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The third weekend in December saw 17 North American ultramarathons on the UltraRunning Magazine race calendar, including events in Arizona, California and Florida. Congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend, and be sure to check out all the race results as they roll in on our results page.
Desert Solstice
The 2025 Desert Solstice Track Invitational 24-hour event took place this weekend on the 400-meter oval at Central High in Phoenix, Arizona. As expected, blazing fast times went down in the desert with impressive performances across multiple distances. In the overall 24-hour competition, Piotr Chadovich lead the way with 155.6 miles. Hans Van Zanten ran the second farthest with 139.2 miles. Bob Hearn took third with 130.5 miles, setting a new age group (over 60) 24-hour track record in the process. Joyce Payne circled the track the most for the women, recording 100 miles in just 17:41:17. Colleen Drahos completed 70 miles in 13:00:01.
The standout performance of the day came from Charlie Lawrence, who set a new American 100k record in 6:07:10, more than 2 minutes faster than the previous mark held by Jim Walmsley (6:09:26).
Full results here.
Ancient Oaks 100
Our second stop takes us to Titusville, Florida, for the 26th annual Ancient Oaks 100. There were 38 runners who lined up at this year’s race, but unofficial results show that only eight completed all 29 (3.46-mile) loops through the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary in under the 32-hour cutoff. Michelle Toppi took the win in the women’s contest, finishing her 29 loops in a total time of 27:20:57. Toppi placed third overall. Melissa Gossman finished second female and sixth overall in 29:35:00. Mariel Rosen (31:14:51) rounded out the women’s podium and came in seventh overall. Derek Daniels won the men’s race in 24:55:53. Joshua Kline snagged second (26:56:08). Mike Smith (28:18:59) finished third male and fourth overall.
Full results here.
Woodside Ramble
Heading out to California’s towering redwoods, we drop in on the 14th annual Woodside Ramble 50k in Woodside, CA. The 2025 edition saw 76 runners reach the finish line, paced by men’s winner Kevin Stewart in 3:48:06. Ian Thompson was the second runner across the line in 4:08:30. Matthew Rose (4:09:50) came in third. On the women’s side, Courtney Winterbauer cruised to victory in a time of 5:07:14. Stephanie Haven earned a second-place finish in 5:20:01. Felicia Maquinalez took third (5:33:08).
Full results here.
Cave Creek Thriller
We wrap things up back in Arizona for the 16th running of the Cave Creek Thriller 50k race. There were 48 runners who completed the point-to-point course on Saturday, with top honors in the women’s race going to Joanna Fortier in 4:46:09. Fortier placed fifth overall. Runner-up in the women’s contest went to Rachel Buzzard in a time of 5:26:11. Rolanda Jumbo snagged the final podium spot in third (5:36:43). In the men’s contest, Eric LiPuma set a new course record on his way to winning in a blazing fast time of 3:38:51. LiPuma took over 12 minutes off the previous course mark set by Ryan Raff in 2021. Jeff Browning was the second male finisher in 4:19:47. Brian King ran to third (4:27:04).
Full results here.
Other results from this weekend include: Lookout Mountain (Lookout Mountain, GA), The Longest Night (Greenville, SC), Sleigh It 12hr / 6hr (Lake Wales, FL), Naughty Hog (Valley View, TX), and Blackbeard’s Bounty Endurance Race (Pennsburg, PA).