Zach Bitter Zach Bitter is the fifth ranked runner of the year for 2016. He set an American Record for 100 miles at the end of 2015 (included in the…
Articles by UltraRunning Magazine
Amy Sproston Amy Sproston placed sixth among the women for 2016. A win at the Black Canyon 100K and a second place finish at Western States highlighted her year. Sproston,…
Tim Tollefson Tim Tollefson is the seventh place male in the voting for runner of the year. Tollefson had a breakout run at UTMB, covering the 105-mile route through the…
Pam Smith is the number eight-ranked female for 2016. Smith, a pathologist and mother of two from Salem, Oregon, was the top U.S. finisher in the IAU World 100K Championships in Spain.
Pete Kostelnick checks in as the number 9 runner of the year. Kostelnick, a financial analyst from Lincoln, Nebraska, won the Badwater 135 Mile in July after a sub-20 hour finish at Western States three weeks earlier.
Gina Slaby is the tenth ranked female in our annual Ultra Runner of the Year balloting. The 35-year-old Navy lieutenant set a stunning world record at the Desert Solstice Invitational in December, running 13:45:49 for 100 miles.
In 1980, at the age of 32, Roy Pirrung was 60 pounds overweight, smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day, and was a self-described binge drinker. He decided to take up running to help change his lifestyle. Within a year he was 60 pounds lighter, tobacco and alcohol free, and ran his first marathon, in 3:16.
This coming season we’re proud to offer fifteen quality races across three disciplines, spanning the US. Building on the success and inspiration of our first three seasons, 2017 continues the…
A short cinematic running film on professional ultra marathoner JIM WALMSLEY. JIM WALMSLEY is fast becoming the world’s top trail runner, destroying course records and running paces previously unheard of…
The number of total ultra finishers (includes gender breakdown) since 1980. 2016 as of 9/1/2016.
Tamalpa Runners, Marin’s largest running club, will present the Tamalpa Headlands 50k trail race on Saturday August 27th, 2016. Designated for the second year in a row as the USATF 50K Trail National Championship, the race has attracted an outstanding elite field. The race also serves as a USA qualifier for the IAU/IAAF 2017 Trail Running World Championship.
Devon Yanko and Paul Terranova have won the UltraRunning Race Series Overall Ranking in its inaugural year. The Series applied a formula to score every ultra finisher at every ultra race in the 12 months ending April 24, 2016. Top scores for four races – one at each classic ultra distance – were added to tabulate every ultrarunner’s score. The talented and experienced Terranova and Yanko took different paths to the top of the rankings.
This upcoming weekend will mark the final week of racing for the 2015-2016 UltraRunning Race Series. So far this season, results for over 1,200 North American ultras have been posted and scoring for approximately 43,000 runners have been calculated.
There are a number of great running camps nation-wide that help provide kids with the fundamentals of running, including running form, nutrition, and strength training. What is harder to find is a running camp that focuses specifically on trail running
Each year a few races attract a large number of elite runners. In this analysis, we have examined the races in which those who received votes for Runner of the Year competed. Giving the runners of the year 40 points, the runners-up 39 points, and so on, we have devised a system for determining which races had the most competitive fields. (Note that this analysis does not include foreign runners who are not eligible for runner of the year.)
Sponsored by HomeFed, the Official Host of the event, and in partnership with The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo, the event’s official beneficiary, the SLO Ultra will showcase a…
There used to be a perception that running 100 miles would ruin your body and you would not be able to run fast again, so people went to ultras after a road career. I think young people are also realizing that the ultra/trail community is something special and they really enjoy being a part of it.
Easily the most memorable moment was crossing the finish line at Western States. It was my first hundred miler, and probably the biggest victory of my entire running career.
David Laney is the men’s Ultra Runner of the Year for 2015. Laney won both the Chuckanut 50K and the Bandera 100K, and finished third at UTMB – the highest place ever for an American man at Europe’s top ultra. He rounded out a highly varied year of racing with a top-10 finish at Western States and strong placing at the IAU World Trail Championships in France.
Ian Sharman of Bend, Oregon is the number two ranked runner for 2015. Sharman won the Rocky Raccoon and Leadville Trail 100s – each for the second time – and notched his sixth straight top 10 finish at Western States. Trained as an economist, the British ex-pat now owns a coaching business and directs the U.S. Skyrunning series.
