Run Rabbit Run 100
The inaugural Run Rabbit Run 100 was a wild ride, indeed. The $40,000 purse guaranteed aggressive running early on while growing pains added some drama to the race. The weather was gorgeous on its face, but the weather was hot for the first 20+ miles (80+F in town) and dropped below freezing quickly after sundown leaving runners shaking wherever they could find shelter. We chat about both races below.
In addition, you can find our full play-by-play of the race as well as a collection of our pre-race interviews and preview on our 2012 Run Rabbit Run 100 Live Coverage page.
As usual, we’ll be updating this article with additional results as well as links to Run Rabbit Run 100-related articles, photo galleries, and race reports.
Thanks to Jameson Coffee, makers of Speedgoatkarl’s 100 mile blend, for sponsoring iRunFar’s coverage of the race.
Ps. To get all the latest ultra news from iRunFar.com, subscribe via RSS or email.
2012 Run Rabbit Run 100 Men’s Race
As one might expect Dave James took out the early miles, building a lead he extended before mid-race. However, the cold crippled him and James had to take two very longs stops in aid stations to stop shivering. Jason Schlarb was up with or near James through the first half, but took a wrong turn that resulted in a 5 mile, 1,500′ detour. He caught a ride back to the previous aid station and then another lift back to where he went off course. He made it to the next aid station, where he dropped. Neither Timothy Olson (pre-race interview) nor Mike Wolfe looked strong nor fluid in the first half. Bouts of vomiting and their resulting effects caused Wolfe to drop around mid-race. Both Tarahumara were within striking distance for the first quarter of the race, but a knee injury forced Arnulfo Quimare from the race and various factors caused Miguel Lara to withdraw from the race, both before nightfall.
Karl Meltzer (pre-race and post-race interviews) hung back in the early going before running a clinic on the younger runners ahead of him. He negative split the course en route to a $11,000 (overall and masters wins) victory. Along the way, he earned a Montrail Ultra Cup entry into next year’s Western States 100… and you’d better believe he’s gonna use it. Dylan Bowman (pre-race and post-race interviews) spent the entire race in the top six, primarily in third or forth in the first half. Going into the back half, attrition and strong running put him in the lead for 20 miles until Meltzer walked him down. Those behind Bowman wouldn’t challenge him after that. Meanwhile, Timothy Olson felt the worst he ever has in a race but never let it show on course. Once the mid-race carnage took place, Olson jumped to third, which he held to the finish. Winning the Mike Foote award on the day is Duncan Callahan who relentlessly moved up in the field from the mid-teens at mile 20 to fourth man at the finish. His only step back place-wise in the second half was from fourth to fifth overall when Lizzy Hawker passed him during a nearly two-hour detour he took.
Karl Meltzer finishing the 2012 Run Rabbit Run 100.
2012 Run Rabbit Run 100 Men’s Official Results
- Karl Meltzer (Hoka One One) – 19:16:02 (pre-race and post-race interviews)
- Dylan Bowman (Pearl Izumi) – 19:56:45 (pre-race and post-race interviews)
- Timothy Olson (Pearl Izumi) – 20:28:58 (pre-race interview)
- Duncan Callahan (Vasque) – 22:36:37
- Dave James (Hoka One One) – 24:00:59
- Marty Wacker – 24:14:56
- Juan Carlos Sagastume – 25:36:50
- Jeason Murphy – 27:05:42
- Donnie Haubert – 27:37:42
- Robert Bawn – 27:52:41
2012 Run Rabbit Run 100 Women’s Race
Lizzy Hawker (post-race interview) led the women’s race from wire-to-wire without a challenge… well, except for the course itself. In particular, she took a very hard fall early in the race, injuring her knee badly. She looked as if the pain would cause her to drop before mid-race. Eventually, that pain led to vomiting two-thirds of the way through the race, but nothing could stop her. On the other hand, Rhonda Claridge and Leila Degrave battled one another from start to finish. While the finish line saw Claridge cross 36 minutes ahead of Degrave, the margin was a handful of minutes through much of the race.
Salynda Fleury was the fourth and final women’s finisher, despite the cash prizes going five deep. There was lots of carnage in the men’s race, but it was even more noticeable among the women given their much smaller field size. Nikki Kimball was stopped by a pre-existing hamstring injury. Ashley Arnold was fatigued from the Jungfrau Marathon the weekend prior and her midweek travel back from Europe. Jenny Pierce battled asthma brought on by a summer’s worth of wildfire smoke in Montana. Others like Aliza Lapierre and Melanie Fryar succumbed to various factors.
Lizzy Hawker finishing the 2012 Run Rabbit Run 100.
2012 Run Rabbit Run 100 Women’s Unofficial Results
- Lizzy Hawker (The North Face) – 22:07:07 (post-race interview)
- Rhonda Claridge – 24:05:32
- Leila Degrave (Inov-8) – 24:41:50
- Salynda Fleury – 29:42:07
2012 Run Rabbit Run 100 Articles, Race Reports, and More
Matt Trappe’s sweet photo gallery[broken link removed]- Steamboat Today – 100-Mile Race Full of Sweat, Stories and Surprises
Race Reports
- Dylan Bowman (2nd)
- Timothy Olson (3rd)
Duncan Callahan (4th)[Broken link to September 18, 2012 Strategic Endurance blogpost removed]- Ashley Arnold (DNF)
- Jason Schlarb (DNF) – A wonderful candid report on his first attempt at a 100 mile race. (pre-race interview)
