A Brief History
The Catskills Mountain Marathon was first run in July 1998 as an informal race among a handful of local runners. Thirty-two people started that first year and twenty-eight finished. It has been held every year since except two — a washout in 2013 and the pandemic in 2020. The race has never been advertised and has grown mainly by word of mouth.
The Beginning
The original race was the idea of Tom Werner, a retired schoolteacher from Shandaken who wanted a mountain marathon in the eastern Catskills. He plotted the original course on a USGS topo map. The entry fee was $10 and included a bowl of chili at the finish.
Tom directed the race until 2014, when he handed the reins to Gary Martin. Tom passed away in 2019 at the age of 81. The mile 16 aid station is named in his honor.
Course Changes
- 1998–2003. Original course. Out-and-back on Woodland Valley Road with an added loop on the Phoenicia rail trail to reach 26.2.
- 2004. Slide Mountain fire road reopened after storm damage; course rerouted to include the climb. This is the course most runners today would recognize.
- 2017. Bridge washout on Woodland Valley Road forced a detour for miles 22–24. Detour remained in place for the 2017 race only.
- 2018. Current course established. Minor adjustments in 2021 (added 0.1 mi to correct a measurement error) and 2026 (temporary detour for bridge repair, miles 22–23).
Past Overall Winners
| Year | Men’s Winner | Time | Women’s Winner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dan Pritchard | 2:54:08 | Sarah Okonkwo | 3:12:22 |
| 2024 | Miguel Reyes | 2:58:41 | Sarah Okonkwo | 3:11:04 |
| 2023 | Dan Pritchard | 2:55:30 | Lisa Bergman | 3:18:55 |
| 2022 | Miguel Reyes | 2:57:12 | Sarah Okonkwo | 3:09:47 * |
| 2021 | Bill Hartnett | 3:04:02 | Rachel Dunn | 3:22:11 |
| 2020 | Race not held — pandemic | |||
| 2019 | Dan Pritchard | 2:51:14 * | Rachel Dunn | 3:19:02 |
| 2018 | Kevin O’Brien | 2:58:55 | Rachel Dunn | 3:24:40 |
| 2017 | Kevin O’Brien | 3:01:22 | Emma Liu | 3:31:18 |
| 2016 | Kevin O’Brien | 2:59:08 | Emma Liu | 3:28:44 |
* denotes course record
Complete results going back to 1998 are available on the Past Results page.
Notes From Past Years
- 2013. The only weather cancellation in race history. Overnight thunderstorms flooded the Esopus and the low road was under water by 6 AM. The start was held for an hour, then the race was cancelled.
- 2020. No official race was held due to the pandemic. About ninety runners ran the course on their own over race weekend and emailed in their times. Every name was printed in the 2021 program.
- Longest-standing age-group record. Walt Halloran’s 3:41 in the 60–69 group, set in 2009, has stood for seventeen years. He still marshals the mile 8 turn most summers.
- Marie Dengler. Marie staffed the mile 10 water stop every year from 2001 until her passing in 2022. Among the volunteers, the mile 10 station is still known as Marie’s.