The Ultra Minute 🏔️ September 16, 2024
Freetrail covers race costs for amateur after standout race, a new record at Run Rabbit Run, a gut-wrenching DNF, the race to the wire at Headlands, snow at Run the Rut and Wildstrubel, and more
Happy Monday, ultrarunners!
Last week we had a few races (and some livestreams!), including the latest stop on the Golden Trail World Series at the Headlands 27k in San Francisco, Run the Rut, Run Rabbit Run, and the Wildstrubel by UTMB.
I didn’t get to watch as many of the livestreams as I would have liked (2x toddler dad, weekend long run, etc), but I did catch a bit of the Run the Rut 50k stream. The shots were epic, with mountain goats hanging out on the ridges watching the runners fly by. I am so loving the progression in live streams, with incredible drone shots and camera runners all over the course. Props to the folks at Mountain Outpost, the race directors, and everyone else involved in making these streams happen.
I also followed some of the Headlands 27k where we saw runners absolutely zooming through the course. Speaking of which, our headline story this week kicks off back in A’Basin and continues into Headlands …
Freetrail covers amateur runner’s costs to compete in Golden Trail World Series after his astonishing second place finish at A’Basin
I just love this story. With Freetrail’s reach, I’m sure many are familiar, but I have to headline it anyway. Rewind to September 7 at the Cirque Series A’Basin race where relative unknown Johen DeLeon gets second place behind Patrick Kipngeno and ahead of Joseph Gray. To put that in perspective, Kipngeno and Gray are two of the absolute best sub-ultra mountain trail runners in the world. Kipngeno is the reigning World Mountain Running Champion, known for his incredible climbing ability and dominance on technical courses. Gray, a multiple U.S. national champion and world champion, has been a consistent force in mountain running for over a decade, with victories on nearly every continent. Finishing between those two giants of the sport is nothing short of remarkable for an amateur.
After this incredible second place performance, Dylan Bowman interviews Johen on the Freetrail Podcast and offers to cover his costs to travel to California to race in the Headlands 27k and Mammoth 26k, the next two stops of the Golden Trail World Series.
Johen was all-in, and very grateful, but first he had to clear it with his beloved employer, The Breadery, where he bakes up delicious sourdough. Fortunately his employer was all about it too, so Johen went racing in Cali!
While not quite 2nd, Johen put in a solid performance at the Headlands 27k this past weekend, finishing 36th in 2 hours 20 minutes and 30 seconds. I can’t wait to see how he does at Mammoth this coming Sunday!
More from Headlands 27k
Elhousine Elazzaoui takes the win by 2 seconds ahead of Philemon Ombogo Kiriago and Patrick Kipngeno with Rémi Bonnet and Christian Allen rounding out the top 5. (Results)
Joyce Muthoni Njeru wins ahead of Monica Madalina Florea after passing her later in the race, with Lauren Gregory in 3rd, Judith Wyder 4th, and Oria Liaci 5th. (Results)
Don’t miss the 2 minute race recap video on Instagram.
Prior to the race, we saw a new FKT on Mount Tam last week of 28:59 from Rémi Bonnet as he hit the local trails. He bested none other than Jim Walmsley, who has held the crown since 2017 with a time of 30:38.
Mann Sets Course Record, Lockwood Claims His Second Victory at Run Rabbit Run 100 Miler
The 2024 edition of the Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile saw Emilie Mann delivering a historic performance in the women’s race. Mann set a new course record, blazing through the finish in 19:48:05, beating a mark that had stood since 2013 by more than 27 minutes. After hanging back in the early miles, Mann overtook Leah Yingling around mile 89 and never looked back, sealing a commanding win. Barrett Gray rounded out the podium in her first ever 100 mile race, and previous course record holder Michelle Yates finished 7th.
On the men’s side, Richard Lockwood secured his second Run Rabbit Run win, adding to his 2022 victory. Lockwood took control of the race around mile 71 and surged to the finish in 17:24:41, crossing the line nearly 35 minutes faster than his 2022 win. Adam Loomis put in a strong performance for second, while Christopher Hammes rounded out the podium in third, showing his consistency at the event. Notably, this is a double for Hammes who won the High Lonesome 100 back in July.
