Blairsville, Belgrade, and the Buffalo Run are among the week’s hotspots. We’ve got trail running, ultrarunning, and a few other bits and pieces of the last week in running served up fresh this Monday. And, of course, happy April Fools’ Day, to those who celebrate!
Georgia Death Race – Blairsville, Georgia
The Run Bum Tours race goes 74 miles point to point toward a finish at Amicalola Falls State Park. It’s a challenging course and on top of that, runners must carry a railroad spike and drop it into a coffin at the finish.
Women
Shannon Wheeler DeBoef was a big winner in the women’s race at 16:50. Wheeler DeBoef is a prolific racer in the U.S. Southeast and was fourth here back in 2020.
Second- and third-place Flavie Dokken and Sally Bray finished in 17:48 and 17:52.
Shannon Wheeler DeBoef throwing a nail in the coffin to win the 2024 Georgia Death Race. Photo: Nick Morgan
Men
Brendan Connell looked death in the eye, and then ran 13:25. That was over an hour better than everyone else. Connell won last year’s Arkansas Traveller 100 Mile too.
Lukas Burrer (Germany) was second in 14:40, and Tanner Honan dipped under the 15-hour mark with a 14:56 third-place finish.
Brendan Connell on his way to winning the 2024 Georgia Death Race. Photo: Nick Morgan
Antelope Island Buffalo Run – Syracuse, Utah
The Friday to Saturday event happened on Antelope Island, the biggest of 10 islands inside the Great Salt Lake. The island is best known for its herd of some 550 to 700 buffalo.
100 Mile
Hollie Pierce led the women in 26:27, and Leslie Cross and Ashley Forshey came next in 27:00 and 27:37, respectively.
Men’s winner Luke Metzger finished the two-loop course in 18:24. Second-place Justin Alpaugh ran 18:44 and Karl Meltzer was third in 19:10. Meltzer’s march to one hundred 100-mile finishes continues. This was #83. His 14:34 course record from 2013 still stands here, too.
50 Mile
The top three, but only the top three, dipped under nine hours in the women’s race. Maria Johnstone was victorious in 8:33, less than two minutes better than second-place Rhandi Orme and her 8:35 run. Stacey Armijo was third in 8:58.
Bear 100 Mile course-record holder Zack Garner led everyone in 6:30. Anthony Jacobs was second in 6:42 and Singletrack podcast ace Finn Melanson was third in 7:03.
50k
It took a sub-5 hour run to get on the women’s 50k podium. Alexis Crellin was out front in 4:38, and Marie Young and Brooke Bullington followed in 4:45 and 4:55.
He is risen! Adam Peterman’s on the comeback trail. Peterman missed all of 2023 with injury and came back strong with a 3:27 win and course record. Second-place Devin Pancake waffled just a little off the lead pace toward a 3:41 finish. A former Utah State runner, Pancake was in his first go at the 50k distance. He looks to hold a 4:00:36 mile best dating to 2022. Loren Davis was third in 4:16.
Additional Races and Runs
World Athletics Cross Country Championships – Belgrade, Serbia
The event happened on a flat course along the Danube River, spiced up with obstacles like hay bales and a mud pit. Pre-race temperatures were forecast to reach an unseasonably warm 81 degrees Fahrenheit. Both the women and men raced a 10-kilometer course, and a couple trail runners and ultrarunners were amongst the field.
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet won the women’s open race in 31:05, besting fellow countrywomen Lilian Kasait Rengeruk and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi by all of three and four seconds respectively! Indeed, Kenyan women swept the first five positions from cross-country perfection. Allie Ostrander (U.S.) was 30th, second American, in 34:11. (In 2023, Ostrander was suspended for four months after testing positive for canrenone, a metabolite of spironolactone, after it was determined that she mistakenly took the drug without first obtaining a World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption.)
What future trail running star might be pictured here at the start of the women’s under 20 race at the 2024 World Athletics World Cross Country Championships? Photo: Adam Nurkiewicz for World Athletics
The open men’s race saw a mix of East African countries on the podium with Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda winning in 28:09, ahead of Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia and Benson Kiplangat of Kenya, who missed the win by all of three and five seconds each. The 2023 Speedgoat by UTMB 50k winner Christian Allen (U.S.) was 37th in 29:54 and 2023 Western States 100 winner Tom Evans (U.K.) stepped down in distance for a 49th-place finish in 30:16.
Photo: Adam Nurkiewicz for World Athletics
Verticale Team Salomon – Corte, France
The Salomon team dropped into Corsica as part of their team camp and had an uphill race. Sophia Laukli (U.S.) and Thibaut Baronian (France) were the first up in 47:09 and 40:29. Full results.
Sydney Trail Marathon – Castle Hill, Australia
The race happened on trails inside the Bidjigal Reserve. Race victors Stephanie Auston and Luke Jeffrey finished the track in 3:41 and 3:24, respectively. Full results.
Stanford Invite – Palo Alto, California
Trail sophomore Anna Gibson ran 16:09 for a 17th-place finish in the meet’s fastest 5,000-meter heat. Full results.
Redwood Trail Spring 50k – Oakland, California
Race winners Kimberly Neely and Cliff Lentz ran 4:35 and 4:29, respectively. Full results.
Rattlesnake Dick 50k – Cool, California
The first-year race celebrated the memory of outlaw Richard Barter (aka Rattlesnake Dick). Hailey Chiasson and Cole Watson won in 6:27 and 4:04. Full results.
Chicago Lakefront 50k – Chicago, Illinois
Having won the race before, Rachel Burke and Nolan McKenna ran along Lake Michigan in 4:04 and 2:58 to win the springtime edition. McKenna was just over a minute off a course record that’s stood since 2001 and only the second person to break 3 hours on the course. Full results.
Rachel Burke winning the 2024 Chicago Lakefront 50k. Photo: Michelle Thom/RunRace.net
Bourbon Country 50k – Shepherdsville, Kentucky
Wow, 95% of the world’s bourbon is produced in Kentucky. It was the race’s inaugural running and Tavi Wallace and Colin Oliver won in 5:42 and 4:50. Full results.
Call for Comments
There’s just been too many mean-spirited comments over the past year pointing out typos and innocent mistakes, so this is it! The April 1 TWIR is the last time we’ll host comments here. Send the comments section out with a bang, and give us your best note. (Happy April Fools’ Day, running friends!)
