Ultra Weekend Recap — March 5

During the first weekend of March, our Ultra Weekend Recap is highlighted by Way Too Cool in California, the USATF 100-Mile National Championship race at the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival in Nevada and more smaller races out east.

Cool, California, was cold, muddy and wet on Saturday, March 4, but there were 412 official finishers at the 33rd Way Too Cool 50k just outside of Auburn. Craig Hunt of Flagstaff, Arizona, came from behind to take the win in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 13 seconds in the men’s race. Second went to last year’s third-place finisher Ryan Becker from Mountain Village, Colorado, less than one minute back from Hunt, finishing in 3 hours, 24 minutes and 9 seconds. Christopher Myers out of Los Angeles, California, finished in third place in 3 hours, 25 minutes and 36 seconds. 

The women’s race was equally as tight, with Katherine Short from Lahaina, Hawaii, winning in 4 hours, 3 minutes and 22 seconds, just under a minute ahead of Salt Lake City’s Leah Yingling in 4 hours, 4 minutes and 13 seconds. Katie Asmuth completed the podium in 4 hours, 7 minutes and 10 seconds. Full results here.

Down in the desert, the 10th Annual Jackpot Ultra Running Festival hosted the 2023 USATF 100-Mile National Championship that began on Friday morning. Local runner Sierra DeGroff won in 15 hours, 59 minutes and 56 seconds. Second place went to Lisa Cabiles of Richland, Washington, in 16 hours, 42 minutes and 54 seconds, and in third place was Heather Huggins from Monrovia, California, in 17 hours, 9 minutes and 29 seconds. 

Jonah Backstrom from San Francisco, California, won the men’s title in 14 hours, 11 minutes and 3 seconds. He had a sizable gap over second-place finisher Zach Merrin out of North Canton, Ohio, in 14 hours, 48 minutes and 59 seconds, and third place was UltraRunning columnist and former podcast guest Pete Kostelnick in 15 hours, 47 minutes and 24 seconds. Full 100-mile results here.

The event also hosted 6-hour, 12-hour, 24-hour, 48-hour and 50-mile races.

We have results for the Music City Trail Ultra 50k in Pegram, Tennessee, the No Man’s 50k in Triangle, Virginia, the Ozark Highlands Endurance Run 50k in Norfolk, Arkansas, the Delano Park 12-hour and 50-miler in Decatur, Alabama, the Long Play Race 33.3-miler in Brooksville, Florida, and the Naked Bavarian 40-miler in Leesport, Pennsylvania. More will get added to our  Race Results page soon. 

If you raced somewhere that we didn’t mention, please leave a note and link so we can get it added to our robust results database. Lining up somewhere next weekend that we should mention in our What’s Up In Ultra column on Wednesday? Leave that info below.