2026 1812 Challenge Weekend Results and Photos from Sackets Harbor

The 2026 1812 Challenge Weekend brought runners, walkers, families, volunteers, spectators, music, lake views, battlefield miles, and a whole lot of grit back to Sackets Harbor, New York.

This year’s weekend included the 5K, 5 Mile, Half Marathon, and 18.12 Challenge, along with challenge combinations for participants who wanted to turn the weekend into something even bigger.

And yes — it was hot.

Not “a little warm.” Not “kind of sunny.” It was the kind of late-June race weekend where pacing mattered, hydration mattered, smart decision-making mattered, and every finish line felt earned.

That is part of what made it memorable.

This was not just a results-sheet weekend. It was a people weekend.

1812 Challenge Weekend Photo Galleries

Relive the weekend through the official 1812 Challenge Weekend photo galleries. Thank you to everyone who ran, walked, cheered, volunteered, waved, hugged, and helped make the weekend feel like more than just a race.

Sunday Race Photos: 18.12 Challenge & Half Marathon

Photos from Sunday’s long-course events, including the Battlefield start/finish area, 18.12 Challenge runners, Half Marathon finishers, and the race-day community around Sackets Harbor.

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Saturday Race Photos: 5K & 5 Mile

Photos from Saturday’s 5K and 5 Mile, including runners, walkers, families, kids, challenge participants, and the lakefront race-day atmosphere.

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Official 1812 Challenge Weekend Results

Official results for the 2026 1812 Challenge Weekend are available on RunSignUp.

RunSignUp Results Page
View all 1812 Challenge Weekend results on RunSignUp

Whether you were racing for the podium, chasing a personal goal, walking with family, taking on a new distance, or simply trying to keep moving through the heat, your finish mattered.

Every person who crossed a start line this weekend became part of the story.

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Weekend by the Numbers

Across the four race distances, the 2026 1812 Challenge Weekend recorded 307 total finishes.

The field included 158 male finishes and 149 female finishes, with participants ranging from young runners and families in the 5K to long-course athletes taking on the full 18.12-mile distance.

The weekend also included 37 detected multi-race finishers, based on participants who appeared in more than one race result.

Those numbers tell one part of the story. The rest of the story is in the photos, the finish-line hugs, the volunteers, the heat, the music, and the people who made the weekend feel alive.

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A Weekend That Felt Bigger Than a Race

Saturday brought runners to 1812 Brewing Company on the Lake for the 5K and 5 Mile. The village was full of summer energy, with Live at the Bandstand, live music throughout the Village of Sackets Harbor, and a busy downtown atmosphere adding to the race-day experience.

That made Saturday feel like more than a race start. It felt like a village weekend.

Sunday shifted the energy to the Sackets Harbor Battlefield, where Half Marathon and 18.12 Challenge participants took on the longer courses through town, open roads, historic surroundings, and lake-area scenery.

And after the races, Sackets Harbor kept showing off with a lakeside concert on Sunday afternoon — one more reason for participants, families, and visitors to stay, recover, walk around town, and enjoy the village.

This is what we want 1812 Challenge Weekend to be: a race, yes, but also a reason to gather.

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The Heat Was Part of the Story

Every race weekend has a personality. This one had heat.

Saturday’s afternoon races made the 5K and 5 Mile especially tough. The sun was up, the roads were warm, and runners had to be smart about effort.

Sunday started earlier for the Half Marathon and 18.12 Challenge, but the morning warmed quickly. By the second half of the longer races, the heat became part of the challenge.

That meant a lot of runners had to adjust.

• Some slowed down.
• Some changed goals.
• Some walked more than planned.
• Some simply decided that finishing was the win.

And they were right.

There are race days where the clock tells the whole story. This was not only one of those days.

This was a weekend where effort, patience, and resilience mattered just as much.

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Saturday 5K Highlights

The 5K saw 96 finishers, with a fast front end and a strong community feel throughout the field.

Bryan Morseman of Wheeler, NY won the 5K in 16:04.48, running 5:11 pace.

Patrick Stieber finished second in 17:27.02, and Alden Morseman, age 13, finished third in 19:47.76.

On the women’s side, Charlotte Oliva of Sackets Harbor led the field in 20:43.92, finishing fifth overall and giving the local community a big hometown highlight.

Top 5K Women

1. Charlotte Oliva — 20:43.92
2. Emily Monette — 21:39.56
3. Cheyenne Ratliff — 22:31.12

The 5K also showed the range of the event. Jonathan Alfieri, age 12, was the youngest 5K finisher, while James Miner, age 77, finished in 34:57.24 and later returned for the 18.12 Challenge on Sunday.

That is the kind of thing we love about this weekend: young runners, experienced runners, families, first-timers, fast runners, walkers, and everyone in between sharing the same race environment.

