This year’s race was difficult to pull off due to the aftermath of two major fires that affected the race at both the start in Wrightwood (WW) and the finish in Altadena.
The Bridge Fire started on September 8, 2024, driven by low humidity and high winds, burned over 50,000 acres in the WW area and caused the evacuation of the entire community of WW. Hwy 2 was closed near the Big Pines Visitor Center with a locked gate which closed off a large section of Angeles National Forest (ANF) to the general public and the race. The USFS closed the Bridge Fire Area until December 31, 2025.
The Eaton Fire started on January 7, 2025, in the Eaton Canyon area near Altadena, and burned for 24 days, consuming 14,000 acres, destroying 9,400 structures (mostly homes) and took 19 lives, forcing us to use an out-and-back course format to avoid the burned area. It was one of the most destructive fires in California history. The USFS also closed the Eaton Fire Area until December 31, 2025.
The USFS gave the AC100 trail work team a “permit for use of roads, trails or area restricted by regulation or order” which allowed us to begin clearing trails in the Bridge Fire closed area. After we cleared all of the trails in the closed Bridge Fire area and agreed to an out-and-back course, which would avoid the Eaton Fire closure area, the USFS gave us the special use permit to hold the 2025 AC100.
The race started at 5 a.m. with Max Jolliffe, Peter Davidson, Jorge Pacheco, Sheldon Watanabe, Shaun Burke and Dominic Grossman leading the way to Inspiration Point (IP). Jian Springer and Melissa Perez led the women to IP.
At Vincent Gap (VG), Jolliffe was closely followed by Davidson, who was one minute behind. Ruperto Romero, Daniel Weissauer, Watanabe, Burke, Grossman and Pacheco were about 15 minutes behind the leader. Springer led the women into VG with Perez 7 minutes behind her and Liz Clark 18 minutes behind Perez. It was a cool morning but began to warm up as the lead pack started climbing Baden Powell, and runners began to spread out. As runners approached Islip Saddle (IS), Jolliffe opened a 4-minute lead on Davidson. Springer was the first woman into IS with a 29-minute lead on Perez. Clark was 27 minutes behind Perez. There were 21 runners who dropped at IS-1, and the race had just begun.
Cloudburst (CB-1) is historically one of the warmest sections of the race and gets a lot of requests for ice. This year, they were ready with over 750 pounds. Jolliffe was the first runner into CB-1, with Davidson just 5 minutes behind. Romero and Watanabe were 39 minutes behind Davidson, and Pacheo was 5 minutes behind Watanabe. Springer was the first woman, with Perez 45 minutes behind her.
From CB-1 to Shortcut (SC), it is mostly downhill. When runners leave SC, they can see how close competing runners are to them. That’s when Jolliffe saw how close Davidson was, so he picked up the pace and opened a 31-minute lead at Chilao-2, 41-minute lead at Mt. Hillyer-2, 45-minute lead at Three Points-2 and 59-minute lead at Inspiration Point-2, winning with a time of 21:23 43.
Davidson came in second with a time of 22:10:35, and 61-year-old Ruperto Romero came in third with a time of 22:18:25. Daniel Weissauer came in fourth with a time of 23:24:44.
Sheldon Watanabe was the first solo runner with a time of 23:31:00 and Shaun Burke was the second solo runner with a time of 23:41:55.
Jian Springer was the first woman with a time of 27:57:05.
Melissa Perez led Liz Clark for most of the race. After leaving the final aid station, Clarke had a 12-minute lead on Perez, which she never gave up, and finished with a time of 29:12:55. Perez finished second with a time of 30:41:13.
There were 103 runners who finished a very difficult 36-hour course. Wasatch Front Endurance Run is considered one of the most difficult endurance runs with a cutoff of 36 hours, and this course includes two climbs over Baden Powell, which is equivalent in difficulty. Just finishing this monster is a major accomplishment.
Amy Chavez was the last runner to finish with a time of 35:32:27. You will see her taking care of runners at Chilao aid station, and leading the Chilao Medical Team.
Full results here.