It was a somewhat quiet week. Fast finishes at Tunnel Hill 50 Mile and 100 Mile as well as UTMB qualifiers in Hong Kong were among the weekend’s best.
Read on to see how they played out.
Tunnel Hill 50 and 100 Mile – Vienna, Illinois
Want to run fast? Tunnel Hill State Park is the place to be. The event further asserted itself as a place for records.
50 Mile
Men
iRunFar earlier dropped the details.
I never would’ve guessed it, but Charlie Lawrence set a new 50-mile world record.
Lawrence ran 4:48:21, bettering Jim Walmsley’s 4:50:08 mark from 2019. That’s 5:46 per mile.
Who is this guy? Lawrence is 28 years old, and holds 2:16 marathon and 1:04 half marathon bests. He was sixth at the 2021 USATF 50k Road National Championships, perhaps his only other ultra. Lawrence ran collegiately at the University of Minnesota and trains out of Boulder, Colorado.
Charlie Lawrence on his way to setting a 50-mile world record of 4:48:21 at 2023 Tunnel Hill 50 Mile in Vienna, Illinois. Photo: Zack Lever/@TrailLive
Second-place Rajpaul Pannu ran 5:02, and that was a minute better than Zach Beavin’s course record from 2021 too. Johan Lantz (Sweden) was third in 5:14.
Women
Polina Hodnette and Allison Mercer ran really fast too. The ladies were first and second in 5:54 and 5:57. Both broke Jackie Pirtle-Hall’s course record from 2020, and both got inside the American top-10 all-time list. The times rank fifth- and sixth-best ever for Americans over 50 miles.
Audrey Lawrence was third in 6:19.
Polina Hodnette, the 2023 Tunnel Hill 50 Mile winner. Photo: Colson Photography – Micki and Chad Colson
100 Mile
Men
Course records fell over 100 miles too. Elov Olsson (Sweden) took the men’s win in 11:26. Zach Bitter last ran 12:08 here in 2018. The world record is Aleksandr Sorokin’s 10:51 from 2022.
The next two men went under 13 hours too. Phil Young was second in 12:27 and Michael Quesnell was third in 12:50. Young was over an hour better than his 13:32 winning time in bad weather last year.
Women
Micah Morgan and April Woo were way out front in the women’s race at 15:14 and 15:45, and Amelia Driscoll was third in 18:03.
TransLantau by UTMB – Hong Kong, China
The event was on Lantau Island, Hong Kong’s largest island.
140k (80 miles)
Tom Joly (U.K.) was over an hour better than everyone else at 16:47. Chinese runners Yan-Qiao Yun and Jia-Ju Zhao were next in 17:49 and 17:58.
Women’s winner Fu-Zhao Xiang (China) was way out front in 18:16, and Man Yee Cheung and Chin Nam Ng, both of Hong Kong, were second and third in 21:55 and 24:21.
100k (62 miles)
The top three men finished under 13 hours, and Guang-Fu Meng (China) was the fastest in 12:03. Daniel Jung (Italy) and Di-Si Liang (China) ran 12:25 and 12:47 for second and third.
Eszter Csillag (Hungary, lives in Hong Kong) outdistanced the rest of the women’s field with a 13:50 finish. Hong Kong runners Ki Chun Wong and Katrina Hamlin were next in 14:38 and 17:08.
50k
Men’s winner John Ray Onifa (Philippines) finished in 4:57, and Peter Fraňo (Slovakia) was his closest chaser at 5:08. Fuk Cheung Tsang (Hong Kong) was third in 5:25.
Sunmaya Budha (Nepal) crushed the rest of the women’s field, nearly a minute per mile better than everyone else. Budha came to the finish in 5:25. Veronika Vadovicova (Slovakia) and Marcela Vasinova (Czech Republic) were second and third in 5:55 and 6:24.
Additional Races and Runs
Grand Ridge Trail Run 50k – Issaquah, Washington
Robert Irr and Brianna Pagan won in 5:25 and 6:22. Full results.
Run the Rock – Terrebone, Oregon
Alpine Running’s race at Smith Rock State Park crowned Zack Bursell and Sarah Correa as its 50-mile winners in 6:48 and 8:31, and Nicolas Composto and Isabelle Brauer won the 50k in 3:56 and 4:06. Brauer’s time was a new course record. Retired pro Andrew Bumbalough, once a 2:10 marathoner, and Barrett Gray won the 20-mile race. The two ran 2:43 and 3:16 and both set new course records. Full results.
Zack Bursell on his way to winning the 2023 Run the Rock 50 Mile. Photo: James Holk
Sarah Correa smiles her way to victory at the 2023 Run the Rock 50 Mile. Photo: James Holk
Pass Mountain Trail Runs – Mesa, Arizona
The Aravaipa Running race ran at Usery Mountain Regional Park and around Pass Mountain. The 50-mile winners Sheldon Oetter and Wendy Wentz finished in 9:17 and 12:57, and Roy Pierson and Sophie Johnson won the 50k in 4:21 and 5:53. Full results.
Pocantico Hills Marathon and Half Marathon ─ Sleepy Hollow, New York
The third running of the Pocantico Hills Marathon and Half Marathon in Rockefeller State Park, New York, all on carriage roads, took place on Saturday, November 11. The marathon course has 2,500 feet of elevation gain. In the marathon, men’s winner was Jay Johnson in 3:20. The women’s marathon winner was Margaret Boudreau in 3:10, a new course record. The half marathon men’s course record was obliterated by Ben Szuhaj in 1:12, while the women’s race was won by Brittany Ciano in 1:43. Full results.
Kessel Run Ultra – Fruita, Colorado
Jay Vogel won the men’s 50 miler in 8:38, but Emma Page Patterson was first overall in 8:21. It was a new women’s course record. It happened in the 60k too. Chadd Pither led the men in 5:40, but Kate Dettelbach was first overall in 5:22. Full results.
Emma Page Patterson after her win at the 2023 Kessel Run Ultra 50 Mile. Photo: Mad Moose Events
Dogwood Canyon 50k – Springfield, Missouri
The 50k winners Nathan Hall and Karen Holland earned $500 for their 4:08 and 4:34 finishes. Full results.
Stone Mill 50 Mile – Montgomery Village, Maryland
Marcus Hershberger and Mikka Kei MacDonald ran 7:05 and 8:45 at the front of the race. Full results.
World Trail Majors
The brand new series just announced their nine-race slate for 2024. iRunFar earlier shared the details.
The current 2024 schedule is:
- Jan 20 – Anta Hong Kong 100k – Hong Kong
- Feb 10 – Black Canyon Ultras 100k – U.S.
- Feb 24 – Transgrancanaria 126k – Spain
- April 26 – Mt. Fuji 100 Mile (formerly Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji) – Japan
- April 27 – Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k – Portugal
- June 8 – Swiss Canyon Trail 111k – Switzerland
- June 8 – South Downs Way 100 Mile – U.K
- July 5 – Quebec Mega Trail 100 Mile – Canada
- Nov 22 – Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile – South Africa
Call for Comments
It looks like it was a short week. What else is happening?
