Skyunners from around the world battled steep alpine terrain above Lake Cushman today at the 2026 Beast of Big Creek, the 12th stop on the Merrell Skyrunner® World Series. Morgan Elliott and Eve Pannone claimed the overall men’s and women’s titles in a race defined by tight uphill battles and decisive downhill separations.
Beast of Big Creek spans 22 kilometers with more than 1,600 meters of elevation gain, run entirely on the slopes above Lake Cushman near Hoodsport, Washington. The course follows one of the Olympic Mountains’ best-known steep summit routes, climbing through dense forest to timberline before breaking out into open meadows and exposed alpine terrain, with sweeping views over Lake Cushman and Puget Sound from the true summit of Mount Ellinor.
Conditions on race day were better than forecast, though runners faced wind and cloud cover at the summit.
MEN’S RACE
Morgan Elliott of the USA (team Merrell) controlled the race from the front, running strong and confident throughout. José Manuel Quispe of Peru (team Merrell) chipped away at the gap on the climbs, but Elliott proved the stronger descender and could not be caught on the way down, crossing the line in 2:05:27.7 — narrowly missing a sub-2-hour finish by just a few minutes. Quispe held on for second in 2:09:42.8. Italian Daniel Antonioli (team Scarpa) endured a difficult final stretch of the climb to secure third (2:10:45.2), with Jackson Cole of New Zealand (team La Sportiva) close behind in fourth (2:12:11.6 and U23 athlete Benat Albisu of Spain finished in fifth.
WOMEN’S RACE
Eve Pannone of Great Britain (team Brooks) led throughout and pushed hard in the closing stages of the climb to keep her rivals at bay, taking the win in 2:32:50.9. Behind her, Kalie McCrystal of Canada, Claudia Corral of Spain (team Scarpa), and Natalie Beadle of Great Britain (team Arc’teryx) ran packed together for much of the race. Knowing the flatter, faster sections favored her rivals, McCrystal attacked the technical opening section of the descent and reached the aid station in second place — but she was soon overtaken by both Beadle and Corral as they fought for position, and Carmen Graves of the USA (team Merrell) passed her again in the closing kilometers. Beadle ultimately took second (2:35:13.9), Corral third (2:36:15.5), and Graves fourth (2:36:58.7), with McCrystal rounding out the top five (2:37:25.1).
All winners celebrated with champagne at the finish line above Lake Cushman.
U23 TROFEO ESTEBAN OLIVERO
Abby Stone and Beñat Albisu topped the Under-23 rankings. Albisu run of 2:18:02.8 was also good enough for 5th place overall, while Stone crossed in 2:50:06.6 to lead the women’s U23 field.
FULL RESULTS
MEN OVERALL — TOP 10
- Morgan Elliott, USA, team Merrell — 02:05:27
- José Manuel Quispe, PER, team Merrell — 02:09:42
- Daniel Antonioli, ITA, team Scarpa — 02:10:45
- Jackson Cole, NZL, team La Sportiva — 02:12:11
- Beñat Albisu, ESP — 02:18:02
- Joshua Potvin, CAN, team Merrell — 02:18:07
- Cole Campbell, USA, team Adidas Terrex — 02:22:27
- Scott Maguire, CAN — 02:23:54
- Ibai Angulo, ESP, team Basque EMF — 02:27:22
- Jimmy Buchanan, USA — 02:27:43
WOMEN OVERALL — TOP 10
- Eve Pannone, GBR, team Brooks — 02:32:50
- Natalie Beadle, GBR, team Arc’teryx — 02:35:13
- Claudia Corral, ESP, team Scarps — 02:36:15
- Carmen Graves, USA, team Merrell — 02:36:58
- Kalie McCrystal, CAN — 02:37:25
- Careth Arnold, USA — 02:38:14
- Robin Vieira Brower, USA, Oiselle — 02:40:35
- Ainhoa Garikano, ESP, team Basque EMF — 02:45:38.3
- Abby Stone, USA, team The Trail Team — 02:50:06
- Rachel Hebaus, USA — 02:50:19
Current ranking can be found HERE.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Merrell Skyrunner® World Series continues on August 21 with the Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme.
