GRP Run in-coming class of 2026

We’re thrilled to announce three new members of the GRP run team! After putting out the call for applications in April we received more than two dozen applications. Everyone who applied combined the GRP characteristics of racing at a high level while making authentic change for their communities. It’s always very difficult to choose some and not others, but it gives us hope too because it means the running community is full of thoughtful, motivated, and intelligent athletes. We could only choose three people, but we finished the process hopeful for the future of the sport.

For the class of 2026, we’re proud to introduce two new athletes to the trail team and one to the road team.

Ben Decker

Ben Decker grew up in Maine but spent the last several years living in Mexico City. He attended Williams college in Massachusetts, where he ran for the cross country and track and field teams and was an All-American and team captain. He started running road marathons after college and ran a personal best time of 2:15:23 at the Indianapolis Marathon in November 2025. He now lives in Salt Lake City and is planning to run the California International Marathon in December 2026.

Maddie Leopold

Maddie Leopold is a medical student from Vermont who is currently in her third year of medical school at the University of New England. She grew up cross-country ski racing in the northeast and raced for Middlebury College. In addition to medical school, she finished sixth at the Lavaredo Ultra Trail 50km in 2025 and 6th at the Gorge Waterfalls 50km in 2026. Her career focus will be on physical medicine with a sports medicine fellowship. Maddie is especially keen to support female athletes like herself.

Rena Schwartz

Rena Schwartz grew up in the Green Mountains of Vermont and skied on several Craftsbury racing teams as a junior. She competed on the ski team at Dartmouth College but started running competitively soon thereafter. As a Vermonter she was naturally drawn to the trails and her opportunities expanded when she moved to Boulder, Colorado for an internship for her master’s degree in social work. In 2025 she was third at the Pikes Peak Ascent and first at the Mount Washington Road Race. In June 2026 she qualified for the US national team for the World Mountain Running Championships by taking third at the Sunapee Scramble. Her next race is the Broken Arrow 23km.

Thank you again to everyone who applied! It’s an honor to be able to learn from and speak with you all, and we hope you’ll stay connected to the programs we have at Craftsbury. The skills and experience that Maddie, Ben, and Rena are bringing to our community will lift up everyone across the GRP, and we can’t wait to see where we go together.