Hawai’i, Texas Hill Country, and Houston, Texas, are among this weekend’s hot spots for racing, and we lassoed it all up below.
Let us know in the comments what racing you’ve been doing this past weekend!
HURT 100 Mile – Honolulu, Hawai’i
It was the rainforest run’s 23rd year. There was a small course reroute this year, but it was still run as five laps that totaled 26,750 feet of elevation gain.
Ihor Verys (Ukraine, lives in Canada) went bananas on the fruit loop course. Verys won the men’s race in 20:50, and it’s the race’s fifth-fastest finish ever. Verys was runner-up at last year’s Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra. Second-place Anthony Lee followed in 21:39, and that was a giant improvement on his fourth-place 27:01 finish from 2022. Michito Sawa (Japan) was third in 22:39.
I don’t know what music they play at the HURT 100 Mile finish line, but I imagine John Mellencamp crooning “Hurts So Good.” Andrea Tarras (Canada) might’ve had that tune going too after she won the women’s race in 26:00. Tarras won the Fat Dog 120 Mile last year and as with men’s winner Verys, her time ranks fifth-best ever too. Katherina Laan and Candice Burt were second and third in 26:51 and 29:40, respectively. It was Burt’s seventh finish here.
Bandera Endurance Trail Race – Bandera, Texas
100k
The 100k wasn’t a Western States 100 Golden Ticket race this year, but nearly 400 runners started the two-lap run around the Hill Country State Natural Area.
The front three men were really spread out! Hans Troyer was Hans solo in the lead at 7:45. The race initially announced it as a new course record, but it sounds like this year’s route was found to be shorter than those in the past. Troyer, age 23, ran collegiately at Division II Augusta University last year. Jared Rothlauf was over an hour back in second at 8:52, and Kwok Hin Lai was nearly another hour away in 9:41 for third place.
Hans Troyer, the 2024 Bandera 100k men’s champion. Photo: Jesse Ellis/Let’s Wander Photography
Colleen Chase had a big lead in the women’s race too. Chase won in 10:32. Her closest, ahem, chasers were second- and third-place Lauren Jones and Julia Hargesheimer in 11:20 and 11:30.
Colleen Chase on her way to winning the 2024 Bandera 100k. Photo: Jesse Ellis/Let’s Wander Photography
50k
In Sunday’s 50k, Brandon Miller (Canada) sped to victory in 3:35. Christoper Reischel dipped under the four-hour-mark too with a 3:57 podium second place, while Bryan Frank was third in 4:18.
Katherine Edwards led the women in 4:54, and Kertu Palo and Shaina Couch were up next in 5:02 and 5:07.
Additional Races and Runs
Crystal Springs Winter 50k – Woodside, California
Nate Seltenrich and Jessie Brewer ran 4:22 and 5:58 to finish first. Full results.
Ouachita Switchbacks 50k – Big Cedar, Oklahoma
There were 33 finishers, but none faster than Wilton Norris and Jennifer Delzeit in 4:44 and 7:26. Full results.
Urban Ultra 50k – Dallas, Texas
Collin Tremain and Claudia Carbajal were first in 4:45 and 5:32. Full results.
Houston Marathon and Half Marathon – Houston, Texas
Checking in on trail runners and ultrarunners at the big road event, 44-year-old Ryan Smith went through halfway in 1:11:59 and held on for a 2:26:38 finish in the men’s marathon. That’s 5:36 per mile and he was 31st overall. Smith was third at the Hardrock 100 in 2021. In the half marathon, 2023 Mount Washington Road Race runner-up Sam Chelanga was eighth American in 1:03:43 as part of his prep for the upcoming U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Full results.
Swamp Stomper 50k – Millington, Tennessee
Only 12 of the 20 starters finished the Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park course. Abel Murphy and Hannah Stoneking were at the front of that small group in 4:51 and 6:22. Full results.
Tsali Ultra – Almond, North Carolina
Brian Atkinson and Malinda Honkus were the fastest over 50k in 3:35 and 5:24. The 14th-year race is on the Tsali trail system in the Nantahala National Forest. Full results.
Long Haul 100 Mile – Wesley Chapel, Florida
The course was six flat laps that totaled 100 miles inside the Colt Creek State Park. Adam Gloyeske and Rebecca Whitman won the race in 15:30 and 19:53. Full results.
Bear Bait Ultras – Milton, Florida
The race was run on a four-mile loop at the Adventures Unlimited Outdoor Center. Charlie Klaesius won the 50-mile race in 7:00 against a small field that didn’t include any women. Criostoir Neal and Christine Wagner won the 50k in 4:40 and 6:17. Full results.
Naples Half Marathon – Naples, Florida
The current 50-mile world record holder Charlie Lawrence prepped for the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon with a fourth-place 1:06:09. Full results.
Call for Comments
Got any questions or comments for us? Get in touch!
