A small number of race results are included below alongside a preview of the Bandera 100k and a full recap of all of the end-of-year awards.
Across the Years – Phoenix, Arizona
Ed Ettinghausen scored an upset win over David Johnston in the six-day race, the event’s marquee draw. Johnston won last year’s race with 551 miles and Ettinghausen, age 53, had run 123 miles at the Desert Solstice Invitational 24-hour event just two weeks earlier, but on the Camelback Ranch 1.05-mile loop, it was the prolific Ettinghausen that totaled 481.86 miles to Johnston’s 450.37. The pair were among the small group of six-day runners that faced icy nights, cold rain, and dusty days.
John Geesler was third in the six-day race with 437.77 miles and for the women, Sue Scholl and Yolanda Holder tied with 403.13 miles. Scholl had previously set the course record at last year’s race with 437.77 miles. Germany’s Martina Hausmann, who ran 428.75 miles here in 1999 and was thought to be Scholl’s closest rival, was fourth with 329 miles.
Women were overall winners of both the 24- and 72-hour races, and that was nearly the case in the 48-hour race too.
In that 48-hour race, Debra Horn, age 56, ran 170.07 miles to set a new American 55-59 age-group record. She eclipsed Liz Bauer’s record set at last year event. Horn was third overall in the race, just over a mile behind second man Kelly Agnew’s 171.12 mile total, and race winner Iso Yucra‘s 173.22 mile total.
Eileen Torres was both first female and the first overall finisher in the 24-hour race. She ran 127.03 miles. Mike Bialick, who ran a 12:52 100-mile in 2015 and was targeting a national team qualifier, exited the race after just 85 miles.
In the three-day, 72-hour race, it was Jill Hudson that went the farthest. The 53-year-old accumulated 204.71 miles.
Other Results
In Texas at the third annual Snowdrop Ultra 55-Hour Race, Joe Fejes totaled 250 miles as race winner. Former 24-hour American record holder Connie Gardner was fourth overall, first female, with 200 miles. Full results.
Although mostly a road race, Joe Gray kicked off his 2016 campaign with a 32:57 winning time at the Rescue Run 10k in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Full results.
Official results haven’t yet hit the web, but Gary Gellin won and set a new course record at Florida’s Croom Zoom 50k, a race held inside the Withlachoochee State Forest. Full results (when available).
Gary Gellin, 2016 Croom Zoom 50k champion. Photo: TampaRaces.com
Low snow forced a course reroute at Switzerland’s ski mountaineering Barlouka’s Race. Kilian Jornet bested a competitive field with a 24:09 winning time. Although the results are highly segregated between age divisions, it appears that Marti Werner was second in 24:15 and that Remi Bonnet, who won two races at this year’s The Rut, was third in 24:30. Defending champion Martin Anthamatten, who dabbled in the U.S. Skyrunner Series last year, was fifth in the senior men’s class in 25:19. Switzerland’s Victoria Kreuzer appears to have been a big winner in the women’s race in 29:14. Emelie Forsberg was fourth among senior women in 34:26. Full results.
Next Weekend – Bandera 100k – Bandera, Texas
The two-lap trail race is again the USATF 100k Trail National Championships and one of the Western States 100 Mile Golden Ticket Races. Two men’s and two women’s entries into the 2016 Western States 100 will be awarded. Several top men all appear to be chasing one of those entries, while the women’s race is surprisingly void of deeper competition.
Men
- Chris DeNucci – 2nd at 2015 Gorge Waterfalls 100k, 20th at 2015 Western States 100
- Mario Mendoza – Winner at 2015 Moab Trail Marathon, second at 2015 UROC 100k
- Michael Owen – Winner at 2015 Mohican 100 Mile, 2nd at 2015 Georgia Death Race 68 Mile
- Ford Smith – Winner at 2015 Black Canyon 100k, 40th at 2015 Western States 100
- Paul Terranova – Second at 2015 Bandera 100k, 10th at 2015 Western States 100
- Joe Uhan – Fourth at 2015 Bandera 100k
“I’d love to get into Western States,” Mendoza said of the chance to qualify at Bandera. “It’s definitely a big draw for me, but it’s also a national championship and I really enjoy that extra motivation to compete for a national title.” Mendoza won both the USATF Trail Marathon and USATF 50-Mile Trail National Championships last year.
Mendoza continued, describing his potential plans for the year, “I took a little break after the Moab Trail Marathon [in November] and then ramped back up. It has gone great and if things go according to plan, my goal is to get a Western [States] qualifier early so I can actually go through the proper training and build up for it during the spring. I know now that in an ultra many things can happen, but this is definitely the most prepared I’ve gone into one and I’m excited to see what happens.”
Women
Other than Liza Howard, the women’s entrant list is stark and includes just five USATF entrants. For any women readers potentially targeting a Western States entry, this appears to be a great opportunity. For Howard’s part, she has a long history with Bandera. She was second in 2014, fourth in 2013, and second in 2012. Rumor has it that Cassie Scallon is entering last minute into the race, but she’s not on the entrants list as of this publishing.
Full entrant list.
End-of-Year Awards
UltraRunning Magazine published their popular Ultrarunner of the Year rankings. David Laney and Magdalena Boulet won Ultrarunner of the Year honors, and the full list is included below.
1 – David Laney + Magdalena Boulet
2 – Ian Sharman + Camille Herron
3 – Seth Swanson + Stephanie Howe
4 – Rob Krar + Kaci Lickteig
5 – Dylan Bowman + Katalin Nagy
6 – Zach Miller + Nicole Studer
7 – Brian Rusiecki + Aliza Lapierre
8 – Alex Nichols + Ellie Greenwood
9 – Joe Fejes + Darcy Piceu
10 – Bob Shebest + Bethany Patterson
Earlier in December, Competitor Magazine published a similar award designation. Joe Gray and Megan Kimmel were named trail runners of the year, and Zach Miller and Camille Herron ultrarunners of the year.
In November, USATF announced their mountain, ultra, and trail runners of the year. Their winners included:
- Mountain runners of the year (open) – Joe Gray and Stevie Kremer
- Mountain runners of the year (masters) – Chris Grauch and Laura Haefeli
- Sub-ultra trail runners of the year (open) – Pat Smyth and Megan Kimmel
- Sub-ultra trail runners of the year (masters) – Chris Grauch and Mary Churchill
- Ultra trail runners of the year (open) – Alex Nichols and Nicole Studer
- Ultra trail runners of the year (masters) – Paul Terranova and Traci Falbo
- Ultra road runnners of the year (open) – Harvey Lewis and Camille Herron
- Ultra road runners of the year (masters) – Joe Fejes and Traci Falbo
Call for Comments
- There were quite a few different end-of-year awards given. Which list do you think got it most right?
- Are there any more late entrants into Bandera that we don’t yet know about? Leave a comment to let us know!
