Craftsbury Marathon Ski Festival - Results
Brian Bushey alone in Murphy’s Field. - Photo Phil Belena
Freestyle day race reports
Brian Bushey and Michaela Keller-Miller skied to dominant wins today in the 23k freestyle race at Craftsbury. Both are members of Craftsbury's Green Racing Project ski team.
Bushey and the men started first today. Had there been a seed list, Bushey would've headed it. He lived up to his FIS points, taking his win by 52s over Francis Izquierdo-Bernier of Fondeurs-Laurentides and another minute or so over Bushey's teammate Jack Christner.
Francis Izquierdo-Bernier leads the pack early. - Phil Belena photo.
Men’s 23k Freestyle
1. Brian Bushey (Green Racing Project) 1:01:23.0
2. Francis Izquierdo-Bernier (Fondeurs‑Laurentides) 1:02:15.2
3. Jack Christner (Green Racing Project) 1:03:21.5
4. Keelan Durham (Green Racing Project) 1:04:03.7
5. Finn Sweet (Craftsbury Ski Club) 1:04:11.5
Clark en route to 3rd. - Photo Phil Belena
Keller-Miller and the women started 15 minutes later. Like Bushey, Keller-Miller was a prohibitive favorite who more than lived up to her billing, stretching her margin to 5:41 over Olivia Cuneo and 7:15 over GRP Runner Britta Clark.
Women’s 23k Freestyle
1. Michaela Keller‑Miller (Green Racing Project) 1:09:16.9
2. Olivia Cuneo 1:14:58.0
3. Britta Clark (Maine Mussel Project/GRP Run) 1:16:32.0
4. Ingrid Thyr (Pathletics Factory Team) 1:16:32.9
5. Jessica Marion (Maine Mussel Project) 1:16:36.5
Brodhead Challenge
Sunday's event also completes the 2026 Brodhead Challenge standings. Brodhead Challenge competitors are those who race both the long classic and skate races, with the fastest man and woman getting their names emblazoned on the Brodhead Challenge trophy hanging in our touring center. The Brodhead Challenge is named in honor of Marathon founder and longtime Director of Skiing at the Outdoor Center, John Brodhead. These contests would provide much of the racing tension of the day in the face of Bushey and Keller-Miller's dominance.
Finn Sweet ahead of Justin Freeman not far from the end. Sweet would snap free to pull 42 seconds from Freeman before the finish and take the Brodhead Challenge. - Photo Phil Belena
On the women's side, Isabel Caldwell rode the strength of her classic result to hold off Britta Clark who fought valiantly today, taking almost a minute and a half out of Caldwell in the skate race.
| Place | Name | Club | Classic Time | Skate Time | Total Elapsed | Overall Time Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isabel Caldwell | 3:01:01.6 | 1:17:55.0 | 4:18:56.6 | 0:00:00.0 | |
| 2 | Britta Clark | Maine Mussel Project | 3:07:19.7 | 1:16:32.0 | 4:23:51.7 | 0:04:55.1 |
| 3 | Ingrid Thyr | Pathletics Factory Team | 3:11:25.3 | 1:16:32.9 | 4:27:58.2 | 0:09:01.6 |
The men's Challenge was the closest race of the day, with Craftsbury skier Finn Sweet edging Justin Freeman by 0:47.3 s over the two days. Sweet and Freeman were separated by 5s after day 1. Day 2's freestyle race was not as strong for Freeman though and he ceded time to Sweet in the chilly morning.
| Place | Name | Club | Classic Time | Skate Time | Total Elapsed | Overall Time Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finn Sweet | Craftsbury Ski Club | 2:27:36.0 | 1:04:11.5 | 3:31:47.5 | 0:00:00.0 |
| 2 | Justin Freeman | 2:27:41.7 | 1:04:53.1 | 3:32:34.8 | 0:00:47.3 | |
| 3 | Luke Murphy | Middlebury Club Skiing | 2:41:29.2 | 1:08:19.7 | 3:49:48.9 | 0:18:01.4 |
Thanks so much for joining us this year, with snow conditions that we'll all remember for a long time. A MASSIVE thank you to all our wonderful volunteers without whom we couldn't hope to execute the Marathon or any of the other races we host each winter.
More photos can be found at Phil Belena’s Marathon Gallery.
Men’s wave start.
Classic day race reports
Men’s 47K Classic
In the men’s long‑course race, Colin Freed (Mansfield Pro Nordic Team) took the win in 2:27:31.7, creating his gap on the second lap.
Freed sat inside the leading group throughout the opening 23k with Finn Sweet (Craftsbury Ski Club), the Freeman brothers (Justin and Kris) and teammate Conner Roberts: 5 skiers within ~5 seconds; 7 within ~17 seconds as they came thru the stadium for the first lap. Freed posted the fastest lap of the day on lap 2, upping the pressure enough to make separation and take a slim gap over Sweet, 4.3s behind. Justin was the fastest Freeman over the second lap, winning 3rd and rounding out the podium.
Men’s 47k Classic
Colin Freed - 2:27:31.7
Finn Sweet - 2:27:36.0
Justin Freeman - 2:27:41.7
Kris Freeman - 2:31:06.2
Conner Roberts - 2:32:00.3
Women’s 47K Classic
After a small group of 3 finished lap 1 within a minute of one another, the women’s top 10 featured a lap 2 reshuffling.
At the front, former GRP skier Ida Sargent led both the split and the finish, negatively splitting her second lap by over a minute. This effort pulled a 3 second lead to Isabel Caldwell after lap 1 into a 3:28 gap by the finish. Even if she was unable to execute Ida’s negative split, both Izzie’s laps were 2nd fastest to Ida’s respective lap times.
Behind them, Britta Clark and Jane McClelland, mounted lap 2 pushes of their own as early contenders faltered on their second round. Both negative split their second lap in their battle for the last step on the podium. Ultimately GRP Runner Clark took the bronze by 10 seconds over McClelland.
Women’s 47k Classic
Ida Sargent — 2:57:33.9
Isabel Caldwell — 3:01:01.6
Britta Clark — 3:07:19.7
Jane McClelland — 3:07:29.5
Jessie Donavan — 3:10:20.0
Men’s 23k Classic
Neel Dums — 1:17:04.6
Abram Weil‑Cooley — 1:19:54.9
Alex Reich — 1:20:21.0
Women’s 23k Classic
Annelies Hanna — 1:29:15.7
Olivia Hanna — 1:32:25.5
Maddie Leopold — 1:32:56.1
See everyone tomorrow for the skate day!