Pam Chapman Markle entered the world of ultramarathoning in 2011 at age 55. As a certified registered nurse anesthetist for over 35 years, she had been working with a physician who encouraged her to sign up for an ultra.
A decade ago, at 42, Kami Semick reached the pinnacle of ultrarunning. She won every race she entered in 2009, including two world championship events in the 100K and 50K, and earned UltraRunning’s Ultrarunner of the Year title for the second year in a row. But five years later, she called it quits and disappeared from the sport.
At age 60, this distance running veteran and former monk has lived a rare and impressive journey, holds many Canadian national records, and has logged over 42,000 ultramarathon racing miles in his career.
As with many ultrarunner origin stories, Brandon Miller’s running career started as a cross country speed demon in his home town of Barrie, Ontario. After high school, as he began a demanding college course load in Mechanical Engineering at Queens University in Ontario, priorities shifted and running took a far second to his studies.
The only woman to have finished the California Triple Crown of ultrarunning.
With each passing year, it’s a race we know we shouldn’t be running. But often, against our better judgment, knowing full well the runner we were last year, or 10 years ago, or 20 years ago could be far different from who we are today, we run it anyway.
The emergence of Pamela Chapman Markle as a prolific runner of 100-mile races is as sudden and surprising as it is unlikely. Pamela never ran in a foot race of any distance before the age of 55; not even a 5k.
When the whole picture is taken into account, Walmsley’s story starts to make more sense. In 2014, when he started to dabble in trail and ultra races, he was also working 24-hour shifts underground in an Air Force base in Great Falls, MT.
In late 2015, Devon Yanko returned to the top of the ultrarunning ranks in style at the Javelina Jundred. She finished the 100-mile race through the desert in a blazing 14:52:06, first woman and second place overall. This was also the third-fastest trail 100 mile ever run by an American woman.
Running to a big win at the Mountain Mist 50K in 5:27:24 (full results)—through snow, ice, standing water, and mud—Alicia…
Junko’s inherent courage has led her to a life of taking on challenges that others have often advised against. In 2015, the brave 52-year-old two-time cancer survivor tackled something that no one else had ever done, completing the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning and the Leadwoman series in the same calendar year.
My story is dedicated to my wife, Gayle who helped me get to this level in Ultra Running. She has…
There are certain women in our sport who can go by their first names. Ann, Ellie, Kami, Darcy – these are just a few of our Madonnas of ultrarunning, if you will. Nikki, Rory, Liza – the list goes on – Pam, Anna and Camille.
Now, If you find yourself saying, Camille who?, you certainly won’t be for long.
When you meet Marin County’s Mark Richtman, it’s hard to believe that he’s 60 years old. Despite his longish graying hair, his stride is fluid and he remains a fierce ultra competitor.