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Fast Times to Placer High: Western States 100 Results & Story Roundup

Results from the 2012 Western States 100.
By on June 24, 2012 | Comments
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Western States 100 logoEllie Greenwood summed up the 2012 Western States 100 well when she said to fellow champion, Timothy Olson, at the finish, “It wasn’t good weather, it was fast weather.” Indeed, it was downright miserable for the first 40 or more miles with temperatures barely cracking 40F (4C), winds, and rain mixing with hail. Downright miserable.

That said, the weather allowed for three of four major Western States course records to be broken. Timothy Olson broke the Geoff Roes‘ men’s course record. Ellie Greenwood destroyed Ann Trason’s legendary women’s course record. Dave Mackey Montrail logobroke Tsuyoshi Kaburaki‘s men’s masters course record. In fact, the trio pulled a trifecta of lowering the three records sub-15, sub-16, and sub-17, respectively, any one of which would have been huge news on this, the “Real Course.” All four major course records are now “unified” with no dissent about fire or snow courses counting as “course records.”

Below we report on the top 10 men and top 10 women before our collection of articles, interviews, race reports, photos, and videos, which we’ll be updating throughout the week.

Many thanks to Montrail and Mountain Hardwear for sponsoring our coverage of the 2012 Western States 100.

Western States 100 Men’s Top 10 Results

In addition to “fast weather,” fast competitors led to a perfect storm for the men’s field. For more than 50 miles, a large group and then the still-far-from-small group of Timothy Olson (pre-race & finish line interviews), Dave Mackey, Mike Wolfe, Dylan Bowman, Nick Clark, and Ryan Sandes all hung within a minute of one another. Once that group splintered by Foresthill, Wolfe and Sandes and then finally just Sandes continued to push Olson. Throughout the day Olson displayed focused peace, never getting rattled and never backing off. Sandes hung onto second after pulling away from Wolfe after Foresthill, while Nick Clark came back from the dead multiple times. Dave Mackey added yet another feather to his ultrarunning cap in setting the Western States masters course record. Ian Sharman found himself in second in the high country’s early miles after being in tenth when the front of the back took a five-minute detour. The entire back half of the men’s top ten would fall into the relative “newcomer” or “surprise” category, at least on the Western States scene.

Timothy Olson - 2012 Western States 100 Champ

Timothy Olson winning the 2012 Western States 100 in course record time. Photo: iRunFar.com

  1. Timothy Olson (Pearl Izumi) – 14:46:44 (Course Record)
  2. Ryan Sandes (Salomon) – 15:03:56
  3. Nick Clark (Pearl Izumi) – 15:44:09
  4. Dave Mackey (Hoka One One) – 15:53:36 (Masters Course Record)
  5. Ian Sharman (The North Face) – 15:54:38
  6. Zeke Tiernan – 15:57:59
  7. Dylan Bowman (Pearl Izumi) – 16:03:24
  8. Jorge Maravilla (Salomon) – 16:05:30
  9. Joe Uhan (Sunsweet) – 16:13:14
  10. Neal Gorman (Salomon) – 16:18:40

Full results

Western States 100 Women’s Top 10 Results

Lizzy Hawker led out the women’s field in typical fashion and built a double-digit lead, challenging the top men while leaving even Ellie Greenwood (pre-race & finish line interviews) far behind. By the time Hawker crested the Devils Thumb climb at mile 47, Greenwood was within striking distance. Once the pass was made, it was all over… even relative to the legendary Ann Trason. Greenwood avoided looking at her watch from mile 78 to 98 while she kept motoring on the way to taking 50 minutes off Trason’s course record.

Rory Bosio continues to show she’s no fluke at Western States. In fact, she’s turning into an institute with fourth, five, and, now, second place finishes at the race, along with her aid-station jokes. Aliza (Lapierre, that is) can no longer hide in East-Coast obscurity after adding a third-place finish to her sixth from last year… especially when that third came directly in front of Krissy, Nikki, and Lizzy. That’d be Krissy Moehl (smart, ever-improving race, as always), Nikki Kimball (running solid all day), and Lizzy Hawker (who hung tough after a fast start). Tina Lewis was the top women’s WS100 rookie, while Team Oregon took the final three spots in the women’s top 10 with Amy Sproston (8th for the second year in a row), Ashley Nordell, and Meghan Arbogast.

Ellie Greenwood - 2012 Western States 100 Champ

Ellie Greenwood leading the 2012 Western States 100 at Foresthill en route to a course record. Photo: iRunFar.com

  1. Ellie Greenwood (Montrail) – 16:47:19 (Course Record)
  2. Rory Bosio (The North Face) – 18:08:06
  3. Aliza Lapierre (Salomon) – 18:18:29
  4. Krissy Moehl (Patagonia/UltrAspire) – 18:29:15
  5. Nikki Kimball (The North Face) – 18:31:39
  6. Lizzy Hawker (The North Face) – 18:32:20
  7. Tina Lewis – 19:09:49
  8. Amy Sproston (Montrail) – 19:11:02
  9. Ashley Nordell (Pearl Izumi) – 19:26:30
  10. Meghan Arbogast (Sunsweet) – 19:45:24

Full results

General Overview Articles

Interviews/Profiles

Race Reports
Men

Women

Photos and Videos

Call for Comments
Please let us know about any other great resources you’ve found about the race.

Last updated February 20, 2018

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Bryon Powell

Bryon Powell is the Founding Editor of iRunFar. He’s been writing about trail running, ultrarunning, and running gear for nearly 20 years. Aside from iRunFar, he’s authored the books Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running, been a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, written for publications including Outside, Sierra, and Running Times, and coached ultrarunners of all abilities. Based in Silverton, Colorado, Bryon is an avid trail runner and ultrarunner who competes in events from the Hardrock 100 Mile just out his front door to races long and short around the world, that is, when he’s not fly fishing or tending to his garden.