Ultra Weekend Recap — February 18

Winter can be a challenging time to train for ultras. Snow, ice and lack of motivation brought on by gray skies and cold temps can derail any training program. Fortunately, we’re a tough group. Whether it’s strapping on micro spikes or finding a way to get through seemingly endless miles on the treadmill, I’m constantly inspired by those training for and competing in winter ultras. I draw on you for inspiration to get my own miles in when I’d often rather be on the couch sipping an extra cup of coffee. As I watch this week’s results roll in, I want to say thanks for getting out there and helping keep the rest of us on track in our training. Now onto this week’s Ultra Weekend Recap.

We start just off the Las Vegas Strip in Henderson, Nevada, where winter conditions were not an issue at the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival. The event kicked off Friday with the USATF 100-Mile Road National Championships, and Rajpaul Pannu setting a new course record for the men, completing the multi-loop course (85 laps) in 11:58:01. Second male on the podium was Jonah Backstrom (14:11:17) with Nick Eiben (15:58:24) taking third. In the women’s race, Ashley Paulson took the win, finishing second overall in 14:04:40. Lauren Jones placed second (14:46:22 and fourth overall), and Sierra DeGroff (16:38:41) took the final spot on the podium. Full results of all the Jackpot events, including the timed races of 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours, and the standard 100-mile ultra and 50-mile race, can be found here.

While there was plenty of sunshine in Nevada, there was no shortage of mud in Oregon—but that’s to be expected at the Hagg Lake Mud Runs. Susan Oh took the victory in this year’s 50k in 4:36:19, with Madalyn Nones placing second (4:46:03) and Madison Palmer (4:46:11) finishing just 8 seconds behind her in third. On the men’s side, Jake Dennie took home the title in 3:46:25, Matt Delahey finished second (4:18:27) and Taylor Spike claimed third (4:20:51). Full results here.

Next, we travel east to Fayetteville, West Virginia, where participants did have to battle their fair share of snow and ice at the Cabin Fever 50k. That didn’t stop 252 determined runners from crossing the finish line, led by Logan Kerby who took the win in 4:11:09 (the fifth-fastest time on the course). David Smith finished second (4:15:40) and Brian Burke placed third (4:23:00). In the women’s race, Vivian Cami Bobbitt ran the second-fastest course time, securing the win in 4:50:08. Michaela Lishakova claimed second (4:59:03 and third-fastest course time), and Emily Smith completed the podium in 5:17:07. Full results here.

Staying east, we have a new course record at the Holiday Lake 50K in Appomattox, Virginia, where Elizabeth Chikotas took the overall win in 4:00:35, smashing the previous course mark by nearly 10 minutes. Amanda Presgraves finished second in 4:18:52 (fifth overall), and Michelle Lowry placed third (4:56:45). On the men’s side, Jared Coccia took first in 4:02:34, followed by Jacob Coccia (4:07:15) and Erick Gwaltney (4:17:48). Full results here.

Did you race this weekend? Please share your results in the comments below!