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The first weekend of April kicked off with 35 ultramarathons on the UltraRunning Magazine race calendar. In this week’s Ultra Weekend Recap, we feature results from North Carolina, California and Texas. Let’s get to it.
Umstead 100
We kick things off in Raleigh, North Carolina, for the 30th annual Umstead 100, where participants attempted to complete eight 12.5-mile loops in William B. Umstead State Park. Brian Zickefoose earned the win in the tightly contested men’s race in 15:28:22, edging out second-place finisher Christopher Miller (15:31:04) by less than 3 minutes. Silas Thompson (15:46:19) rounded out the podium in third. Kate Pallardy broke the tape in the women’s contest, winning in 18:16:01 and finishing ninth overall. Jana Grindheim placed second (18:46:52), and April Bailey (19:06:00) came in third. Full results here.
American River 50
Heading west, we check in on the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run. First run in 1980, the classic event took runners on a point-to-point course from Folsom to Auburn, California. Three women cracked the top ten in Saturday’s race, paced by local runner Jennifer Sunahara, who ran to victory in 8:58:49 (sixth overall). Karen Weintraub finished second and eighth overall (9:07:44), and Hannah Walton (9:17:01) took third and ninth overall. In the men’s race, Timothy Smith came out on top, winning in 7:20:47. Galen Farris claimed second (7:36:09), and Selvin Henriquez (8:14:02) was third. Full results here.
Brazos Bend 50
Our next stop takes us to Needville, Texas, for “the fastest race in Texas,” the Brazos Bend 50 (50-mile and 50k races). Beginning in the 50k distance, results show a dominant performance by the female participants who earned the top two spots overall and placed three in the top five. First place overall honors went to Courtney Rouse in a winning time of 4:25:19. Laura Keaton finished second overall (4:31:00), and Ana Escobar (5:00:34) finished third and fifth overall. Timothy Nolan won the men’s race in 4:43:49. Milton Huey was the second male to cross the line in 4:47:50. Armand Barnils (5:04:26) was third.
Russ Ford was victorious in the 50-mile distance with a time of 7:36:02. Giff Calibo ran to second (7:58:28), and Paul Wells (8:13:39) came in third. Glady Blas led the way in the female race, winning and finishing fourth overall in 8:30:00. Ally Hagen was hot on her heels, placing second and fifth overall (8:32:55). Dani Sanchez (8:58:02) completed the women’s podium and placed ninth overall. Full results from both races here.
Diablo Trails Challenge
Our final stop takes us to Walnut Creek, California, where 106 runners crossed the finish line at the 15th running of the Diablo Trails Challenge 50k. Brandon Costa secured the win in the men’s race in 4:32:20. Adam Zastrow finished second (4:50:00), and Marco Aceves (5:00:15) took third. Christina Cazares was the first female across the line in 6:31:23. Javzandulam Bargy came in second (6:44:07), and Karissa Gerhke (6:52:24) was third. Full results here.
Other results from this weekend include: Bull Run Run 50 Miler (Clifton, VA), Arizona Monster 300 (in progress- Superior, AZ), Fall Creek 50k (Spencer, TN), RRRC Fool’s Fest (Henrico, VA), Shotgun Trail Blast (Marcola, OR), Run the Ranch (Loveland, CO), Hells Hills Trail Race (Smithville, TX) and The Country Mile (Slater-Marietta, SC).
Congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend and be sure to check out our full list of results from this weekend here.