The richest race in ultrarunning, another installment in the Skyrunner World Series Extreme division, and the USATF 24-Hour National Championships are among this week’s highlights. Next week’s Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji is also previewed.
Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile – Steamboat Springs, Colorado
With a full moon risin’, Alex Nichols went dancing in the light.
Nichols has had success on the European mountain-running circuit for years, but when it came time for his 100-mile debut, he stayed in-state and was rewarded with a fine 17:57 finish. The mark ranks third all-time, trailing only Jason Schlarb and Rob Krar. The richest ultra around, Nichols earned $12,000 of the $50,000 cash purse.
With the, as always, course wreaking havoc on the top field, the rest of the top 10 was full of surprise finishes. Prize money would stretch seven deep with $5,000 for second down to $500 for seventh.
Runner-up honors went to Mark Hammond in 19:19. Kyle Curtin was third in 19:27, and Jeff Browning was fourth in 19:38.
Notable drops included Sage Canaday, Josh Arthur, Jesse Haynes, and Bob Shebest.
Just ninth a year ago, Courtney Dauwalter was nearly six hours better this year. She won the women’s race in 21:23.
Dauwalter was joined on the women’s podium by Alissa St. Laurent in 22:38 and Nicole Kalogeropoulos in 23:10. Other top finishers included several familiar names, like fourth-place Becky Kirschenmann in 24:36, fifth-place Denise Bourassa, and sixth-place Amanda Basham. 2014 winner Kerrie Bruxvoort, less than a year removed from knee surgery, was ninth.
Notable drops included Anita Ortiz and Nikki Kimball.
Timmy Parr and Blair Doney won the accompanying 50-mile race in 7:26 and 9:18, respectively. Full results.
Salomon Glen Coe Skyline – Glen Coe, Scotland
Though the weekend-long event held Vertical K, 29k, and 55k races, only the long course was part of the Skyrunner World Series, and it was the final event in the three-race Extreme division.
French runner Alexis Sévennec edged Norwegian climbing ace Stian Angermund in the Vertical K, 42:17 to 42:25. The women’s race was also close with Georgia Tindley finishing just in front of Stephanie Provan. The two runners, both of the U.K., ran to 54:34 and 55:01 finishes. Full results.
Those same lead runners largely doubled back in the next day’s 29k (18-mile) race, gaining another 2,500 meters (8,200 feet). Angermund beat out Sévennec here on the middle-distance course, each finishing in 3:25 and 3:29. Tindley was again victorious, running 4:39 to finish 12 minutes in front of Hollie Orr, also of the U.K. Full results.
On the weekend’s final day of racing, the premier race, the 55k Skyline event took place, and the U.K.’s Jonathan Albon was victorious in 6:33. He was over an hour better than the previous course best on a route that jams in some 4,750 meters (15,500 feet) of climbing. Tom Owens of the U.K. was second and Marc Lauenstein of Switzerland was third. Owens ran 6:37 and Lauenstein 6:54.
Albon’s win also vaulted him ahead of Owens in the Skyrunner World Series Extreme standings, such that Albon also earned the series win, and Owens was second.
Women’s winner Jasmin Paris (U.K.) also earned a double victory, winning the series and the race. Norwegian skier Malene Haukøy was second, again in both the race and the series. The frontrunners raced to 8:15 and 8:23 finishes. Both Paris and Haukøy earlier took part in the Tromsø SkyRace, which Paris won ahead of Haukøy.
Sarah Ridgway of the U.K. was third and Ruth Croft of Zealand was fourth.
North Coast 24 Hour – Cleveland, Ohio
The race was again the USATF 24-Hour National Championships and each of the men’s and women’s winners earned an automatic spot on the U.S. team that will compete at the 2017 IAU 24-Hour World Championships in Ireland in July 2017.
Olivier Leblond, who was second here last year, won this year’s edition and earned that automatic team berth with 148.62 miles. Adrian Stanciu was second with 144.94 miles and sits sixth on the current standings for the six-man team.
Women’s winner Jenny Hoffman was impressively third overall with 142.07 miles, also earning an automatic team position and collecting a $1,200 cash prize. It was Hoffman’s third-straight win here.
The next USATF mountain, ultra, trail championships the October 30 Tussey Mountainback 50-mile road national championships in Pennsylvania.
Other Races and Runs
45 days, 22 hours, and 38 minutes, Karl Meltzer broke Scott Jurek’s one-year-old Appalachian Trail FKT by about 10 hours. This was Meltzer’s third go at the 2,189-mile trail, a white whale-like quest that’s taken the better part of the last decade. Meltzer traveled south, hitting 14 states on his way from Maine to Georgia. Not far behind Meltzer, Kaiha Bertollini is said to be hiking the trail on her way to a new self-supported FKT. As of September 14, Bertollini was on pace for an incredible 46-day hike. [Editor’s Note, September 20: Bertollini has finished her hike, claiming a self-supported FKT on the trail of 45 days, 6 hours, and 28 minutes via a Facebook post published on September 19th. The veracity of her claim is currently being called into question by thru-hiking community. She didn’t carry a GPS tracking device. We encourage you to follow this thread over on WhiteBlaze.net, where an analysis of her daily mileage is taking place based upon where other hikers observed her. We’ll update this post as we learn more.]
Scott Jurek, Karl Meltzer, and David Horton after Karl Meltzer set the supported Appalachian Trail speed record. Photo courtesy of David Horton.