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Saturday 5 Mile Highlights

The 5 Mile brought 55 finishers and added a bigger challenge to Saturday afternoon.

Bryan Morseman came back after winning the 5K and won the 5 Mile as well, finishing in 27:02.88 at 5:25 pace.

Patrick Stieber finished second in 31:19.43, while Alexa Doe of Adams, NY was third overall and the women’s winner in 32:06.40.

Top 5 Mile Women

1. Alexa Doe — 32:06.40
2. Eliana Haggar — 38:19.57
3. Jailynn Tindall — 39:37.95

One of the best Saturday accomplishments came from the youngest 5 Mile finisher, Cristiano Leblanc, age 7, who completed the course in 57:34.07.

At the other end of the age range, David Mirabito, age 76, completed the 5 Mile in 1:11:10.08.

That is a pretty good summary of what this weekend is about: different ages, different goals, same finish line.

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Sunday Half Marathon Highlights

The Half Marathon had 74 finishers and delivered a strong Sunday morning field.

Bryant Farley of Syracuse, NY won the Half Marathon in 1:21:49.21, running 6:15 pace.

Nicole Stone of Monroe, GA was the women’s winner and second overall in 1:37:18.37, a strong performance on a warm morning.

Top Half Marathon Finishers

1. Bryant Farley — 1:21:49.21
2. Nicole Stone — 1:37:18.37
3. Bretly Marzen — 1:39:33.99
4. Ajay Thomas — 1:42:23.27
5. Cher Armstrong — 1:42:37.49

Top Half Marathon Women

1. Nicole Stone — 1:37:18.37
2. Cher Armstrong — 1:42:37.49
3. Annamarie McCormick-Howell — 1:52:48.40

The Half Marathon also gave us another age-range highlight. Ajay Thomas, age 18, finished fourth overall in 1:42:23.27, while Donna McKendree, age 79, completed the Half Marathon in 3:28:14.18.

Finishing a half marathon is an accomplishment at any age. Doing it on a warm race morning at 79 is something special.

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18.12 Challenge Highlights

The 18.12 Challenge is the signature long-course event of the weekend, and this year it had 82 finishers.

Patrick Stieber won the 18.12 Challenge in 2:01:25.21, running 6:42 pace.

That performance is impressive on its own. It becomes even more impressive because Stieber also raced both Saturday distances, finishing second in the 5K and second in the 5 Mile before winning the 18.12 Challenge on Sunday.

Michael Werner of Sackets Harbor finished second overall in 2:11:49.32, giving the hometown crowd another major highlight.

Caroline Kopp of Fayetteville, NY was the women’s winner and third overall in 2:15:15.54.

Top 18.12 Challenge Finishers

1. Patrick Stieber — 2:01:25.21
2. Michael Werner — 2:11:49.32
3. Caroline Kopp — 2:15:15.54
4. Benjamin Lyman — 2:19:07.62
5. Charles Pettit — 2:22:54.16

Top 18.12 Challenge Women

1. Caroline Kopp — 2:15:15.54
2. Sarah Kane — 2:26:47.26
3. Kara Rusch — 2:35:44.69

The 18.12 Challenge also included one of the strongest age-graded performances of the weekend. Kara Rusch posted the top age percentage in the 18.12 Challenge at 70.3%, finishing in 2:35:44.69.

The youngest 18.12 Challenge finisher was Spencer Purvis, age 20, in 2:46:16.95. The oldest was James Miner, age 77, in 4:32:46.73.

Again: that is the story of this event. Fast runners, tough runners, young runners, older runners, local runners, traveling runners, and everyone doing something meaningful on the same roads.

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Challenge and Multi-Race Finishers

One of the most unique parts of 1812 Challenge Weekend is that runners can take on multiple races across Saturday and Sunday.

Based on matching finisher names across the results, we detected 37 multi-race finishers.

Detected Multi-Race Combinations

• 11 Freedom Challenge finishers — 5K, 5 Mile, and 18.12 Challenge
• 8 Patriot Challenge finishers — 5K and Half Marathon
• 7 Victory Challenge finishers — 5K and 18.12 Challenge
• 7 Liberty Challenge finishers — 5K and 5 Mile
• 2 Colonial Challenge finishers — 5K, 5 Mile, and Half Marathon
• 2 Independence Challenge finishers — 5 Mile and 18.12 Challenge

Standout Multi-Race Accomplishments

Patrick Stieber completed the 5K, 5 Mile, and 18.12 Challenge with a combined chip time of 2:50:11.66 — while also winning the 18.12 Challenge outright.

Benjamin Lyman finished fourth overall in the 5K, fourth overall in the 5 Mile, and fourth overall in the 18.12 Challenge, with a combined time of 3:13:37.44 across the 5K, 5 Mile, and 18.12 Challenge.

