Riley Brady and Seth Ruhling Shatter Records at Black Canyon 100k
Black Canyon recap, more sponsorship moves, and a packed race weekend ahead with Tarawera and a 100-mile American record attempt at Jackpot Ultras—plus all the latest trail and ultra news
The Black Canyon 100K has become one of the most competitive trail ultras in North America. As a “super” Golden Ticket race, it awards entry to Western States to the top three men and women—six total tickets instead of the usual four. This year, the race leveled up yet again, with a faster and more competitive front end than ever before. Known for its fast, net-downhill first half, rocky terrain, and punishing second half—where most of the course’s elevation gain is packed into the final miles—Black Canyon demands both speed and smart execution.
This year’s edition lived up to its reputation, with Riley Brady and Seth Ruhling delivering two of the most dominant performances in race history.
Riley Brady ran 8:16:18, smashing Keely Henninger’s 2023 course record by nearly 30 minutes and becoming the first athlete to win back-to-back Golden Ticket races after their victory at Javelina Jundred last fall. Remarkably, Brady remains an unsponsored athlete, a rarity at the top level of the sport. They executed a near-flawless race, moving into the lead just before halfway and running the fastest closing split in race history—covering the final 11 miles in 1:35, seven minutes faster than anyone else in the field. In their post-race interview, Riley Brady said,
I was going for the course record, but I did not in my wildest imagination think it would be close to a 30-minute course record. I had a blast out there running… It was definitely hard and I’m pretty destroyed!
Tara Dower finished second in 8:25:08, also breaking the previous course record. Her performance was remarkable, especially considering she hasn’t been known for speed and is only 4.5 months removed from setting the overall fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail. To pivot from a 40-day journey on the AT to the second fastest Black Canyon 100k in history shows just how dynamic she is as an athlete.
EmKay Sullivan took third in 8:48:50, accepting her second Golden Ticket in less than a year. With Brady already ticketed, Lin Chen (8:50:40) was awarded the final women’s Golden Ticket.
The men’s race was a battle from the gun, with Eli Hemming setting a scorching early pace, running ahead of course-record splits through 40 miles. But Seth Ruhling surged past Hemming in the second half and never looked back. In his post-race interview, Seth said,
I don’t know, I kind of thought earlier I was gonna take [the win]… Before I made that pass, I was like, ‘I think I got this one.’ But honestly, two or three minutes after I passed Eli, I actually vomited a few times. I’d never done that in a race before, but weirdly, I actually felt amazing after.
Ruhling powered to the win in 7:24:55, slicing more than five minutes off Hayden Hawks’ 2024 course record. Unlike the other leading men, he took the time to stop at early aid stations to grab water and cool off—something field commentator Brett Hornig highlighted during the livestream. Ruhling later reflected on this in the latest episode of The Boulder Boys Podcast, saying he was “shocked” that none of the other front-runners were doing the same.
Will Murray, a relative unknown in the pro scene, finished second in 7:26:53—also under the previous record—securing his Golden Ticket. Joe McConaughy, in his eighth attempt at a Golden Ticket, finally broke through, finishing third in 7:31:37 after moving up from 35th place early in the race.
The new 50K distance, part of the new World Trail Majors Short Series, was equally competitive. Allison Baca dominated the women’s race, winning in 3:45:09, while former UNC track athlete Caroline Alcorta took second in 3:53:37. In the men’s race, Jeshurun Small claimed victory in 3:22:52, followed by Eric Lagerstrom in 3:25:41.
More from Black Canyon
In a performance few saw coming, Will Murray stormed to second place in 7:26:53, earning a Golden Ticket to Western States. The former cyclist-turned-ultrarunner shared a deep reflection on his journey, preparation, and execution of the race in his Strava post.
Both Riley Brady (8:16:18) and Tara Dower (8:25:08), the only two women to go under Keely Henninger’s previous course record of 8:45:30, are coached by the powerhouse duo of David and Megan Roche—Brady by David and Dower by Megan.
A pre-race favorite, Mary Denholm went out hard to lead the women’s race through mile 24 but DNF’d at Deep Canyon Ranch. She wrote on Instagram that she struggled with the heat and had some equilibrium issues, and that she’ll now shift her focus to Canyons 100k in April.
Hans Troyer was forced to withdraw from the race as he came down with the flu the day before. Just last week we ran a feature on Troyer, detailing his tumultuous 2024 Black Canyon experience and his journey back to the start line. In a recent vlog Hans called it a “tough weekend” and promised to turn his attention to Canyons 100k in April. He also recently posted on Strava that he registered for the Way Too Cool 50k, so we’ll get to see Hans race again as soon as March 1.
If you love race data, Liam Tryon’s deep dive into Black Canyon’s fastest splits, course records, and historic performances is a must-read. From Riley Brady’s blistering second-half split to Ferdinand Airault’s unprecedented negative split, his breakdown highlights just how fast this year’s race was.
The Boulder Boys have been on a frenzy, with 3 members of the group racing at Black Canyon and pumping out top-notch media, including two throwback-style highlight videos—one capturing Seth Ruhling’s Black Canyon 100K win and course record, and the other following Adam Merry and Moises Jimenez in the 50K—both filmed and edited with a nostalgic 90s/early 2000s skate video aesthetic, and a new (must-watch) edition of The Boulder Boys Podcast, in which Seth gives some great insights into his training and how the race unfolded.
In her Instagram stories, Tara Dower shared the “cut throat” playlist that powered her to second in the 100k–Comatose at Black Canyon 100K.
If you missed the post-race interviews during the livestream as I did, you can jump to the men’s interviews here and the women’s here.
