Happy Monday, This Week in Running lovers. We’re moving through Gorge Waterfalls, the Paris Marathon, and a sub-13 hour 100 miler, all among other fun.
Also, a look ahead at next weekend’s Lake Sonoma 50 Mile. Let’s break it down.
Gorge Waterfalls – Cascade Locks, Oregon
30k
Things got underway on Friday with the first-year 30-kilometer race. The roughly 18-mile course ran point-to-point with 2,700 feet of elevation gain.
Liam Meirow and Bailey Kowalczyk were race winners in 2:05 and 2:19.
Meirow’s a 13:56 5,000-meter runner as recently as 2022, and both he and Kowalczyk are one month out from the Sunapee Scramble race in New Hampshire. Meirow will contest both the Vertical and Up and Down races there on back-to-back days, and Kowalcyzk is registered for just the Up and Down discipline. Both races are selection races for the U.S. mountain running team that will compete at the June 2023 World Trail and Mountain Running Championships in Austria.
100k
Saturday’s 100k went out and back with 11,000 feet of elevation gain and gave away $2,500 to the race winners.
Vincent Bouillard led everyone to the line with an 8:28 finish time. Blake Slattengren and Caleb Bowen followed in 8:37 and 8:56, respectively.
The 2023 Gorge Waterfalls 100k men’s podium: (l-to-r) 2. Blake Slattengren, 1. Vincent Bouillard, 3. Caleb Bowen. Photo: @jamesholk
Female winner Riley Brady (non-binary, but competes in the female division) finished in 9:59, and Lotti Brinks and Rachel Lemcke got on the podium with 10:10 and 10:36 marks, respectively.
The 2023 Gorge Waterfalls 100k female podium: (l-to-r) 2. Lotti Brinks, 1. Riley Brady 3. Rachel Lemcke. Photo: @jamesholk
50k
The weekend finished with 50k on a point-to-point course. $1,250 went to each of the winners.
Matt Daniels was several minutes off the lead as late as 2:40 into the race, but closed hard to overtake everyone on his way to a 3:58 winning time. Ryan Becker and Dylan Humberger followed in 4:03 and 4:07 to also get in the money.
The 2023 Gorge Waterfalls 50k men’s podium: (l-to-r) 2. Ryan Becker, 1. Matt Daniels, 3. Dylan Humberger. Photo: Ryan Thrower
Meghan Morgan gained the women’s win in 4:39, working her way toward Western States 100. Second- and third-place Katelyn McDaniel and Katie Asmuth came through in 4:46 and 4:52, respectively.
The 2023 Gorge Waterfalls 50k women’s podium: (l-to-r) 2. Katelyn McDaniel, 1. Meghan Morgan, 3. Katie Asmuth. Photo: Ryan Thrower
American River 50 Mile – Folsom, California
Rajpaul Pannu dipped under the six-hour mark with a 5:59:26 finish, and he was way up on everyone else. Craig Hunt‘s busy spring kept going with a second-place 6:32, and Jacob Huston was third in 6:37.
Only 13 minutes separated the first three women. Christal Cuadra-Keegan got to the line first in 8:02. Careth Arnold and Madison Hart were second and third in 8:10 and 8:15, respectively.
Additional Races and Runs
Umstead 100 Mile – Raleigh, North Carolina
Arlen Glick’s got the 100-mile distance down. Glick won the men’s race in 12:57, and Holly Chase won the women’s in 19:52. Glick’s finish bettered Mike Morton’s 13:11 course record from 2012. Full results.
Arlen Glick on the way to winning the 2023 Umstead 100 Mile in course record time. Photo: Hope Squires
Holly Chase running toward victory in the 2023 Umstead 100 Mile. Photo: Hope Squires
Paris Marathon – Paris, France
Matthieu Blanchard (France) has some wheels. Second at last year’s UTMB, he ran 2:22:36 to finish 35th overall here, and he did it with a small negative split. Full results.
Mill Town Half Marathon – Everett, Washington
The race went along the Everett waterfront and over a drawbridge, and Grayson Murphy went 1:10:34 for the win. The time puts her inside the sub-1:12 qualifying mark for the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon. Murphy finished one second ahead of men’s leader Conner Peloquin. Full results.