More from Run Rabbit Run
Shea Aquilano who finished in 3rd, was later DNF’d after it was found she was sent the wrong way out of an aid station and missed 2 miles of the course. She wrote an emotional post on Instagram about the whiplash she’s feeling.
Leah Yingling went to war, showing up at the finish battered and bloodied after a hard fought second place.
Nicolas Sondaz won the men’s 50 mile race, ahead of Andrew Pontbriand and Alex Vance. Abigail West won the women’s 50 miler and took 3rd overall, finishing ahead of Nora Rex and Taylor Bacon. (Results)
Run the Rut
Vertical Kilometer (VK):
Cam Smith took the win in the men’s race, followed by Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau and Ryan Becker. (Results)
Jennifer Lichter took the win in the women’s race, with Klaire Rhodes and Caitlin Patterson rounding out the podium. (Results)
21K:
Doug and Jake Neil took the win together in the men’s race, with Chris Johnson rounding out the podium. (Results)
Madison Liechty took the women’s win in dominant fashion, with Jen Maixner in 2nd and Olivia Amber 3rd. (Results)
28K:
Cam Smith, who also won the VK, took the men’s win ahead of Scott Patterson and Johnny Luna-Lima. (Results)
Bailey Kowalczyk won the women’s race, with Jennifer Lichter (who also won the VK) taking 2nd, and Denali Strabel in 3rd. (Results)
50K:
Michelino Sunseri, whose Grand Teton FKT we covered last week, took the win ahead of Ryan Becker (who finished 3rd in the VK), and Scott Patterson (who also finished 2nd in the 28k!). (Results)
Klaire Rhodes, who also finished 2nd in the VK, won the women’s race ahead of Jazmine Lowther and Hannah Osowski. (Results)
Wildstrubel by UTMB
The 110k race was shortened to a 100k, with the runners encountering snow, mud, and cows. Get a feel for the conditions with the recap video on Insta!
Are Fetveit of Norway won the men’s race ahead of Max Daube and Adrien Lebreton.
Fiona Pascall of the UK won the women’s race (and finished 12th overall), with Laura Seskiene 2nd (39th overall), and Mathilde Dufour 3rd.
Other news and links
Tara Dower had only 500 miles to go on her Appalachian Trail FKT attempt as of 3 days ago!
posted a photo essay about his Southwest Summits Tour from this past March.
wrote about the lack of growth in UTMB’s year-over-year YouTube streaming numbers.
recounts a harrowing experience at PTL that left her grappling with the trauma of pushing past the limits in endurance racing.
Races to follow this week
Mammoth Trailfest is the 19-22, with the 26k serving as the next stop of the Golden Trail World Series. Mountain Outpost will be providing livestream coverage throughout the weekend. I’ve included their livestream schedule below:
Thursday at 9:00 PM EST: The Preview Show
Friday at 11:30 AM EST: Dragon’s Back Hill Climb (3 miles and 2,400 ft of gain)
Saturday at 10:00 AM EST: 50k Race
Sunday at 3:00 PM EST: 26k Finishers, Recap, and Interviews
We have 3 UTMB races this week, including Paraty in Brazil, Grindstone in Virginia, and Julian Alps in Slovenia.
Lastly, but certainly not least, the Grand to Grand Ultra kicks off Sunday and runs through next weekend. Substack local, , is running it for a 4th time and recently wrote about her experience with the race:
That’s it for this week. If you enjoyed it, please forward this email to a friend (or a few 😉) and encourage them to subscribe at this link so it lands in their inbox next week.
See y’all on the trail,
Ken
Thanks for having this substack! I love keeping up with what’s going on in the ultra world
Thanks for your wrap up and for including my post! The self-supported G2G is very low profile and off the grid—no crew, spectators, pacers, or food; just water and communal tents for the week—and we even get penalized if we connect to the outside world with GPS or cell service. It’s a refreshing and humbling back-to-nature digital detox.