Ultra Weekend Recap — January 29

For the final Ultra Weekend Recap in the month of January, we have results from a trifecta of ultramarathons in Southern California, one of the country’s largest 50k races in Alabama and a few more.

At Keira Henninger’s Sean O’Brien 100k/50-mile/50k races in Malibu, California, on Saturday, January 28, we saw a runner all the way from Pennsylvania post the eighth-fastest time the race has ever seen. Ben Eysenbach from Pittsburg won the race in a blazing fast 9 hours, 2 minutes and 3 seconds. Second place was Christopher De La Vega of nearby Pasadena, California, in 9 hours and 31 minutes, and third place went to George Torres out of Los Angeles in 10 hours, 19 minutes and 36 seconds. In the women’s race, Lauren Mitchell of Woodbury, Minnesota, won in 11 hours, 58 minutes and 18 seconds, with Kerry Bruce from West Linn, Oregon, securing second in 12 hours, 5 minutes and 43 seconds, and Nicole Buurma from Lynden, Washington, rounding out the podium in 12 hours, 39 minutes and 52 seconds.

In the 50-miler, Nick Allen of Los Alamos, California, won in 8 hours, 25 minutes and 30 seconds, Joseph Flora from Atascadero, California, came in second in 8 hours, 46 minutes and 51 seconds, and Brian Ciuchta was third in 9 hours, 4 minutes and 34 seconds. Leading the ladies was Jennifer Benna from Reno, Nevada, in 9 hours, 54 minutes and 30 seconds, Laura Hayward out of San Francisco was the runner-up in 11 hours, 23 minutes and 34 seconds, and Kelly Fruth from Mariposa, California, finished in third place in 11 hours, 50 minutes and 45 seconds.

The 50k was won by Benjamin Atkins of Westlake Village, California, in 4 hours, 44 minutes and 50 seconds, with Elliott Bijlsma from Fullerton, California, not far behind in 4 hours, 57 minutes and 57 seconds, and Marco Gonzalez out of Los Angeles, California, rounding out the podium in 5 hours, 11 minutes and 40 seconds. For the women, Hayley Bricker, hailing from Woodland Hills, California, took the title in 6 hours, 24 minutes and 12 seconds. Kerri Marchionni of Laguna Niguel, California, came in second in 6 hours, 29 minutes and 18 seconds, and Hailey Chiasson from Morro Bay, California, came in third in 6 hours, 46 minutes and 26 seconds.

Out east at the 29th Mountain Mist 50k in Huntsville, Alabama, Sara Gibson of Chattanooga, Tennessee, won the women’s race in 5 hours, 31 minutes and 48 seconds. Holly Adams from Marietta, Georgia, was the race’s runner-up in 5 hours, 47 minutes and 6 seconds, and Gibson Kelley from Arlington, Tennessee, took third in 5 hours, 51 minutes and 36 seconds. Nathan Holland from Signal Mountain, Tennessee, won the men’s race in 4 hours, 16 minutes and 48 seconds, Mac Dean of Chattanooga was 10 minutes back in 4 hours, 26 minutes and 35 seconds, and Kevin Barrett, also of Chattanooga, came in third in 4 hours, 28 minutes and 14 seconds.

Check out other Race Results for the Monroe Cross Trail 50 Mile Ultra in Debary, Florida, the AZT Oracle Scramble 50k/50-miler in Tucson, Arizona, and the Chehaw Challenge 50k/50-miler in Albany, Georgia. More results will continue to be added to our database so check back tomorrow, too.

If you raced somewhere else that we didn’t mention leave a link and note to let us know how it went. Also, if you’re racing next weekend give us a shout so we can add your event to our What’s Up In Ultra column on Wednesday.