Healdsburg, California, April 13. Sage Canaday overtook Max King at mile 35 and went on to win the 6th annual Lake Sonoma 50 in record time. King and Cameron Clayton ran together most of the first half of the race, hitting the 25.2 mile mark in 2:54, nine minutes ahead of the course record split. Canaday was five minutes back but slowly reeled them in on the return. Both Clayton and King struggled the last 12 miles, Clayton eventually passing King for second.
Cassie Scallon led the women’s race for more than 30 miles before going through a rough stretch and getting passed by defending champion Joelle Vaught. Vaught led for about ten miles before having her own set of problems and Scallon passed her back for the win. Runners were treated to nearly ideal conditions, with 48F at the dawn start, warming to a breezy 74F by mid-afternoon. The highly competitive event featured 11 runners breaking 7 hours and only 83 seconds separated fifth through eighth place. There were 266 finishers.
Men
1. Sage Canaday, 27, Boulder, CO, 6:14:55 (course record, old record 6:17:27 by Dakota Jones, 2012)
2. Cameron Clayton, 24, Boulder, CO, 6:26:24
3. Max King, 33, Bend, OR, 6:33:57
4. Jorge Maravilla, 35, Vallejo, CA, 6:39:05
5. Dave Mackey, 43, Boulder, CO, 6:40:06
Women
1. Cassie Scallon, 31, Watertown, WI, 7:47:42 (course record, old record, 7:52:44 by Joelle Vaught, 2012)
2. Joelle Vaught, 38, Boise, ID, 8:02:39
3. Amy Sproston, 39, Portland, OR, 8:04:11
4. Rory Bosio, 28, Soda Springs, CA, 8:08:37
5. Meghan Arbogast, 51, Corvallis, OR, 8:15:58
Complete results are available at http://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=17798
Photos, above: Sage Canaday powers up a hill near the 26 mile mark (John Medinger photo)
Above, Cassie Scallon crosses Warm Springs Creek at mile 12 (courtesy irunfar.com)