U23 Rising Stars
Women
- 1Claudia Corral58.62%
- 2Martina Pozzi24.14%
- 3Gabriela Lasalle10.34%
Men
- 1Tom Spencer68.97%
- 2Iu Net13.79%
- 3Marcos Villamuera10.34%
2026 · Third edition
Crystal Peak Awards
Honouring the world's best trail runners across every distance, from vertical kilometres and skyraces to 100-mile ultras. Voted by the people who know the sport best.
Presented by TrailRunAdvisor & UpHill Notes
Looking back · 2025
The second edition, voted from six continents
The 2025 awards were organised by TrailRunAdvisor with TrailLevel. Winners were chosen by an international panel of trail running media, national federations and industry experts. Results were announced in December 2025.
31Voters
14Countries
6Continents
- Specialist trail running media: TV broadcasters, magazines, online platforms and podcasts
- National trail running and skyrunning federations
- Industry professionals
Europe · Africa · Asia · Oceania · North America · South America
Official results · 2025
The 2025 winners
Percentages show each athlete's share of the votes cast in that category. “=” marks a tie.
Short Distance / Skyrunning
Women
- 1Sara Alonso37.93%
- 2Madalina Florea34.48%
- 3Naiara Irigoyen10.34%
Men
- 1Elhousine Elazzaoui60.71%
- 2Andreu Blanes17.86%
- 3Philemon Kiriago10.71%
Medium Distance
Women
- 1Tove Alexandersson46.43%
- 2Judith Wyder28.57%
- 3=Miao Yao10.71%
- 3=Maude Mathys10.71%
Men
- 1Frédéric Tranchand31.03%
- 2=Manuel Merillas20.69%
- 2=Luca Del Pero20.69%
- 3Christian Minoggio17.24%
Long Distance / Ultra
Women
- 1Katie Schide54.84%
- 2Ruth Croft29.03%
- 3Anna Tarasova9.68%
Men
- 1Jim Walmsley36.67%
- 2Ludovic Pommeret30.00%
- 3Tom Evans16.67%
Special Achievement of the Year
- 1Kilian Jornet for State of Elevation65.52%
- 2Fatima Painda for UTMB13.79%
- 3=Mathieu Blanchard for Yukon Arctic Ultra6.90%
- 3=Stephanie Case for Ultra Trail Snowdonia6.90%
Results are free to reproduce with credit to TrailRunAdvisor and TrailLevel.
Looking ahead · 2026
A wider panel, and the athletes join the vote
For its third edition, TrailRunAdvisor is partnering with UpHill Notes. The categories stay the same. The voting panel grows to include race directors of major events around the world and, for the first time, the athletes themselves.
Returning
Media, federations & industry
Specialist trail running media, national trail running and skyrunning federations, and industry professionals. The core of the 2025 panel.
New in 2026
Race directors
Directors of major races across the world, from Brazil to China and from the Philippines to Turkey. They see the performances first-hand, start line to finish.
New in 2026
The athletes
The voting questionnaire will also go to the athletes, so they can vote for each other. Recognition from fellow competitors is a different kind of honour.
The categories
- Best Young Athlete · U23 Women & Men
- Best Athlete · Short Distance / Skyrunning Women & Men
- Best Athlete · Medium Distance Women & Men
- Best Athlete · Long Distance / Ultra Women & Men
- Special Achievement of the Year Open
How voting works
- Invitations go outPanel members receive the voting questionnaire.Date to be announced
- Voting windowEach voter makes their choice in every category, based on the athletes' 2026 season.Date to be announced
- CountingVotes are counted and each athlete's share of the vote is calculated per category.
- Results announcedWinners are revealed with the full podium and vote shares, as in 2025.Planned for December 2026
Independent
The results are decided by the panel's votes alone.
International
Voters from every continent where trail running is raced, across media, races, federations and athletes.
Confidential
Panel members' identities and individual ballots stay private. Only the aggregated results are published.
Invited to vote? Want to take part?
Get in touch
If you are a race director, athlete, journalist or federation and would like to join the 2026 panel, or have a suggestion to improve the awards, contact us.
TrailRunAdvisortrailrunadvisor.com
UpHill Notesuphillnotes.com