Jason Brenneman completed the 5K, 5 Mile, and 18.12 Challenge in 3:43:11.67 combined.

Spencer Purvis completed the same three-race combination in 3:48:36.72 combined.

Angela Macdonald completed the 5K, 5 Mile, and Half Marathon in 3:18:15.20 combined.

Bryan Morseman won both Saturday races, completing the 5K and 5 Mile in a combined 43:07.36.

Those performances show just how different “race weekend” can look depending on the athlete. For some, it was one race. For others, it was a two-day endurance project.

Both are worth celebrating.

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Local and Regional Highlights

The 1812 Challenge Weekend continues to bring together runners from Sackets Harbor, Watertown, the North Country, Central New York, the Southern Tier, and beyond.

The result exports showed strong participation from:

• Watertown
• Sackets Harbor
• Carthage
• Fort Drum
• Evans Mills
• Syracuse
• Adams
• Rochester
• Binghamton
• Fayetteville
• Depew
• Niagara Falls

Some local Sackets Harbor highlights included:

• Charlotte Oliva winning the women’s 5K in 20:43.92.
• Michael Werner finishing second overall in the 18.12 Challenge in 2:11:49.32.
• Annamarie McCormick-Howell finishing third woman in the Half Marathon in 1:52:48.40.
• Ryan Little finishing eighth overall in the 5K and ninth overall in the Half Marathon.

This race is special because it welcomes travelers while still feeling rooted in the local community.

It is a race weekend that brings people into Sackets Harbor — but it also gives Sackets Harbor runners, families, businesses, volunteers, and spectators a chance to shine.

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A Letter to the Participants

To every 1812 Challenge Weekend participant:

I haven’t forgotten about you.

Over the last few days, we’ve been putting race gear away, sorting through results, looking at photos, cleaning up the loose ends that come after a big weekend, and honestly — reflecting on what this year’s 1812 Challenge Weekend meant.

There are the obvious things we can celebrate after a race weekend: the finish times, the winners, the age-group awards, the photos, the medals, the pins, and the number of people who crossed the finish line.

But the things that stuck with me most were the small moments that said a lot about the people who showed up.

One of those moments happened at the Saturday water stop. My daughter Eliana was helping hand out water, and I heard that some of the 5K and 5 Mile participants actually lined up behind each other so they could take water from her.

That means a lot to me as a dad, of course. But it also means a lot to me as a race director.

You were in the middle of your race. You were hot. You were working hard. And some of you still slowed down, gave a little extra patience, and let a little kid have a positive race-day experience.

That is the kind of culture we hope to build.

That is the kind of inclusiveness we care about.

That is the kind of thing that makes a race feel like more than a race.

On Sunday, I watched kids running back and forth near the finish line, helping bring Half Marathon and 18.12 Challenge participants in. They were running with people, cheering them on, and becoming part of the finish-line moment.

That was really cool to see.

Those kids may not remember every detail of the race, but they will remember the energy. They will remember the cheering. They will remember seeing adults do hard things. They will remember being included.

And that matters.

I also met a group from the Rochester area that traveled together and made 1812 part of their weekend as a team. Seeing groups come from outside the area, travel together, support each other, and experience Sackets Harbor together genuinely makes my day.

That is what we want this weekend to become.

A race, yes.
But also a reason to gather.
A reason to travel.
A reason to bring people together.
A reason to make a memory.

I met someone who finished their first 5K ever. That is a big deal. Your first race matters. Your first finish line matters. It can change the way you see yourself, and it was really special to see that happen here.

And all weekend, people were cheering each other in at the finish line.

Fast runners. New runners. Walkers. Families. Challenge participants. Kids. Friends. People who knew each other. People who had just met.

That is the part I love.

Yes, we care about putting on a good race. We care about the course, the logistics, the timing, the shirts, the awards, the photos, the permits, the volunteers, and all the details that go into making race weekend work.

But the reason we keep doing this is because of the people.

It is because of the runner who cheers for someone else after finishing their own race.

It is because of the kid handing out water.

It is because of the participant who makes that kid feel important.

It is because of the group that travels together.

It is because of the person brave enough to start their first 5K.

It is because of the families waiting at the finish line.

It is because of the hugs, waves, cheers, high-fives, and little moments that remind us why community events matter.

Years ago, we had the opportunity to help carry this race forward. We did not create the original spirit of the 1812 Challenge, but we believed in it.

We believed the event deserved to continue.
We believed Sackets Harbor deserved a race weekend that brought people into the village.
We believed the distance mattered.
We believed the community mattered.
We believed the finish-line moments mattered.

This weekend reminded me exactly why we said yes.

