• Sunday, April 26th, 2026 • Ward Pound Ridge Reservation • Cross River, NY •
• Full results are available here •
• 2026 Photos are here • (upload YOUR 2026 Loop photos here)
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Thank you Loop runners, volunteers, park staff, and supporters for coming out and making Sunday a great event and a great day!
A group of cobweb crew (aka early morning group) members from our Sunday Runners group left at 5am for a pre-run of the trails and course to check the markings and make sure there were no (unplanned) surprises to greet runners. After that Mike Markhoff pre-ran the course starting around 6am as he has for the last 20+ years.
Runners returned from a wide area
Runners came in from over 200 towns and cities from 22 different states plus England. In addition to New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, runners registered from states as far away as Washington, Texas, Colorado, Virginia, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Illinois, California, Florida, South Carolina, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.
The Town of Bedford (including villages of Katonah and Bedford Hills) had the most local representation. They were followed by Manhattan, then Lewisboro (including villages of South Salem, Waccabuc, Goldens Bridge, and Cross River). Brooklyn was 4th. Pound Ridge was 5th for runner registrations.
In addition to local towns in New York and Connecticut which are well represented (shout out to Northport Runners and Long Island Trail Running Club coming up from Long Island!), northern New Jersey has always sent a contingent of runners from towns like Madison, Ridgewood, Paramus, Montclair, Northvale, Westwood, Wyckoff, Verona, Hoboken, and Morristown.
Thanks Roozbeh for the map visualizing the Loop runners for 2026.
Pre-Loop
Race Director Rob Cummings welcomed runners to the race at the starting line.
There were FIVE registered runners with birthdays on loop day: shout out to Nathan & Jackson Peters (both 14), Thomas Watson (37), Joshua Irizarry (31), and Audrey Day (59).
Happy Birthday to the Fire Tower!
Also – the Park has a birthday coming up – the FIRE TOWER was built 100 years ago in 1926. And it is returning this year!
We are celebrating with a race (no surprise) on June 7th aka “6-7” :).
Actually it will be 2 races on one day: a trail half marathon and a 10k. Both courses go by the fire tower – and we encourage you to hike up the blue trail to see the progress the park is making with the construction.
More information to follow via email and social media!
Gratitude today
Gratitude: we are grateful to you, the runners. You make the event what it is. We are grateful to the volunteers who come out and make the event possible. Make sure to thank them at this race – and at any race you participate in. We are grateful to the park staff who keep the park beautiful and welcoming to all 365 days a year.
Parks are essential.
They don’t just happen — they are kept beautiful by park workers! Support them here and around the USA and the world. Don’t take them for granted — because if you do then they will disappear.
I am personally so grateful to my wife Ciorsdan and my kids and their partners: Griffin, Kathryn, Orion, Annalise, Sawyer, and Nicola; they each do a lot unseen to help put on these events.
Special shout out to my “body man” this week: Eric Foxhall. He was out every day this week helping with the tough and time consuming work of last-minute trail maintenance and trail recon making sure the surprises on the course were planned and not unplanned. He came out through cold and warm weather – and helped setting the course on the rainy 40 degree Saturday before the race.
Three of the four original race founders from 1987 came to the race on Sunday to catch up with others and the park. Dave Cope, Ken Littlefield, and Mitch Stein were on hand to send the runners off.
Finally, we are all grateful to Tony and Judy Godino for creating this event and shepherding it through the years and keeping it going. It is a lot of work — but it is a joy to see you all out here!
Danny Martin, the spiritual advisor of the loop, has spoken before the loop for nearly 25 years.
Hopefully his words and his spirit help make your run at the Loop — and runs beyond — more thoughtful. Danny gave his “Beauty Before Me…” blessing and then called out the race start.
Listen to Danny’s heartfelt and personal message & blessing with the player below.
The poem Danny mentioned was Instructions on Not Giving Up by Ada Limón (https://poets.org/poem/instructions-not-giving)
The Running Field
We had many returning Loop winners including two time winner Gerry Sullivan (and dad of 2022 and 2024 winner Eamonn Sullivan who was also running), first loop (1987) winner Joe Stanley who has never missed a Loop, and 9-time winner Tommy Nohilly.
