The National Park Service has withdrawn its support of the prosecution of a ultramarathon runner who took an ‘illegal’ shortcut while attempting to break a world record.
Michelino Sunseri, 32, a bartender and professional mountain runner, completed a blistering round-trip of Wyoming’s Grand Teton on September 2, 2024, finishing the grueling 13.2-mile route in just two hours, 50 minutes, and 50 seconds.
But, shortly after crossing the finish line, his triumph unraveled – not due to injury, but because of a small off-trail shortcut captured by his Strava GPS tracker.
The single switchback cut, a violation of National Park Service rules, landed Sunseri in legal hot water and cost him official recognition for what would have been a new fastest known time.
According to park officials, the infraction occurred during his record-breaking descent, when Sunseri deviated from the designated trail by cutting across a switchback – a maneuver intended to save seconds but prohibited to prevent erosion in the fragile alpine environment.
The detour was logged on his GPS watch and uploaded to Strava – a social fitness platform used by runners, cyclists, and hikers – effectively documenting his own violation.
Grand Teton National Park rangers later cited the Idaho native for ‘traveling off designated trails,’ a federal petty offense.
Prosecutors offered him a misdemeanor guilty plea for the citation, which carries up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Michelino Sunseri, 32, a professional mountain runner, completed a blistering round-trip of Wyoming’s Grand Teton on September 2, 2024, finishing the grueling 13.2-mile route in just two hours, 50 minutes, and 50 seconds
But, shortly after crossing the finish line, his triumph unraveled because of a small off-trail shortcut captured by his Strava GPS tracker. Pictured: Grand Teton Range, Teton, Wyoming
But now the NPS has u-turned, court filings unearthed by a Freedom of Information Act show, according to Jackson Hole News & Guide.
Frank Lands, the National Park Service’s deputy director of operations, told an Interior Department attorney, Grand Teton Superintendent Chip Jenkins and others that the NPS was ‘withdrawing its criminal prosecution referral’, the filings show.
‘We believe that the previously offered punishment, a five-year park ban and fine, is an overcriminalization based on the gravity of the offense,’ Lands wrote on May 19 – the day before Sunseri’s bench trial. ‘Therefore, we withdraw our support [for Sunseri’s prosecution].’
However, prosecutors were not convinced to change course, and Nicole Romine, chief of the District of Wyoming’s criminal division, told the NPS they would be ‘continuing with the prosecution’.
DailyMail.com has approached the National Park Service for comment.
Sunseri pleaded not guilty and plans to contest the charge, WyoFile reported.
Earlier this spring, attorneys representing the park offered Sunseri a five-year ban from Grand Teton as part of a settlement.
But he declined. ‘Definitely not,’ he told SFGATE in February. ‘That’s crazy.’
He also proposed volunteer trail work and soil rehabilitation as alternatives, but the park reportedly rejected those offers.
‘I’m feeling a little confused that this is even happening,’ Sunseri said.
The single switchback cut, a violation of National Park Service rules, landed Sunseri in legal hot water and cost him official recognition for what would have been a new fastest known time. Pictured: Michelino Sunseri collapses in exhaustion and joy after breaking the speed record
The detour was logged on his GPS watch and uploaded to Strava – a social fitness platform used by runners, cyclists, and hikers – effectively documenting his own violation
The experienced trail runner argues he followed the path used by six of the last seven record holders: an old climber’s trail described as ‘a hard-packed, well-traveled and historically significant trail below the mouth of Garnet Canyon’
Yet, the fallout following his run was swift.
FastestKnownTime.com rejected his submission, citing the off-trail violation and affirming its commitment to park rules.
‘Any future attempts to cut switchbacks will result in complete rejection,’ the site now states.
The North Face, which sponsors the self-proclaimed ‘mountain ninja,’ deleted a post congratulating him on achieving an ‘impossible dream,’ though he remains sponsored.
The experienced trail runner argues he followed the path used by six of the last seven record holders: an old climber’s trail described as ‘a hard-packed, well-traveled and historically significant trail below the mouth of Garnet Canyon.’
Sunseri has also contended that the NPS’ enforcement rests on two small, poorly visible signs – one ‘hidden in sagebrush’ and the other ‘behind a pine tree’ – according to a Change.org petition started by friend Connor Burkesmith.
‘Despite consistent public use of the trail over the last three decades, no one else was prosecuted,’ the petition reads.
‘I don’t think I’d wish this on my worst enemy,’ he told SFGATE. ‘I’m being prosecuted by the federal government for trail running. I don’t stand by that anymore, no’
The petition, calling for charges to be dropped, has since garnered over 2,000 signatures.
‘It is frankly ridiculous that the NPS is hanging a criminal charge over his head,’ one supporter wrote.
But not all are sympathetic, some environmental advocates and trail runners insist that rules are there for a reason.
‘It was a very public violation of NPS regulations, shared in such a public way by this influencer and sponsored athlete in association with his effort to achieve the fastest known time goal,’ Grand Teton spokesperson Emily Davis said.
What could have been a career-defining achievement has instead become a cautionary tale for the ultrarunner.
‘I don’t think I’d wish this on my worst enemy,’ he told SFGATE. ‘I’m being prosecuted by the federal government for trail running. I don’t stand by that anymore, no.’
