On Saturday, ultra-trail fanatics have been handled to probably the most aggressive race within the historical past of Western States Staying power Run (WSER). Route document holder Jim Walmsley and ultimate 12 months’s second-place finisher Katie Schide made triumphant returns to the race in an astonishingly deep box of elite athletes. From the race get started at Olympic Valley, Calif., to the overall completing moments across the observe at Placer Top College in Auburn, Calif., Schide and Walmsley (and everybody else) placed on a display.
WSER, the oldest 100-miler in North The united states, traverses 5,000 metres of elevation over the 100-mile distance, and is notoriously onerous to get into—runners should whole a qualifying race annually with a purpose to get a lottery price ticket. Whilst tickets gather exponentially, most of the 10,000 annual entrants wait upward of 7 years to have their names drawn. Final 12 months’s race was once a wild journey, with Leadville, Colo.’s Courtney Dauwalter no longer simplest demolishing a path document that had held for greater than a decade (prior to now 16:47:19 set through British-Canadian Ellie Greenwood in 2012), however beating lots of the males within the race, completing in 15:29:33 and 6th general.
Saturday morning noticed runners kicking off in near-perfect stipulations, and not using a snow within the top nation; the emerging temperatures later within the day examined all of the runners. The top in Auburn, Calif., the place runners pass the end line, was once greater than 30° C, including an additional layer of problem to an already daunting path.
Walmsley is again and higher than ever
Flagstaff, Ariz.’s Walmsley’s efficiency was once not anything in need of impressive, marking his fourth victory within the oldest 100-miler in North The united states. After two years dedicated to conquering the UTMB 171K in Chamonix, France, Walmsley set his points of interest as soon as once more on WSER, the place he had prior to now set a blistering path document of 14:09:28 in 2019.
That is the primary time in path historical past that we’ve had the highest ten male finishers end ahead of sundown 🌅 🤯 #ws100 #seeyouatstates
— Liam (@aidstationfireb) June 30, 2024
The race spread out below sizzling stipulations, with Walmsley and younger contender Rod Farvard of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. jostling for the lead all through. Farvard surged forward all over the early levels of the race, with Walmsley unexpectedly ultimate the space, keeping up a constant tempo that stored him at the vanguard of the pack. Their fight intensified all through the 100-miler, with Walmsley being driven like by no means ahead of on the race. Farvard in brief received an important lead ahead of Walmsley’s trademark staying power kicked in all over the overall stretch.
As temperatures soared, the contest remained fierce amongst elite runners, with a wildly shut and aggressive workforce of main males. Farvard controlled to carry off third-place finisher and fellow American Hayden Hawks, with the 2 completing in a nail-biting dash across the observe. Farvard clocked in at 14:24:15, with Hawks simply 16 seconds in the back of.
Most sensible 10 males
Jim Walmsley 14:13:45
Rod Farvard 14:24:15
Hayden Hawks 14:24:31
Dan Jones 14:32:29
Caleb Olson 14:40:12
Jon Albon 14:57:01
Tyler Inexperienced 15:05:39
Jia-Sheng Shen 15:09:49
Jonathan Rea 15:13:10
Chris Myers 15:18:25
Schide is a pressure to be reckoned with
Katie Schide’s efficiency within the girls’s race was once not anything in need of peculiar. The American dwelling in France, identified for her strategic racing and staying power, aimed to problem Courtney Dauwalter’s 2023 path document and did precisely that for a lot of the race. From the outset, Schide set a blistering tempo, main from the primary climb and frequently expanding her hole over the contest.
Valiant effort and win through Katie Schide within the heat- neatly carried out 🐆🏆👏! #WS100 https://t.co/5z5Swtv0iR
— Camille Herron 🦸♀️ (@runcamille) June 30, 2024
By the point she reached Robinson Flat on the 30-mile mark, Schide was once 21 mins forward of second-place Emily Hawgood of Zimbabwe and on tempo to wreck the path document. In spite of the difficult warmth, she maintained her lead and composure, smiling and targeted as she got here via each and every support station. Despite the fact that she in the long run neglected breaking the document, Schide completed in 15:46:57, the second-fastest girls’s time in race historical past, just about an hour quicker than her personal time from the former 12 months.
The ladies’s race noticed spectacular performances past Schide’s victory. Fu-Zhao Xiang of China secured moment position with a time of 16:20:03, whilst Eszter Csillag of Hong Kong completed 0.33 for the second one consecutive 12 months, clocking in at 16:42:17. The intensity of the sector was once highlighted through the highest 10 girls completing considerably quicker than ultimate 12 months’s best 10 and, excluding Schide, operating very intently in combination for all of the race.
Edmonton’s Priscilla Forgie cracks best 10 as soon as once more
In spite of the extremely difficult workforce of girls jostling for place over all of the distance, Forgie, recent off a third-place end at Chuckanut 50K in Washington, made the highest 10 for the second one 12 months in a row, completing 9th in 17:30:24. Like the opposite girls within the best 10, Forgie’s 9th position end was once quicker than her 7th position end ultimate 12 months when she crossed the road in 17:46:34. Forgie was once tempo through fellow Canadian ultrarunner Jenny Quilty.
Most sensible 10 girls
Katie Schide 15:46:57
Fu-Zhao Xiang 16:20:03
Eszter Csillag 16:42:17
Emily Hawgood 16:48:43
Yngvild Kaspersen 16:50:39
Ida Nilsson 16:56:52
Heather Jackson 17:16:43
Rachel Drake 17:28:35
Priscilla Forgie 17:30:24
Leah Yingling 17:33:54