATF Trail Marathon Championship in 3 hours, 24 minutes and 2 seconds after breaking open a tight race with a strong second half.

On an unseasonably warm day, Dalton, 35, only led runner-up Gracia Sich of Saint Paul, Minn., by eight seconds after the first of two laps before coasting to a win by more than 14 minutes.

Dalton finished sixth overall and claimed her second national championship; she also won a USATF Half Marathon title in 2022 on the same trails that are famous for staging the American Birkebeiner ski race each February.

Chad Trammell, 40, of Anchorage, won the masters division and placed fifth overall in 3:22:31 despite struggling with a calf issue.

While the affiliated 5K and half marathon races attracted a healthy 441 combined entrants, the national championship marathon only drew 42 participants.

Also on Saturday, David Norris placed second in the 50-kilometer Ultra Trail by Whistler race in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

Norris, the Mount Marathon Race record holder who grew up in Fairbanks and currently lives in Steamboat Springs, Colo., finished in 4:30:20 in the 29-mile event that included 8,500 feet of vertical gain. That result was 9 ½ minutes behind winner Cade Michael but qualified Norris for the next year’s OCC 55K race in Chamonix, France. Norris placed 23rd at that major race on August 29.

At the Kenai River Marathon, Jason Parks dominated his hometown race Sept. 28 in 2:38:55. That placed Parks, who has run a marathon in 2:24, more than an hour ahead of runner-up John Adachi (3:42:32). Ellie Tadych of Kasilof won the women’s race in 3:51:58 and finished third overall.

In the half marathon, Micah Templin of Anchorage prevailed in 1:24:20 while Kristen Buckwalter of Homer topped the women in 1:36:43.

Going back a week earlier, Meg Inokuma of Palmer placed third for women in the Idaho Mountain Trail Ultra Festival (IMTUF) 100-miler Sept. 21-22 in McCall, Idaho. Despite a leg injury, Inokuma, 44, finished her fourth 100-miler of the season in 26 hours, 26 minutes and 52 seconds.

Inokuma had personal bests in seven of the eight races she participated in during 2024 and set two course records, including at the Resurrection Pass 100-miler in July.

Coming up this Saturday is the Girdwood Trail Marathon and Half Marathon while the Zombie Half Marathon will be Oct. 12 in Anchorage.