Halloween 13K: Who's ready to haunt the podium?
Saturday, October 31, 2026 · 9:30 AM · Endicott, New York
Last year's front-runners return. One women's challenger has been running exceptionally quick 5Ks. Two finishers have traded places by seconds. And a pair of runners has crossed the line less than half a second apart in consecutive editions.
How this preview was built: We compared the publicly displayed 2026 names supplied from RunSignup's Find a Participant list with official Halloween 13K results from 2024 and 2025 and selected public race results from June–October 2026. This is a snapshot as of October 17, 2026, not a confirmed final start list. Late entrants, transfers, withdrawals and race-day performances may change the picture. Full 13K competitors and relay entrants are treated separately.
Meet the 2026 contenders
These are actual 2025 race photos, matched to Falcon Timing's results by visible bib number. Click a runner to explore their race history.
MEN'S EARLY PICK
Thomas Cummings
2025: Bib #74 · 48:57.99
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WOMEN'S EARLY PICK
Emily Gunther
2025: Bib #101 · 52:23.32
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THE 27-SECOND REMATCH
Brieanne Smith
2025: Bib #431 · 52:50.14
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SPEED TO WATCH
Shelby Fisher
2025: Bib #86 · 54:41.75
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MEN'S CHALLENGER
Zackary Green
2025: Bib #97 · 51:37.40
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Photography: Confluence Running, October 26, 2025. View the original 2025 photo gallery ↗. Bibs and times shown are from 2025, not assigned 2026 numbers.
The early picks
Cummings placed fourth overall at Halloween 2025 in 48:57.99 after finishing fifth in 2024 at 47:29.39. This June, he posted 17:59.85 for 5K at PawFest; on July 4, he ran 24:18.73 in the four-miler. Among the listed entrants with verified recent form, he is our clearest men's contender.
Watch for: the race to be decided by how well his road speed carries through 13K.The defending women's champion ran 52:23.32 at Halloween 2025. Her 2026 season includes the Vestal XX 20K women's win in 1:29:22.85 and a 20:14.32 women's-winning 5K at Finish Lyme in September. That's solid evidence at both shorter and longer distances, giving her a narrow early edge.
Watch for: strength over the final miles, not just a fast first 5K.The women's race could be the real thriller
Consider the three women who occupied consecutive positions in last year's top ten: Gunther (52:23.32), Brieanne Smith (52:50.14), and Shelby Fisher (54:41.75). All three names appear in the 2026 Full 13K entry snapshot. They have compelling but different recent evidence.
| Runner | 2025 Halloween 13K | Verified 2026 evidence | Pre-race take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Gunther | 52:23.32 · first woman | 1:29:22.85 Vestal XX 20K · 20:14.32 Finish Lyme 5K | Early favorite: good evidence across distances |
| Shelby Fisher | 54:41.75 · third woman | 19:42 Kelly LaBare 5K, August 9 | Strongest speed-based challenger; excellent upset candidate |
| Brieanne Smith | 52:50.14 · second woman | 20:34 Kelly LaBare 5K, August 9 | Already proved she can stay close to Gunther over this 13K course |
| Samantha Snead | 57:08.05 · second woman in 2024 | 20:24 Kelly LaBare 5K; 3:15:30 published Steamtown Marathon final time in October | A credible contender with endurance evidence; recent marathon adds uncertainty about race-day freshness |
| Carlyne Fernald | No directly verified 2025 result used | 20:32 Kelly LaBare 5K, August 9 | Could disrupt the expected top-four order |
Gunther beat Smith by only 26.82 seconds at Halloween last year. Fisher's August 5K was faster than the other listed women's contenders' August or September times cited here, but a 5K is not a 13K. Snead has a strong history of road racing from 5K to marathon; her October Steamtown result is evidence of endurance, not proof she will be fully recovered for Halloween. If all five start, the women's podium could easily be different from 2025. Read Samantha Snead's race-history profile →
Men's field: Cummings versus Green—and the unknowns
Thomas Cummings is the strongest documented returning male contender in the shared 2026 Full 13K entries. In last year's event he finished fourth in 48:57.99; Zackary Green followed in fifth at 51:37.40. Green also appears in the 2026 5K top-three list at Owego Strawberry Festival, running approximately 19:21, and took fourth in the September Camptown trail 10K in 48:46. That creates an appealing return match, although a trail 10K and road 13K aren't interchangeable tests.