Stephanie Howe of Bend, Oregon is the number three ranked woman for 2015. Howe’s impressive year featured a course record win at the Lake Sonoma 50 and top ten finishes at the world’s top two 100 milers, Western States and UTMB. Howe has a PhD in exercise physiology and operates a coaching and nutrition business.
Kaci Lickteig of Omaha, Nebraska is the fourth ranked woman. The remarkably consistent physical therapist only finished off the podium once in six races, taking fifth at the Lake Sonoma 50. Her second place finish at Western States featured the fastest second half of any woman in the field.
Dylan Bowman of Mill Valley, California checks in at number five. D-Bo won Tarawera 100K in New Zealand and the Ultra Trail Australia 100K in the spring, and placed ninth at the Osierre-Chmpex-Chamonix 55-km in August. The Hypoxico sales manager even found time for a couple of strong races in the good ole U.S. of A. Photo Credit: Ken Schuh
Zach Miller of Manitou Springs, Colorado is the sixth ranked man. His three races were a shorter résumé than most, but they included impressive wins at Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix, the 101-km sister race to UTMB, and at The North Face Challenge Championship 50 Mile in San Francisco, where he beat a star-studded field.
Aliza Lapierre of Williston, Vermont checks in at number seven. Lapierre had a travel-filled year with strong performances in Japan, Spain, Texas and California, as well as two wins in her native New England. photo by Matt Trappe
Alex Nichols Alex Nichols of Colorado Springs is the eighth ranked runner in 2015. Nichols spent part of the year in France, winning a 51-mile race on Mount Blanc, and…
Darcy Piceu is the ninth ranked female for 2015. Piceu, a mental health intervention specialist in Boulder, Colorado, is one of the top mountain runners in the world, placing second at Hardrock and fifth a mere seven weeks later at UTMB. She also broke the course record while winning the Bighorn 52 Mile in June.
Bob Shebest of Santa Rosa, California is number 10 in the 2015 Ultra Runner of the Year rankings. A middle school math teacher, Shebest took full advantage of his summer holiday, winning the San Diego 100 and the Tahoe Rim Trail 50 Mile, and placing second in the Run Rabbit Run100.
Tom Johnson can lay claim to the most unusual athletic background of any elite American ultrarunner–perhaps any American ultrarunner, period. In college at the University of California at Davis, he was a member of the championship polo team. No, not the kind you play in the water. The kind you play astride a horse, wielding a mallet. And his eventual evolution into an ultrarunner came by way of equestrianism.
With the announcement, Altra Footwear becomes a Diamond Level Partner and the exclusive footwear partner of the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run.
When you meet Marin County’s Mark Richtman, it’s hard to believe that he’s 60 years old. Despite his longish graying hair, his stride is fluid and he remains a fierce ultra competitor. “When I show up at the starting lin...
In 2005, just one week before her 61st birthday, Gunhild Swanson set the 60-and-older female record for Western States with a time of 25:40. Without a doubt, her husband Jack wanted to pace her for a portion of the prest...
Bill Dodson recently broke the American record for 100k for his age (80 years old) at the Mad City 100k on April 11. He raced in a time of 15 hours and 5 minutes, which was over 2- hours ahead of the prior record. The fo...
Each year a few races attract a large number of elite runners. In this analysis, we have examined the races in which those who received votes for Runner of the Year competed. Giving the runners of the year 40 points, the...
The idea for The Trail Running Film Festival came from humble beginnings. Back when Rainshadow Running was a small flame waiting to be fanned, race series founder James Varner sat huddled at an old TV at Camp Moran, watc...
Interview With Male Ultrarunner of the Year Rob Krar UR: First of all congratulations on consecutive UROY awards—how does 2014 compare to 2013? Rob: It’s a huge honor for me to be voted Ultra Runner of the Year. It...
UTWT SERIES WINNERS In its inaugural year the international race se-ries Ultra Trail World Tour crowned its cham-pions at the 107-mile and over 30,000 feet of ascent Diagonale Des Fous on October 23. Fran-cois D’Haene o...