Ultra Weekend Recap — April 21

Local races are the soul of our sport. Many donate proceeds back to their communities and have a dedicated group of volunteers who show up each year, regardless of the weather, to help their friends, neighbors and complete strangers reach the finish line. It’s fun to dive deeper into these races and learn about their histories. I encourage everyone to take a look at the UltraRunning Magazine  race calendar and click on a few events that sound interesting. Your next race might just end up being one you’ve never even heard of. Now, on to this week’s Ultra Weekend Recap.

With Earth Day on Monday, it’s only fitting that we start in Crystal Lake, Illinois, for the 12^th running of the Earth Day 50k, which “celebrates every runner on the trail.” In the men’s race, Brandon Queen was victorious in 4:13:59, followed by Andy Markevicus in second (4:21:08) and Christopher Allen in third (4:34:09). In the women’s field, Nikki Criscuolo took home the win and finished sixth overall in 4:52:40. Second place went to Brianna Bower (5:16:55), with Abigail Manjarrez placing third (5:43:45). Special shoutout to Madeline Winter for winning the coveted Ornery Mule award for being the “last ass on the trail.” Full results here.

Our next stop is in Loudonville, Ohio, for the Forget the PR Mohican 50k. This year’s race had 112 total finishers, led by Jacob Conrad who cruised to victory in 4:50:57. Second place went to Hunter Ksenich in 5:32:09, with Nate Patterson finishing third (5:41:17). On the women’s side, Hanna Roberts took top honors in 6:00:35 (eighth overall), Rebecca Achey placed second (6:06:45), and Heather Esson (6:27:43) finished third. Full results here.

Starting our journey west, we drop in to Cañon City, Colorado, for a competitive Royal Gorge Groove 50k. In the women’s race, Anna Mae Flynn raced her way to first place in 5:04:45 (seventh overall), finishing just over 5 minutes ahead of second place Jessica Burke (5:10:21 and ninth overall). Tracie Rupert rounded out the podium in third (5:37:21). In the men’s event, Daniel Finger ran a fast time of 4:18:29 to take the win, followed by Isaiah Ford in second (4:31:28) and Jeffrey Urbanski in third (4:35:57). Full results here.

Next, we check in on the Spitfire Ultra Trail Challenge in Menan, Idaho. This year marked the 10th running of the event and saw Kristina Trygstad-Saari put on a dominant performance, taking the overall win by almost a full hour in 5:26:45. Nikki Kimball claimed second in 7:29:17, and Janelle Sagawa finished just behind in third (7:33:50). In the men’s contest, Robert Nelson placed first in 6:25:52, Joseph Taylor claimed second (6:33:23) and Elijah Syndergaard took third (6:59:40). Full results here.

A smiling Saulius Eidukas begins a loop at the Banana Slug Backyard Ultra.

Finally, we head to St. Paul, Oregon, and Champoeg State Park for the Banana Slug Backyard Ultra. This year’s event lasted 49 yards (just over 204 miles) with Scott Martin taking the honor of last runner standing. Julija Šorytė also topped 200 miles, finishing 48 yards and earning the assist. Full results here.

Other results we have so far include: Red Rocks of Sedona Trail Races (Sedona, AZ), Loud Thunder (Illinois City, IL), Squak Mountain (Issaquah, WA), Loop the Hooch (Suwanee, GA) and Stillhouse 100k (Soddy-Daisy, TN).

Congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend and be sure to check our race results page as more results come in.