Spring is here, and racing is well under way. The Way Too Cool 50k was the weekend’s hotspot, but there were lots of other races around the U.S. and elsewhere too.
Way Too Cool 50k – Cool, California
After last year’s weather-related cancelation, runners came back for the race’s 35th year.
Women
Jennifer Schmidt and Emily Clarke dueled at the front of the women’s race. Schmidt won in 3:53 and Clarke was second in 3:54. The two frontrunners were only 51 seconds apart. Schmidt next goes to the Gorge Waterfalls 100k in April and Clarke has a number of shorter races like the Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k and Mammoth Trailfest 26k on her calendar.
Careth Arnold was third in 4:09.
Jennifer Schmidt, the 2025 Way Too Cool 50k female winner. All photos: Joel Corcoran
The women’s top five was:
- Jennifer Schmidt – 3:53
- Emily Clarke – 3:54
- Careth Arnold – 4:09
- Rachel Lemcke – 4:35
- Katelyn Kerins – 4:44
Emily Clarke, the 2025 Way Too Cool 50k second female.
Men
Hans the destroyer Troyer took the men’s crown 3:19. Finnian Jacobson-Schulte finished second in 3:26, and Tommy Sullivan was third on the podium in 3:28.
The top 14 men all ran under four hours.
Finnian Jacobson-Schulte, the 2025 Way Too Cool 50k second man. Lead man Hans Troyer was unfortunately too fast for the camera.
The men’s top five was:
- Hans Troyer – 3:19
- Finnian Jacobson-Schulte – 3:26
- Tommy Sullivan – 3:28
- Mario Mendoza – 3:29
- Jimmy McCue – 3:43
Ultra-Trail Xiamen by UTMB – China
LXM 100k
Over 700 runners started the 65-mile race and its 18,251 feet of climbing. It was an all-Chinese podium in both the women’s and men’s races.
Ying Li, Li-Ping Wang, and Wen-Li Jiang went one-two-three in 14:20, 14:37, and 14:45 for the women.
Men’s leaders Ji Duo and Jia-Ju Zhao appear to have finished in a tie, both clocking exactly 11:27:22 finishes. Pei-Quan You was a distant third in 12:36.
MXM 50k
Chinese runners also swept the podium of the 33-mile race.
The top three women all finished inside the top-10 overall. Fu-Zhao Xiang was first in 6:05, and Wen-Rong Zheng and Ti Ren finished next in 6:35 and 6:43.
Jian-Jian Yang gapped Min Qi for the men’s win in 5:22, 10 minutes better than his chaser. Sheng Zhang was third in 5:41.
Additional Races and Runs
Motatapu – Queenstown, New Zealand
Kiwis Hannah Wall and Dean Stewart won the 52k race in 6:57 and 6:30. Also both from New Zealand, Marina Ferguson and Benje Patterson were fastest in the trail marathon in 3:28 and 3:04. Full results.
Tokyo Marathon – Tokyo, Japan
Fourth at last year’s Transgrancanaria classic race, Dominika Stelmach (Poland) did this winter-spring a little different. She was the 31st woman in 2:43. Full results.
Iditarod Trail Invitational – McGrath, Alaska
The 350-mile race finishes in McGrath and 1,000-mile competitors go all the way to Nome. This year’s race was marked by warm weather and little snow. The 1,000 milers have quite a ways to go, but in the 350-mile race, Stacy Fisk and Melanie Vriesman are together at the front late into the women’s race. Fisk and Vriesman are two of just three in the race, and Scott Hoberg finished first for the men in 126:18. That’s five days, six hours, and 18 minutes. Full results.
Napa Valley Marathon – Napa, California
Garrett Corcoran left the trails to win the Napa Valley Marathon in 2:15:48. Carolina Garcia won for the women in 2:43:24. Both picked up a case of 12 bottles of wine for their efforts. Full results.
Grandmaster Ultras – Mesquite, Nevada
Tops in the 100-mile race were Sandra Spence and Patrick Oborn in 28:07 and 19:59. Full results.
Monument Valley Ultra – Monument Valley, Utah
Race winners Karen Krob and Charles Atsye took the 50k course in 5:52 and 5:04. Full results.
Red Mountain 50k – St. George, Utah
Laura Berglind and Braden Perry won in 4:49 and 3:54. Full results.
Mississippi Trail – Laurel, Mississippi
Bethany Madson won the 100 miler in 19:08. She finished second overall and set a new course record too. Jackson Wolf won the men’s 100 miler in 17:24, and that was a new course record too for the third-year 100 miler. The 50 miler goes way back to 1980 and this year’s winners were Greta Conlon and Joshua Moore in 9:31 and 5:50. Full results.
Music City Trail Ultra 50k – Pegram, Tennessee
A small group of 50k finishers was led by Jewly Hight and Ryan Fina in 5:46 and 4:54. Full results.
Super Bull Trail Championships – Wooster, Ohio
The ninth-year race had a $1,300 prize purse across three distances. Amelia Kvalheim and Alec Cline won the 50k in 6:27 and 4:19, respectively. Full results.
Naked Bavarian 40 Mile – Leesport, Pennsylvania
Kalei Hering and John Dragon won the race at Blue Marsh Lake in 6:07 and 5:11, respectively. Full results.
USATF Road Half Marathon National Championships – Atlanta, Georgia
A few weeks after running 1:16 at the Mesa Half Marathon in Arizona, Tabor Hemming popped a 1:14:05 finish for 74th place. Full results.
Gate River 15k – Jacksonville, Florida
Age 36, Andy Wacker is still running fast. He finished ninth in 43:52 against a nationally-competitive field. Wacker was four years older than anyone else in the top 10. Full results.
Call for Comments
It’s March! What’s coming up this month?
Frog parking only at the 2025 Way Too Cool 50k.
