We started Trail Runner of The Year (TROY) three years ago because we had a strong desire to recognize the very best in the sport by capturing the truly global nature of the trail running community. This is an award voted on by the international public, by the athletes’ peers (the professional athletes), by the trail running media, and by you the fans of the sport. We have learned a lot in the first three iterations of TROY, and set out to improve upon it again this year. In 2024 we introduced a finessed weighted vote for members of the PTRA (Pro Trail Running Association), members of the trail running media, and those who placed in the upper echelon of Freetrail Fantasy over the entire season. By providing a weighted system of select informed individuals, we hope to increase the overall quality of the results, while still including the voice of the general public, similar to what Major League Baseball does for their all-star game. This worked well in 2024 and we have continue that into the 2025 TROY results. Similar to 2024, in 2025 the three categories listed above accounted for 80% of the voting power, with the general public vote making up the remaining 20%.
In total we had over 2,280 ballots cast by individuals from over 50 countries representing 6 continents for TROY, and an additional 1,363 ballots cast for Trail Performance of The Year (TPOY). There were 102 athletes (51 men and 51 women), representing twenty-five nationalities, on the ballot and each one of them received at least one vote. We want to thank those of you who took the time to cast your ballot again this year as we celebrate what was accomplished by so many athletes over the course of the 2025 season. Thank you – let’s dive in!
In tenth position this year we have Kailas Fuga’s Sunmaya Budha and Merrell’s Frédéric Tranchand.
After bursting onto the global scene in 2022, Nepal’s trail leader on the world stage, Sunmaya Budha, made good on a 2025 that was atleast partially marred by injury. Since her outstanding runner-up finish at the 2022 CCC by UTMB, Sunmaya has gone onto become a podium factor in any trail race over the marathon distance. Despite missing out on racing most of June, and all of July and August due to several foot injuries, she caught breaks where they mattered most winning the overall standings for the World Trail Majors this year. This meant perfectly bookending the season with outstanding wins at both the Anta Hong Kong 100-kilometer in January and the Ultra Trail Cape Town (UTCT) 100-kilometer in November.
Outside of her two wins on the World Trail Major circuit, Sunmaya also notched wins at the Chengdu Trail 60-kilometer, The Mount Yun by UTMB 30-kilometer, and the Annapurna Marathon. After missing CCC at the end of August due to a toe injury, Sunmaya only had a few weeks to regroup for the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) in Canfranc, Spain. Stepping to the line with some uncertainty on how her foot would hold up she was able to stick the landing finishing second behind Katie Schide in the Long Trail race at the WMTRC. Then Sunmaya went onto perform one of the fall’s most impressive triples – backing up her second at Worlds with a decisive win at UTCT and finally locking in her spot at UTMB Finals for 2026 by finishing fourth at the Chiangmai Thailand by UTMB 100-kilometer.
We asked Sunmaya what she was most excited about for 2026, “2026 my plan and dream is that I want to improve in international big races and earn a global ranking in top 10 overall. I also have some more big goals I hope to show later when I race UTMB 100 miles for first time this summer.” One thing is for certain, we can’t wait to see Sunmaya back in Chamonix in 2026!
France’s Frédéric Tranchand should not be an unknown quanity to the broader trail running world, because this guy is FAST. Frédéric grew up as an athletic kid trying out for his first national team in 2004 which turned into winning several bronze and silver medals at both the European Championships and World Championships in the sport of orienteering all the way back in 2010. During the pandemic he started to “dabble” more in trail running and fell in love with short course racing performing at a high level on the Golden Trail World Series and the Skyrunning World Season. While he isn’t currently pursuing orienteering he has been ranked in the top five in the world in Skyrunning for atleast the past three seasons, finishing the 2025 season ranked fourth in the world.
Frédéric’s season was made up of seven races on the World Skyrunning series, two French national championship races, and the Short Trail race at the WMTRC – a very big season of full tilt racing! Of those ten races Frédéric came out on top four times – winning both the Vertical race and the Short Trail race at the French National Championships (hosted by High Trail Vanoise in July), the Short Trail Race at the WMTRC and the Sobresobio Rede Trail Skyrace. In addition to those wins he placed 2nd at the Mexcio Sky Challenge, 4th at the Andes Mountain Skyrace, 5th at the Skyrace des Matheysins, 2nd at the Lozère Trail Skyrace, 4th at Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme, and 3rd at the season closing Marató dels Dements SkyMasters. Full tilt and never outside the top five is an absolutely stellar for this World Champion.
When we asked Frédéric what he is looking foward to most in 2026 he said, “I’m really looking forward to spending even more time in the mountains and being able to share my passion and experience with other people, as well as prepare new goals that motivate me to live big emotions…” We can’t wait to see where those new big goals may lead!
Sunmaya and Frédéric turned up when it mattered most in 2025, running against the best of the best in Canfranc. This year, more than ever, the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships was an event we couldn’t pull ourselves away from! Both of these athletes give us something to root for on and off the trail and we can’t wait to cheer them on where ever they pin on a bib in 2026. This year was jam packed of stellar performances, come back here tomorrow to find out who broke through in ninth position!