The 2025 overall champion John Salva (44:46.99) and runner-up Eric DeHart (46:35.74) do not appear in the Full 13K names provided for this preview, so we are not listing them as 2026 entrants. Nor is Steve Esposito listed as a Full 13K entrant in the supplied snapshot. New registrations could change that in a hurry. Jordan Varano, the 2014 Halloween champion, appears this year in the two-person relay category and is not part of the individual-win prediction.
Our early men's call: Cummings gets the nod on documented recent road results and past 13K consistency. Green is a recognizable challenger. Anyone making a precise men's podium forecast from this incomplete snapshot would be pretending to know more than the published results allow.
2025 Halloween 13K: Emily Gunther narrowly ahead of Brieanne Smith. Both appear in the 2026 entry snapshot.
Caitlin Zarnoch and Ryan McNamara crossed almost together in both the 2024 and 2025 13K.
Two genuine reversal stories, plus a double photo finish
Sara Gavette vs. Anthony Roe
2024: Gavette 1:31:39.64, Roe 1:31:39.94. Advantage Gavette by 0.30 seconds.
2025: Roe 1:32:17.01, Gavette 1:32:21.65. Advantage Roe by 4.64 seconds.
Both are listed for the 2026 individual 13K. A rivalry doesn't have to decide the overall victory to produce a finish worth watching.
Caitlin Zarnoch vs. Ryan McNamara
2024: Zarnoch 1:30:47.03, McNamara 1:30:47.18. Gap 0.15 seconds.
2025: Zarnoch 1:37:51.96, McNamara 1:37:52.31. Gap 0.35 seconds.
Two consecutive years, the same finishing order, and less than a second between them. They're both listed again.
Another comeback watch: Don Lavin (57:23.57), Lydia Dillon (57:36.30), and Katelyn Felter (58:17.04) finished 12th, 13th and 14th overall in 2025—just 53.47 seconds from first to third in that trio. All three are in the 2026 Full 13K snapshot.
Don't overlook the relay—but keep it separate
Two-person relay entrants run different legs, so comparing their relay times directly with individual 13K times would be misleading. Jordan Varano is an interesting example: winner of the entire 13K in 2014, second to Esposito in 2015, and listed for the relay in 2026. Christopher Simser is also in the 2026 relay list, not the individual 13K; his 2014–2015 historical head-to-head reversal with Jennifer Smith belongs in the race-history discussion, not an individual 2026 showdown.
From the 2025 gallery: past champions and rivals
These bib-indexed photographs are historical context. The 2025 winner and runner-up are not shown as 2026 Full 13K entrants in the snapshot used for this preview.
2025 champion's bib #1352025 bib #135 · View athlete history ↗
2025 runner-up's bib #1442025 bib #144 · View athlete history ↗
2025 head-to-head finisher's bib #1322025 bib #132 · View athlete history ↗
2025 third-place bib #1372025 bib #137 · View athlete history ↗
Photographs from the original 2025 race gallery; bibs cross-checked against the 2025 timing list.
What happens after Halloween?
The best pre-race predictions are ones we're willing to revisit. After October 31, Confluence can link the final race results here, identify which head-to-head matchups actually materialized, note which picks held up, and use the results to expand athlete race histories. The race card should connect readers to both Find a Participant now and the official results after the race.
Race results and source links
- Falcon Race Timing · 2025 Halloween 13K official overall results
- Falcon Race Timing · 2024 Halloween 13K official overall results
- Leone Timing · August 9, 2026 Kelly LaBare 5K results
- Falcon Race Timing · June 7, 2026 PawFest 5K results and July 4, 2026 4 on the 4th results
- Confluence · September 2026 Finish Lyme 5K and June Vestal XX 20K
- Confluence · September 2026 Camptown Races and Owego Strawberry Festival 5K historical summary
- Confluence · Samantha Snead public results profile and October Steamtown marathon results comparison
- Public 2026 RunSignup Find a Participant list. May have changed since this preview was compiled.
