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The final weekend of summer saw over 66 races completed throughout North America. In this week’s Ultra Weekend Recap, we highlight events in Virginia, California, Oregon and Tennessee. Let’s get to it.
We begin in Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley for the Grindstone Trail Running Festival (100-miler, 100k and 50k distances). In the always competitive 100-mile race, Gavin Prior ran his way to victory in 21:23:46. Anton Krupicka, a name we always love seeing back in the results, finished second in 21:52:04. Alex Proctor snagged the last podium spot in third (22:17:30). In the women’s race, Katti Jackson took the title in 23:31:16, good for ninth overall. Jill Dennes (23:54:09) placed second and tenth overall, and Tatiana Rypinski claimed third (24:51:28). Winners in the other two distances included Holly Benner (female) 11:22:44 and Sean Bowman (male) 10:36:27 in the 100k, and Dan Curtis (male) 3:57:10 and Sarah Bergeron-Larouche (female) 4:31:03 in the 50k. Full results from all three races can be found here.
Heading to Mammoth Lakes, California, we check in on runners vying for their share of an $8,000 prize purse at the Mammoth Trail Fest. The third-annual 50k race took place on Saturday with an impressive 538 finishers. Top female honors went to Sylvie Abel in 5:23:14 (third-fastest time in course history). Lauren Puretz (5:26:27) finished second, and Dayna Stimson rounded out the podium in third (5:30:41). On the men’s side, Chad Hall won the event for the second time in 4:12:47 (second-fastest course time). Chris Meyers (4:22:43) took second, and Cole Watson came in third (4:28:19). Full results here.
Our next stop takes us to the shadows of Oregon’s Mount Hood for the Mountain Lakes 100. In the men’s race, Will Guzick recorded the win in 17:15:18. Eric Colton claimed second (18:14:09), and Charles Cai (18:18:06) finished just behind in third. Julija Soryte was victorious for the women in 19:45:37, placing eighth overall. Melissa Quinn finished second female (20:49:25), and Cindy Shepard (22:14:27) completed the podium in third. Full results here.
Finally, we drop by Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee for the Barkley Fall Classic 50k, where the first-place male and female finishers are offered a spot in the 2025 full Barkley Marathons. This year’s event lived up to its reputation as being one of the most grueling 50k races in the country with only 95 of the 385 starters earning an official finish (a finisher rate under 25 percent). On the women’s side, Christiana Rugloski took the win and finished second overall in 9:32:09. Brianna Tidd (9:50:49) claimed second and fourth overall, and Karen McNeany placed third (10:04:49 and sixth overall). In the men’s event, Tim Landy earned his entry into Barkley with a winning time of 9:06:29. Antoine Clament (9:48:00) snagged second, and Cedric Chavanne finished third (9:55:40). Full results here.
Other results from the weekend include Three Sisters Skyline (Sisters, OR), Water Gap 50k (Milford, PA), Trails 4 Tail (Hanover, PA), Javelina Jangover Night Runs (Scottsdale, AZ), The Georgia Jewel (Dalton, GA), Table Rock Ultras (Morganton, NC), Dances with Dirt (Hell, MI), and O’Brien Trail Races (Marine on St Croix, MN).
Check out our complete list of results here, and congratulations to everyone who toed the line this weekend.