Shotgun Trail Blast 50k – Marcola, Oregon
Taylor Spake won the 50k in 4:35, and Kristi Leblanc was the only female finisher in 5:33. Full results.
Peterson Ridge Rumble 40 Mile – Sisters, Oregon
A snow storm cut the normally 40-mile race into something just longer than a marathon. Todd Simpson and Ashley Nordell won the shortened race in 3:32 and 3:48. The 20-mile race still went its full distance with Peter Allegre and Camelia Mayfield winning in 2:18 and 2:38. Full results.
A snowgirl kept an eye on the turnaround point for the shortened, 27-mile course at the Peterson Ridge Rumble. Photo: Sean Meissner
Carlsbad 5000 – Carlsbad, California
Dubbed the “world’s fastest 5k,” the road race saw Allie Ostrander run 15:47 for second place, ahead of a year mostly on the trails. Full results.
Hells Hills Trail Run – Smithville, Texas
The Tejas Trails race saw Chris Duffy and Emily Lozano win the 50 miler in 8:32 and 11:55, and Zach and Nicole Bitter ran 4:18 and 4:36 at the front of the 50k. Full results.
Brazos Bend 50 Mile – Needville, Texas
This one is said to be the fastest trail race in all of Texas, and David Carrasco and Glenda Escobar were crowned 50-mile champs in 7:41 and 8:44. Full results.
Iron Mountain Legend – Caddo Valley, Arkansas
Chad Payne and Penny Whelchel won the marathon-distance race in 3:43 and 4:21. Full results.
Singletrack Maniac 50k – Williamsburg, Virginia
It was the race’s 10th anniversary and Austin Lipscomb and Trish Rice were victorious in 4:54 and 5:44. Full results.
Next Weekend – Lake Sonoma 50 Mile – Healdsburg, California
It’s all about the red, white, and blue, and these colors run. The top three men and women will earn spots on the U.S. mountain running team that will compete at the June 2023 Trail Running 80k World Championships in Austria. There’s a $9,000 prize purse too with $2,000 to each winner. Who’s it going to be?
Men
- Preston Cates – 4th 2023 Way Too Cool 50k
- Drew Holmen – 5th 2022 Western States 100
- Brett Hornig – 4th 2022 Javelina 100 Mile
- Bryan Kerl – 1st 2022 Silver Rush 50 Mile
- Stephen Kersh – 9th 2023 Black Canyon 100k
- Richard Lockwood – 1st 2022 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile
- Ryan Miller – 1st 2022 Gorge Waterfalls 50k
- Zach Perrin – 1st 2022 Bridger Ridge Run
- Seth Ruhling – 2nd 2023 Chuckanut 50k
- Matthew Seidel – 4th 2022 JFK 50 Mile
- Erik Sorenson – 6th 2023 Black Canyon 100k
The 2022 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile men’s podium (l-to-r): 3. Grant Hotaling, 1. Matt Seidel, and 2. Ben Koss. Photo: Tracy Pool
Women
- Allison Baca – 4th 2023 FOURmidable 50k
- Sarah Biehl – 1st 2022 JFK 50 Mile
- Amelia Boone – 1st 2022 Golden Gate Trail Classic 100k
- Ashley Brasovan – 2nd 2022 Way Too Cool 50k
- Erin Clark – 3rd 2022 Moab Red Hot 55k
- Tara Fraga – 2nd 2022 Gorge Waterfalls 100k
- Sarah Keyes – 3rd 2022 The Rut 50k
- Abby Levene – 2nd 2019 Crested Butte Ultra 55k
- Kristina Randrup – 4th 2023 Way Too Cool 50k
- Natalie Sandoval – 4th 2022 JFK 50 Mile
- Devon Yanko – 1st 2022 Javelina 100 Mile
Corrine Malcolm is on the entrants list but says she’s not running.
Brittany Charboneau winning the 2022 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile. Photo: Tracy Pool
Call for Comments
With all of these U.S. selection races, I’m getting hyped for the second combined Trail and Mountain Running World Championships in June in Austria. Is it too early? Are you too?
