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In this Mother’s Day edition of the Ultra Weekend Recap, we feature results from Arizona, California, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, and congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend.
Cocodona 250
The ultramarathon action kicked off Monday with the fourth running of the Cocodona 250. Runners had 125 hours to cover the 250+ miles from Black Canyon City to Flagstaff, Arizona, while tackling over 40,000 feet of climbing and 35,000 feet of descent. This year’s event was marked by unseasonably cold and wet weather that challenged participants with periods of rain, hail, mud, and below-freezing temperatures. Despite the conditions, course records were broken in both the men’s and women’s races. In the women’s event, Rachel Entrekin continued her impressive run at long-distance races, winning the Cocodona 250 for the second straight year (fourth place overall) and setting a new female course mark to beat in 63:50:55. Lindsey Dwyer was the second woman across the line in 79:35:28. Sarah Ostaszewski (80:25:31) finished in third. In the men’s race, Dan Green took over the lead with around 80 miles to go and never looked back, winning in a new men’s course record time of 58:47:18. Ryan Sandes made it back to Flagstaff in 61:21:04 to finish runner-up. Edher Ramirez (63:10:13) took third. Results from all the Cocodona races can be found here.
Quicksilver
Shuffling over to the West Coast, we drop in on the Quicksilver Endurance Runs, where Steven Kool became the first runner in the event’s 41-year history to run under 9 hours in the 100k distance. Kool ran 8:44:51 to take the win and smash the previous course record by over 20 minutes. Connor Rosenblatt took home second-place honors in 9:34:25, and Carl Koopmans (9:32:42) finished just behind him in third. Amanda Wiggenhorn (11:44:28) claimed the victory and placed tenth overall in a tightly contested women’s race. Melissa Taylor snagged second (11:49:03), and Amber Weibel (11:52:48) came in third.
Katherine Hoolihan took the win in the women’s 50k race and finished eighth overall in 4:39:12. Lauren Williams was the second woman and tenth overall runner to finish in 4:52:27. Ali Tanguay (5:39:41) rounded out the podium in third. Garrett Gardner ran away from the field to win the men’s contest in 4:01:26. Patrick Rabuzzi ran to second (4:14:21), finishing a mere 31 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Nick Reshetnikov (4:14:52). Full results here.
Ice Age Trail 50
Next, we journey to the Midwest and La Grange, Wisconsin, for one of UltraRunning Magazine’s Old School Ultras, the Ice Age Trail 50 (50-mile and 50k races). Camille Herron took the women’s crown in Saturday’s 50-mile event with a winning time of 7:44:41 (sixth place overall). Jesse DeAngelis finished in second (8:21:15), and Anna Curtis (8:32:16) completed the women’s podium in third. Michael Quesnell led the way for the men, winning in 6:05:38. Vince Paikowski earned second (6:29:20), and Sidney Noble (6:46:23) finished third.
Tim Parr (3:41:43) took the overall win in the 50k race. Michael Billings came in second (4:18:28), and Dana Riederer (4:23:26) placed third. Gracia Sich broke the tape first in the women’s contest, finishing third overall in 4:21:23. Julia Hartig (4:54:20) claimed second, and Emily Muhs (4:56:03) was third. Full results here.
Hellbender 100
Our final stop takes us to Old Fort, North Carolina, for the sixth running of the Hellbender 100. While this year’s course had a new look after storm damage from Hurricane Helene closed many of the original trails, it still offered runners a true Beast Coast mountain running experience with rugged and technical trails and over 20,000 feet of elevation gain. An impressive 137 runners crossed the finish line ahead of the 39-hour cutoff time, paced by Norwegian Sondre Stier Thorbergsen in a remarkable time of 18:50:53 (an event record). Sam Haagenson was the second man across the line in 20:20:17. Samuel Cohen (20:26:01) finished just behind in third. Shannon Howell took the women’s title and finished tenth overall in 22:33:53, also setting an event female record on the modified course. Steph Hill came in second (23:46:20), and Raven Johnson (24:12:20) was third. Full results here.
Other results from this weekend include: Quad Rock (Bellvue, CO), Conquer The Canuck (Cambridge, ON), Spring Fling 600 (Southington, CT), Traverse City Trail Running Festival (Traverse City, MI), Hoof It on the Hill (Cherry Creek, NY), Tillamook Burn Trail Run (Timber, OR), Paiute Meadows Trail Run (Susanville, CA), Rock On Lake Perry (Meriden, KS), Running with my Gnomies (Dover, OH), The Ripper – Sunrise to Sunset (Pocomoke, MD), and Valkyrie Trail Race (Colorado Springs, CO).
Full list of results here.