Club Bragging Rights on the Line-Teams Head to Tacoma for 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships

December 10, 2025

Clubs are coming by the dozens, from near and far! Nearly 800 athletes signed up for the three Masters Races to be held at Chambers Creek Regional Park this coming Saturday, December 14^th; it is the largest gathering of Masters LDR athletes in the last two years. Club Northwest has organized a terrific championship that will be remembered for years to come.

The Masters Races are at 9:30 AM [6 Km Women]; 10:15 AM [8 Km Men 60+]; and 11:15 AM [10 Km Men 40-59]. For those who like their Cross Country races gnarly, conditions should be perfect! One inch of rain, in total, is forecast to fall on Thursday and Friday. That, along with temperatures in the mid-40’s on Saturday, and a good chance of light rain falling, combine for a rainy, cold and perhaps sloppy run! Add in winds at 9-10 mph, gusting to 27. Folks will be talking about this one for a long time as an epic Club Cross contest!

As always, the fields are stellar. The Women’s Overall race features Carrie Dimoff, who dueled Renee Metivier last year before pulling away for the victory. The Doha World Championships marathoner will be challenged by the 2022 Club Cross champion and Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, Meriah Earle San Diego Track Club. Kelly Calway ran in the Open Championship last year. Her time suggests she would have finished near the top in the Masters race. In 2022 at Golden Gate Park, when the weather was rainy and footing soft, Calway finished just six seconds behind Dimoff in the Open race. Megan Heuer finished third behind Earle in the 2022 Championships. Julia Webb finished 4^th in Tallahassee last year and was just a half minute behind Dimoff and Calway in 2022. Others to keep an eye on include Jennifer Lutz, the New England Cross Country champion this year, and Maggie Shearer, coming back from injury after finishing second overall at both the 2021 and 2022 editions of Club Cross. Dimoff leads the Bowerman squad, looking to dethrone Team Red Lizard who took top 40+ honors last year and finished 2^nd in 2022. Earle hopes to lead the San Diego Track Club to victory as she did in 2022.

In the Men’s 40+ race, we have a matchup between Malcolm Richards, who enjoyed a dominant win last year in Tallahassee and Joseph Gray, 2013 and 2016 World Mountain Running Champion, the victor this year at the Masters 10K and the Masters 5 Km Cross championships. Although more at home in the mountains, Gray is no stranger to cross country, having won the Open Club Cross Championship in 2013 in Bend OR. With a recent 1:06:10 half marathon and a 15:07 5K, Richards seems ready to roll. Jesse Davis will also be in the mix. Davis won in Tallahassee in 2021 and finished second to Richards last year. In good form, Davis just won the Masters Half Marathon championships in Indianapolis. Neil McDonagh won the Masters 1 Mile road championship this year and finished second to Gray in the Masters 5 Km Cross Championships in Boulder. Other contenders include David Cisewski, who finished third at Clubs last year, David Clark, Brian Flynn, and Nicholas Kipruto. Davis led Indiana Elite to the Men’s 40+ victory in 2021 and 2022; Richards turned the tables last year as West Valley enjoyed a strong win. Team Run Flagstaff pushed those two teams in 2022; last year it was the Tracksmith Boston Hares. Both return strong teams this year. Team titles will also be settled in the 50+, 60+ and 70+ divisions

Nat Larson, the reigning Male Masters Road Runner of the Year, and holder of every 60-64 American record from the 1 Mile to the Half Marathon, has won the Men’s 60+ race the last two years. Slowed by injury this year, Larson seems likely to drop down to the 40-59 race to help his team and run a more controlled race. If so, the top contenders should be Steve Schmidt, John Van Danacker, and Kevin Ostenberg. They finished 5^th, 3rd and 4^th last year. Most observers felt Schmidt would have been 3^rd but for a misdirection on the course. Schmidt finished 2^nd to Larson in 2022. The athlete who finished 2^nd last year, Mark Zamek, is entered, but has been rehabbing a tendon and is not expected to be in top form. Others to watch include Pete Magill who wrote the book on fast 5K’s and took top honors Overall at 2010 Club Cross in Charlotte NC. Most likely Magill is running mainly to help the team but one never knows what Magill might uncork. Others who could make noise include Thomas Tayeri who had the top 60-64 Men’s time at Chicago this year, 2:48:29. He could be ready for a breakout performance on the turf. Paul Smith, who took the top Masters spot at the Stumptown Cross Championships in Oregon in October, could also threaten for the podium. Dan King and Jacob Nur, out of the 65-69 division, could also factor into the podium skirmish. King just set the 65-69 American record for the Mile and 1500 Meters. Nur holds several 65-69 American road records and finished third overall in the M60 8Km race at Club Cross in 2022. Van Danacker looks to lead TC Running, out of the Twin Cities, onto the team 60+ podium again. They took first place in 2022 and third last year. Shore AC looks to repeat their 2023 win but will have to beat top West Coast teams like Northwest and SRA Elite of Sacramento.