For the women’s race we had 2023 winner Gabrielle House, and 2024 & 2025 winner Alexandra Benedict.
In addition to these runners, there were another 1,150 or so who toed the line — or close to the line — on Sunday.
Check out the finish line video below – find your finish. 10 minutes in to the video is the start of the finishers – this screen grab shows overall finisher Jacques Desforges. And you can watch (nearly) everyone cross – until the GoPro battery goes dead.
The Race
The rain during Saturday overnight into Sunday really filled out the mudflats, which had been relatively dry before then. And by relatively dry we mean just your normal everyday hundreds plus foot mud slogs. The overnight rain increased the mud intensity from a ~3 to ~6.5 on our proprietary* “Loop mud scale®” of 1 to 10. For reference, 2023 and 2007 were each a 9.5 — so if you thought this year was muddy (and it was), it can be so much muddier.
At the Kimberly Bridge, runners were treated to a surprise band rockin’ out to some serious tunes. “The Pell Hill Band” of Casey Stanford (Guitar), Layne Krulik (Drums), and Ellie Tsiropanas (Vocals) played selections from Led Zeppelin, Metallica, No Doubt, and many other rockin’ tunes for runners. Our thanks to them for coming out again and playing you through the campground. Big thanks to their roadies for getting them there!
If anyone has more photos or video of the band, please upload them to share!
The first water crossing just below knee deep. The recent rain brought the water level closer to normal seasonal levels, rising 6 inches from their low level the day before the loop.
Kimberly Bridge had several photographers capturing runners as they entered and exited the picnic grounds. Runners then headed towards “The Pit.” where our favorite Mariachi Band performed to boost the runners at the 1/3 point of the race and help with the sand hill climb.
The water stop is just under the halfway point on the course. Just after that refreshing water is the famous Mud Flats (click/tap for photos and video).
Pro tip: The best way through the mud is the “straight-on straight-through route.” No one has ever emerged from the mud flats without getting muddy. Our hidden Trail Camera was taking photos and videos deep in the mudflats. (See them here!)
As the mudflats end, the bridge over the Waccabuc River comes up next. The runners pass through Arsenault’s Alley and then up The Wall. This part of the trail is a 100 vertical foot 45 degree climb up an old sand quarry. At the top, we usually have bagpiper John Henken playing, but he was a last minute weather scratch. He will be back at Spring Run the Farm on May 17th
After The Wall comes the Deer Hollow (DH) trail. The trails along this section are wider and allow for some passing for those who can make it happen. The trail then heads steadily uphill at intersection #40. This DH uphill is not super steep — and it does have some flats — but it is a long steady climb between miles four and five.
Watch the progress of many runners during the 2026 Leatherman’s Loop
After runners pass the highest point on the Loop course they have the treat of the beautiful Pine Forest which is noted as a favorite part of the Loop by many people because the footing is soft and sure, the trees make a beautiful tunnel, and it is mostly downhill for a half mile!
The switchback at the bottom of the Pine forest trail leads to the river trail then Gary’s corner — and then the kestrel meadow.
The cheers of spectators at Splashdown can be heard by runners as they approach from about 1/4 mile away.
This year Rob Cummings and Greg Kaplowitz photographed runners as they crossed and exited Splashdown. Both Rob and Greg are professional photographers — and they got a lot of unique and very muddy and wet shots of the crossing and the race! Diane Bradsell got photos of runners at the final stretch before the finish line. Nicholas Lung-Bugenski captured photos and videos of runners traversing the mud flats. Many other runners also contributed photos (thank you – keep ’em coming!)
The final 200 meters over the meadow some of the toughest in the Loop, especially with newly water-cooled leg muscles.
Full results are available here – below are some race highlights:
Jacques Desforges of Pound Ridge won with a time of 39:47. Right on his heels were Grant Sheely of Brooklyn (finish time 39:54) and Benjamin Morrow also of Brooklyn (39:56).
Jacques is the youngest male winner of the Leatherman’s Loop at 17 years old. (Kelsey Crawford of Waccabuc was 14 when she won the women’s overall in 2018)
In the women’s division, Alexandra Benedict of Brooklyn won for the third year in a row with a finishing time of 47:20.