Thank you for showing up. Thank you for racing hard. Thank you for being patient. Thank you for cheering for each other. Thank you for including kids in the experience. Thank you for making the weekend feel welcoming.

That is the culture we want.

That is the community we are trying to build.

And that is why this weekend mattered.

Not because it was perfect.

Because it was real.

— Matt and the Confluence Running Events Team

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We’re Listening and Already Making Updates

We also want you to know that we are listening to your feedback.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to share thoughts, suggestions, questions, and requests after this year’s 1812 Challenge Weekend. We truly appreciate it. Feedback helps us make the event better, and we are already looking at immediate updates for next year.

A few changes we are already planning:

We will be adding one more water station to the course. This will support both the Half Marathon and the 18.12 Challenge, and it will help close one of the longer gaps on the 18.12 course.

We are also going to update our communication and website information so race details are easier to find and understand. That includes clearer information about shirt deadlines and cutoffs, medals, pins, challenge details, race expectations, and other event logistics.

Our goal is to make the event easier to navigate before race weekend even begins.

We know that when communication is clearer, participants can plan better, feel more confident, and enjoy the weekend more.

So thank you for the feedback. Thank you for caring enough about the event to help us improve it. We are proud of what this weekend was, and we are already working on making next year’s 1812 Challenge Weekend even better.

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A Note on the 5K and 5 Mile Pins

One detail we loved this year was how the 5K and 5 Mile pins were designed to fit onto the 1812 Challenge Weekend medal.

For participants who raced on Saturday and came back for a Sunday medal event, those pins became part of the full weekend story — a way to show not just one finish, but the combination of races you took on across the weekend.

It is a small detail, but it is one we think makes the challenge experience more meaningful.

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Thank You to Our Sponsors, Partners, and Community Supporters

A race weekend like 1812 does not happen because one person, one business, or one organization decides to put a start line on the road.

It happens because a community says yes.

We want to give a special thank-you to the sponsors, partners, charity organizations, local businesses, public safety teams, volunteers, and community supporters who helped make the 2026 1812 Challenge Weekend possible.

Thank you to Team RWB for continuing to represent service, movement, connection, and the power of community through fitness.

Thank you to the Wounded Warrior Project for the work they do supporting wounded veterans, service members, and military families.

Thank you to Harbor House Inn in Sackets Harbor for supporting the weekend and helping welcome runners and visitors into the village.

Thank you to 1812 Brewing Company for being part of the identity and history of the weekend. The Saturday 5K and 5 Mile have become closely tied to the lakefront energy of 1812 Brewing Company, and we are grateful for the connection.

Thank you to Live at the Bandstand / Generations of Sound and the live music community in Sackets Harbor for helping make the weekend feel bigger than a race. The music in the village on Saturday and the lakeside concert on Sunday afternoon helped turn 1812 Challenge Weekend into a full community experience.

Thank you to the Village of Sackets Harbor, Sackets Harbor Battlefield, Sackets Harbor Police, New York State Police / NY State Troopers, Jefferson County, Town of Hounsfield, public safety partners, course support teams, volunteers, and local residents who helped make the weekend possible.

There are many behind-the-scenes supporters who help with supplies, course logistics, participant experience, timing, nutrition, hydration, safety, parking, and race-day execution. Thank you to everyone who played a role, whether your name is on a banner, a permit, a volunteer list, a timing file, or just in the memory of a runner who needed encouragement at the right moment.

This weekend belongs to all of you.

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What’s Next from Confluence Running Events

The 1812 Challenge Weekend is one of several events produced by Confluence Running Events, and we hope to see many of you again soon.

Next up on the calendar:

• Carousel 5K — a fun summer 5K connected to one of the Southern Tier’s most recognizable community traditions.
• Sunset Runway 5K — a unique race experience with a fast, open runway setting and a great late-summer atmosphere.
• Southern Tier Cross Country Series — a fall series for runners who love grass, trails, parks, hills, team energy, and the old-school spirit of cross country.

Each event has its own personality, but the goal is the same: bring people together, create meaningful race experiences, and give runners, walkers, families, volunteers, and communities a reason to show up.

If 1812 was your first Confluence Running Events race, welcome. We would love to see you again.

If you have been with us before, thank you for continuing to be part of this community.

We will see you at the next start line.

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Congratulations, 1812 Finishers

To every 5K finisher, 5 Mile finisher, Half Marathon finisher, 18.12 Challenge finisher, and challenge participant: congratulations.

You earned your finish.

You handled the heat.
You handled the logistics.
You handled the miles.
You handled the uncertainty.
You handled the course.
You became part of the next chapter of the 1812 Challenge Weekend.

We are proud of you, grateful for you, and already thinking about how to make next year even better.

Thank you for being part of the 1812 Challenge Weekend.

We will see you back in Sackets Harbor.

— The Confluence Running Events Team

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