Lastly, Derrick Lytle and Jeff Garmire dropped a must-watch Black Canyon 100K video—a perfect mix of race insight and comedy. Shot in a deadpan comedic style, their video blends race analysis with absurd, straight-faced humor. It captures key moments like Eli Hemming visibly struggling at Table Mesa before fading to fourth, alongside unexpected gems like Tim Tollefson styling Jeff’s hair:
Another weekend, another Golden Ticket race
The Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB is set to take place this weekend in Rotorua, New Zealand, featuring distances of 21km, 50km, 102km, and 100 miles. Notably, the 102km race is a Golden Ticket race for the Western States Endurance Run, offering up tickets for the top two men and women.
For a detailed preview of the 102km race, including top contenders and course insights, check out Liam’s excellent preview post or listen to Robrunsround’s preview pod (he starts previewing Terawera around the 12:10 mark). Freetrail is also on location and is posting videos to this playlist, where they’ve already posted several pre-race athlete interviews.
Live tracking will be available on the UTMB website, and for easy reference here are the start times:
• 163k Race Start: Saturday, February 15, at 4:00 AM NZDT (Friday, February 14, at 10:00 AM EST / 7:00 AM PST)
• 102k Race Start: Saturday, February 15, at 7:00 AM NZDT (which is Friday, February 14, at 1:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST)
• 50k Race Start: Saturday, February 15, at 7:00 AM NZDT, (Friday, February 14, at 1:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST)
• 21k Race Start: Saturday, February 15, at 10:00 AM NZDT, (Friday, February 14, at 4:00 PM EST / 1:00 PM PST)
A Race for the 100-mile American Record
This weekend also brings the USATF 100 Mile Road Championships at Jackpot Ultras, where Rajpaul Pannu and Dakota Jones are making an American record attempt at the 100-mile distance. Their goal: to break Zach Bitter’s 11:19:13 mark, which requires an average pace of 6:47 per mile. Pannu, the reigning USATF 100-mile champion, won last year’s race in 11:58:01, while Jones, making his ultra road debut, is experimenting with prototype carbon shoes from NNormal.
For a full breakdown of the race and its storylines, check out ATRA's preview.
How To Watch Jackpot Ultras
Mountain Outpost, fresh off providing excellent coverage of Black Canyon, is livestreaming the USATF 100 Mile Championship and the Mount to Coast 100K starting first thing tomorrow morning. Here’s the schedule (all times Pacific Standard Time):
Friday
6:30 AM – USATF 100 Mile Championship Livestream
Saturday
6:30 AM - Mount to Coast 100K Livestream
Sponsorship News
After teasing a major signing last week, NNormal has officially added Joyce Muthoni Njeru to its team. A dominant force in mountain running, Njeru boasts an incredible record of 49 races, 29 wins, and 11 podiums, including three consecutive WMRA World Cup titles (2021–2023) and the 2024 Golden Trail Series crown.
Hannah Allgood, the #9 ranked ultrarunner of 2024 by UltraRunning Magazine, has joined Adidas Terrex. Allgood showcased her versatility last year, winning the Eiger 101K in Switzerland and finishing second at Javelina Jundred.
Lindsay Allison, winner of the 2024 USATF Trail 50K Championship at the Headlands 50k, announced this week on Instagram that she joined Altra.
Michelino Sunseri, Bailey Kowalczyk, and Klaire Rhodes have joined Näak. Sunseri, who is currently facing legal charges related to his Grand Teton FKT, praised Näak’s sustainability efforts, while he and Rhodes both hinted at an upcoming product launch in their Instagram posts announcing the partnership. Kowalczyk’s signing was announced separately by Näak.
In a bit of fun, Nick Cornell breaks down some of the most notable athlete sponsorship moves of 2025, handing out grades based on whether the move appears to be an upgrade or downgrade for the athlete. Among the transfers he covers: Jazmine Lowther (The North Face → Arc’teryx), Tom Evans (Adidas Terrex → Asics), Corrine Malcolm (Adidas Terrex → HOKA), and Francesco Puppi (Nike → HOKA).
Other News & Links
Cocodona has released the trailer for The Chase, a new film documenting the 2024 Cocodona 250, and it looks so good–like an Unbreakable for the modern era. The film follows Michael Versteeg, Joe McConaughy, Michael McKnight, Jeff Browning, and Arlen Glick as they push their limits through last year’s race. In a comment on their Instagram post, Cocodona mentioned they’re planning to make a separate film following the women in this year’s race. Watch the trailer here and get screening info here.
In our January 31 issue, we posted about Mathieu Blanchard gearing up for the Yukon Arctic Ultra—now, after 7 days and 22 hours, he has become the first person to finish the new 600KM course on foot. “It’s not a victory against cold or distance,” he posted on Instagram. “This is getting back to basics. On instinct. To my wild nature.”
Sam Robinson (author of Footnotes), is hosting a live Q&A with Mario Fraioli (The Morning Shakeout) next Tuesday, February 18, at 1:30 PM PT. The two will discuss trends in running, the state of pro racing, and the evolution of running media in what’s described as a “rolling, unscripted convo.” Readers can join live on Substack to ask questions or just listen in.
Francesco Puppi has shared his tentative 2025 race schedule, which includes his 100K debut at Canyons, the last Golden Ticket race of the season for Western States.
That’s it for this week! Special thanks to Hilary Ann Yang for the incredible photos. Be sure to check out the carousel with even more great images she posted on Instagram.
Good luck to everyone racing this weekend and I’ll see y’all here next week. If you enjoyed this issue, consider forwarding it to a friend who might enjoy it too, and encourage them to subscribe here. ✌🏼
Ken
Great recap on Black Canyon. I was excited to see Tara Dower place 2nd! Incredible race.