Second place this year was taken by Joelle Reeves of Brooklyn (48:34) and in third place Lindsey Felling of Fairfield came in at 50:51.
The youngest finishers were Layla Feller from Beacon and Jojo Macgill of Bedford Hills at 8 years old each. The oldest was John Kiselak of Danbury at 76 years old. Oldest women finishers were Lee Ann Zarger and Bonnie Lees, both 72 years old.
Loop veteran Joe Stanley completed his thirty-EIGHTH consecutive Loop — an unbroken streak from the first Loop in 1987 through 2026. Only one word can describe it: Incredible!
Other notable milestones: John Partilla ran his 33rd Loop. Tim Debany ran his 31st Loop. Dan Wiley and Doug Goldblatt ran #28. Jim Kapp reached #28. Eddie “The Plumber” Donlon and Michael Markhoff each hit #25 this year. Joe Kapp and Erick Wilson hit #24 this year. Mark Stefanov and Kerry Tomson hit #23. Jo Ann Hickey was injured unable to run so she missed crossing the finish line for #23. Next year!
John Sabatino hit the magic 20th Loop this year – a rarefied level rewarded with the “20+ Loops Club” very limited edition cap that only about 20 people have.
For a complete list of the “Muddiest Runners” check this page. The page is current through 2025 and will be updated with new inductees from 2026 within a few weeks when we run and confirm the numbers!
The Trail Mix Series
The Leatherman’s Loop 2026 is the second race in the 2026 Trail Mix series.
Next up in the Trail Mix is Spring Run the Farm at Muscoot Farm in Katonah, NY on SUNDAY May 17th.
All runners who completed this Leatherman’s Loop and Mudders & Grunters in March have been automatically entered into the current Trail Mix series. Runners who finish 4 of the 7 races to complete the series are eligible for automatic Loop Lottery selection if they enter the 2027 Loop Lottery. See link for more details and links to other races in the series.
Volunteers
The race could not happen without 50+ volunteers on race day, pre-race, and post-race.
Our volunteer team is always ready to help out runners and spectators. When someone has an unexpected change of plans they are ready to help.
Thank you to each and every one who comes out to help! We have a page dedicated to recognizing our Volunteers here (updates coming for 2026!).
Photos –
We have lots of photos shared by our “Official Loop 2026 Photographers” and others on and around the course. Thank you to everyone who shared their photo memories of the day!
It’s easy to become an official Loop photographer — Just take photos of the Loop and send them in to us.
If you have a lot of photos from the Loop, we’ll make you your own album at the link below and send you a coveted “Official Loop Photographer” long-sleeved t-shirt! Contact us at leathermansloop@gmail.com.
A summary of photos — by photographer and time/location — can be found here. Or you can click directly on our 2026 album site: https://leathermansloop.smugmug.com/2026.
We have many different vantage points — the start, the mud flats, the pit, splashdown, and others. Photo album link here.
If you have photos you would like to send us…
… the easiest way to get them directly to us is via this website link (https://leathermansloop.smugmug.com/upload/BwtKBg/2026) where you can simply drag and drop the pictures from a computer – or upload directly from your phone. We have unlimited storage space at our photo site for photos or short videos.
Or you can send us links via Facebook or if you have your own albums on Instagram, Flickr, Picassa, or another photo site send us the link or tag #leathermansloop and @leathermansloop. We appreciate all of the photos and love looking through them!
If you have any feedback, please send us a note at leathermansloop@gmail.com. The only way we know to fix things is when we hear about things that went wrong.
Don’t feel shy about feedback — Your feedback is a gift you give to the runners next time around. Feedback is how we make the event better.
Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps
Once again we are indebted to the leadership and members of the Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps for standing by when medical help is needed during the event. We deeply appreciate the dedication of the volunteers who give their time to come tend to runners each year and help evacuate any injured runners. We are also appreciative that members of the Pound Ridge Fire Department are on hand as well to assist in evaluation and evacuation if needed.
Final Thanks!
Thanks again to Westchester County Parks and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation for hosting us for the 38th running of the Leatherman’s Loop.
Thank you all for coming out to run, volunteer, spectate, and support! We look forward to seeing many of you again at an upcoming race!
Peace,
Rob, Ciorsdan, and the Leatherman Harriers volunteers
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