Albertson Gets 50k World Record
At Lake Merced in San Francisco, California, on October 8 at the 35th annual Ruth Anderson Memorial Endurance Runs, CJ Albertson of Fresno, California, set a new 50k World Record in 2 hours, 38 minutes and 43 seconds. The race is named after Ruth Anderson, a woman who was a pioneer ultrarunner in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1970s. Albertson shaved 90 seconds off the previous mark held by Stephen Mokoka of South Africa who ran 2 hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds at the Nedback Runified 50K in Gqeberha, South Africa, on March 6, 2022.
In the 50-mile race at Ruth Anderson, Chikara Omine from Sacramento, California, set a new 40-plus American Record in 5 hours, 5 minutes and 41 seconds. This bested Bernd Heinrich's long-standing record of 5 hours, 10 minutes and 13 seconds set almost 41 years ago, to the day, at the 1981 RRCA National Championships in Chicago, Illinois.
Dauwalter Dominates Diagonale des Fous
Courtney Dauwalter of Leadville, Colorado, continued her torrent 2022 with a new course record at the 164k (101.91 miles) Grand Raid de la Réunion, also known as the Diagonale des Fous, in 24 hours, 37 minutes and 47 seconds on October 22. The late Andrea Huser of Switzerland set the previous best in 2020, in 26 hours, 34 minutes and 38 seconds. The marquee event off the coast of Madagascar traverses Réunion Island and collects 10,210 meters (33,497 feet) of elevation gain. Dauwalter, the defending UltraRunner of the Year, finished fourth overall and collected her fifth ultramarathon win of 2022.
The 2,500 square-meter (970 square-miles) French territory island has two volcanos: the dormant Piton des Neiges volcano, the highest point on the island at 3,070 meters (10,072 feet) above sea level, and the Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano considered one of the Earth's most active. A UNESCO Heritage Site, the island includes a rainforest interior, beaches and coral reefs along much of the coastline.
New Course Record and Golden Tickets at the 20th Annual Javelina Jundred
Dakota Jones of Salt Lake City, Utah, took the win, secured a 2023 Western States Golden Ticket and set a new course record at the Javelina Jundred, becoming the first person to run under 13 hours on the five-loop course in Fountain Hills, Arizona. He clocked a spectacular 12 hours, 58 minutes and 2 seconds—a full 3 minutes faster than the previous course record held by Patrick Reagan since 2017. His time is also the third-fastest 100-mile time for men in North America this year. Jonathan Rea out of Boulder, Colorado, secured his second Golden Ticket of the year (he also won the Bandera 100K in January) in 13 hours, 5 minutes and 58 seconds, the third-fastest time the course has ever witnessed. Rea’s time is the fourth-fastest on the continent this year. The defending champion, Arlen Glick, out of Massillon, Ohio, was third in 13 hours, 25 minutes and 48 seconds—the sixth-fastest time ever at Javelina.
Devon Yanko from Howard, Colorado, dominated the women’s race, winning by 45 minutes in the second-fastest time in the course’s history, in 14 hours, 36 minutes and 10 seconds. Her time is the fifth-fastest 100-miler clocked by a woman in North America in 2022. Riley Brady of New Hope, Pennsylvania, entered the women’s Golden Ticket race as a non-binary runner and ran to a second-place finish in 14 hours, 15 minutes and 43 seconds. Third place was former Arizona resident Nicole Bitter now living in Austin, Texas, besting her previous course PR by just over a minute and clocking the fourth-fastest women’s time on the desert course ever in 15 hours, 16 minutes and 25 seconds.
Team USA Wins the 2022 Backyard Ultra World Team Championships
Piotr Chadovich from Woodinville, Washington, led Team USA to the 2022 Backyard Ultra World Team Championships title with 76 total yards (316.66 miles), adding to the US total of 860 yards (3,583.36 miles) in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. With 555 runners representing 37 countries, they competed simultaneously at satellite locations around the world with Belgium finishing in second with 788 yards (3,282.36 miles) and Australia in third with 744 yards (3,100.03 miles).
Merijn Geerts of Leuven, Belgium, and Ivo Steyaert of Oosterzele, Belgium, were the last individuals standing, both deciding to retire after a new World Record Backyard distance of 101 yards (420.84 miles). Since neither finished a 102nd lap, they officially received a “Did Not Finish.” Geerts previously held the world record of 90 yards (375 miles) set on May 14, 2022 at the Backyard Masters in Rettert, Germany.