Karl and Cheryl Meltzer after Karl set the supported Appalachian Trail speed record. Photo courtesy of David Horton.
Patrick Smyth won his third XTERRA Trail Run National Championships in Utah. Smyth finished the half marathon course in 1:14, more than five minutes in front of second place. Women’s winner Liz Stephen was equally dominant, finishing in 1:31 for an eight-minute lead on her closest chaser. It was Stephen’s third-straight win, and fourth ever, here. Both winners earned $1,000 in prize money. Smyth will next race the New York City Marathon. Full results (when available).
Patrick Smyth, 2016 XTERRA Trail Run National Champion. Photo: XTERRA Trail Run National Championships
Washington’s Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon was the fourth of five Altra U.S. Skyrunner Series Sky division races. Karl Augsten and Corrine Malcolm were victorious with 4:10 and 4:44 winning times, respectively. The final Sky race will be the October 1 Flagstaff Sky Race 39k in Arizona. Full results.
In 2015, some 70 miles into the Kodiak 100 Mile at Big Bear Lake, California, Miguel Lara fell to course sabotage and spent five hours off course. The Tarahumara runner avenged that setback this year though, winning the race in 19:58. It was a new course record by some 90 minutes. Suzanna Bon won the women’s race in 26:56. Full results.
Scott Gall and Molly Culver won the Wisconsin installment of the The North Face Endurance Challenge. The race winners finished the 50-mile route through the Kettle Moraine State Park in 6:32 and 8:22. Perennial 50-mile race winner Tyler Sigl was just third in the accompanying 50k, running 3:40. Full results.
Scott Gall, 2016 The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile – Wisconsin Champion. Photo: The North Face Endurance Challenge
Three weeks into his FKT attempt on Mount Everest, Kilian Jornet stepped away from the mountain in consideration of deteriorating weather. Jornet and his Summits of My Life team had been stationed at a 19,685-foot base camp on the mountain’s north face while acclimatizing to the altitude. It is not clear how far above base camp the team had moved during its time on the mountain.
Jason Wagner and Jennifer Rolfing won the Mark Twain 100 Mile in Missouri. The pair ran 23:17 and 30:41, respectively. Full results (when available).
The Mogollon Monster 100-mile packs in 22,000 feet of climbing while going from the Sonoran desert to ponderosa-pine forest, over and over. Andy Pearson won the men’s race and became just the third sub-24 hour finisher in the race’s five-year run. Pearson finished in 23:16. Women’s winner Veronica Rudolphi set a new course record in 26:04. Full results (when available).
Veronica Rudolphi, 2016 Mogollon Monster 100-Mile Champion. Photo: Mogollan Monster 100 Mile
For the sixth time, Matias Saari won Alaska’s Equinox Trail Marathon. This year’s win at the race’s 54th edition came in 2:54. Christy Marvin won the women’s race in 3:19. It was her 10th win in 11 races this year. Full results.
Matias Saari, 2016 Equinox Marathon Champion. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Early in the week, Italy’s Oliviero Bosatelli and Liza Borzani finished the epic 205-mile (330k) Tor des Géants adventure run in Italy. The race winners finished in 75:10 and 91:09, respectively. Full results.
Other Ultra News
The Western States Endurance Run announced six races to serve as Golden Ticket races for 2017, affording the top-two finishers at each race an automatic entry to Western. As in 2016, next year’s Golden Ticket races will again be Texas’s Bandera 100k, California’s Sean O’Brien 100k, Arizona’s Black Canyon 100k, Oregon’s Gorge Waterfalls 100k, the Georgia Death Race 68-miler, and California’s Lake Sonoma 50 Mile.
Next Weekend – Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji – Yamanashi & Shizuoka Prefectures, Japan
The 11th and penultimate race of this year’s Ultra-Trail World Tour is the Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji (UTMF). The fifth annual 165k (102 miles) race gains 7,500 meters (24,600 feet) while circumnavigating Mt. Fuji.
Men
- Dylan Bowman (U.S.) – 4th at 2016 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile
- Sébastien Chaigneau (France) – 13th at 2016 TransGrancanaria
- Yoshikazu Hara (Japan) – 4th at 2016 Tarawera Ultra
- Nickademus Hollon (U.S.) – 1st at 2016 Cruel Jewel 100 Mile
- Masatoshi Obara (Japan) – 5th at 2015 UTMF
- Sangé Sherpa (Nepal) – 7th at 2015 UTMF
- Ryan Smith (U.S.) – 20th at 2016 UTMB
- Xavier Thévenard (France) – 3rd at 2016 Hardrock 100
This will be Bowman’s first 100-mile race of the year, and his climbing ability will be tested against Thévenard.
Women
- Kaori Niwa (Japan) – 8th at 2016 UTMB
- Yukari Hoshino (Japan) – 6th at 2015 UTMF
- Silke Koester (U.S.) – 3rd at 2016 Big Horn 100
- Yukako Takashima (Japan) – 5th at 2015 UTMF
A largely in-country women’s field looks to fill most of the race’s top positions.
Next Weekend – Ultra Pirineau – Bagà, Catalonia, Spain
iRunFar has previewed the Skyrunner World Series Ultra division race separately, and will cover the race live. Stay tuned.
Call for Comments
What other results can our readers share? Word from Idaho’s IMTUF 100 Mile was out at press time, along with several others.
