Both of the runners that found their way to third in this year’s TROY top ten are first time recepients of a top ten finish in our year-end trail recognition. It’s not to say they are rookies, or even underdogs, both of these athletes have been steadily climbing the ranks for the past five seasons – 2025 was just the year they both took home prestigous wins against some of the very best in the world. Take it from us, they’re not even close to reaching their ceiling yet! If you’ve missed any of the countdown thus far, you can find them here: fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth.
In third position this year we have Asics’ Sara Alonso and ACG’s Caleb Olson.
It’s safe to say Sara Alonso is the leader of the contingent of young, fast, Spanish talent that we’ve seen come onto the sub-ultra trail seen over the last five years. She first burst onto the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) in 2021, at just 21 years old she immediately showed up as a fighter, gutting out finishes with a ton of tenacity. Since then, Sara has tackled season after season, each with their own obstacles. 2022 was smooth outside of a few tumbles, but she won the Marathon du Mont Blanc and moved up into third in the GTWS standings. In 2023 she missed much of the season due to bad bone stress injury, but was able to return to running in the fall and still managed to snag a fifth place finish at the Pikes Peak Ascent (GTWS). In 2024 she missed the middle of the season due to pneumonia that hospitlized her for several days, but again she came back in the fall and ended her season on a high finishing fourth at OCC by UTMB and broke back in to the top ten of the GTWS. With all that in on the back burner, it’s easier to see how Sara might be the only athlete in the world who could turn missing a chunk of the 2025 season after getting attacked by an angry bull into a breakout year.
Despite missing out on June and July racing this year, Sara made it to eight startlines, brought home four victories, finished second in the GTWS rankings, and never finished worse than fourth. She kicked off her season by winning both the Arc of Attrition by UTMB (25 mile) and the opening GTWS race in Japan, Kobe Trail. Continuing on the GTWS circuit she then finished fourth at the Jinshanling Great Wall Trail Race and finally secured the most important win for any Spanish runner, Zegama-Aizkorri. After she mended her broken ribs Sara closed out her season by finishing a repeat fourth place at the HOKA UTMB Mont-Blanc OCC (55-kilometer), finishing second in the Short Trail race at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, finished third at the GTWS Grand Finale (Ledro Sky Trentino), and won the La Asics SaintéLyon Sprint. Here’s to hoping Sara’s 2026 is obstacle free, cow attacks and all!
2025 was the year Caleb Olson became a household name in trailrunning America, quiet literally writing his way into the history books with his incredible run at the Western States Endurance Run at the end of June. While Caleb wasn’t an underdog by any means, having finished fifth the year before in at the time the fastest ever WSER debut, he didnt seem to be on many of the talking heads podium picks. But to those watching the silent and steady work of the Salt Lake City based athlete, winning Western States felt like it was only a matter of time. Not a veteran of the 100-mile distance, but certainly a student of the sport, Caleb has been putting in the solid, steady work within the trail and ultrarunning space since 2018. Each year that has gone by Caleb has taken a small step forward, with probably the biggest marked jumps over the last three years, a glimmer, a decided bump up the finisher list at bigger and bigger races. Then in 2025 it felt like the student became the teacher, racing kicked off in February, class was in session.
Some of the athletes we’ve highlighted thus far in the TROY top ten have raced an incredible volume of races over the course of the season, but for our 100-mile specialists it often takes percision focus on just a handful of races to make an impact. While maybe the numbers on paper look less impressive, if simply looking at the body of work, to get it right with only a handful of matches to burn each year is almost more impressive. Only a few chances to have a best day ever. Caleb raced five times over the course of the 2025 season, three primary races, two training races, and wins across the board including taking home the title of the World Trail Majors series winner. A season exceptionally well executed Caleb won the Classic race at Transgrancanaria, the Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races 50-kilometer, the Western States 100-mile, Antelope Island 50-kilometer, and Grampians Peaks Trail 100-miler. In 2026, Caleb will turn his focus to UTMB (170-kilometer) where he hopes to join the short list of men who have wins at two of the biggest 100-mile races in the world.
Sara and Caleb your 2025 seasons were truly phenomenal. We got to watch two rising stars ascend to the top of podiums we know meant the world to you both. 2026 will bring it’s own unique challenges, and we can’t wait to watch you rise to the occasion!
Thanks to All Conditions Gear for their support of the 2025 Trail Runner of the Year awards!