COLORADO — Perhaps it was the easy access to the Colorado mountains that helped Courtney Dauwalter of Golden train to win the California Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run this weekend.
Dauwalter, 33, had never entered this particular race before, but was the first woman to cross the finish line Saturday evening, coming in at 17:27:00. She held an average pace of 10:26 per mile for the 100.2 mountainous miles of the race, which begins in Squaw Valley, California, and ends in Auburn. It was the second fastest women’s time in race history.
Courtney Dauwalter (@SalomonRunning) wins the 2018 Western States 100 in 17:27:02, the second fastest women’s time in race history (behind Ellie Greenwood’s 2012 16:46). Our pre-race interview: https://t.co/UAkHBDBUOK #WS100 pic.twitter.com/aui1Kd6S5R
— iRunFar (@iRunFar) June 24, 2018
Edgewater’s Kyle Pietari, 31, placed sixth for men, moving up from 10th place in the 2017 race. He finished the race in 16:54:23, averaging 10:07 per mile.
Kyle Pietari (@AltraRunning) sprints to sixth at the 2018 Western States 100 in 16:54:20. #WS100 pic.twitter.com/nVtiqEk8ZD
— iRunFar (@iRunFar) June 24, 2018
Western States is the world’s oldest 100-mile trail race. In the years since the first competition in 1974, it has grown to represent one of the ultimate endurance tests in the world, according to its website. Runners climb more than 18,000 feet and descend almost 23,000 feet throughout the 100.2-mile race.
The races attracts thousands of hopeful registrants each year, but through a qualifying system and lottery, only 369 are allowed to participate. About 80 percent of those who started the 2018 race finished it. In addition to Dauwalter and Pietari, about a dozen other Colorado athletes showed up at the starting line Saturday morning. Here are those results for the other Colorado runners:
- Wes Thurman, 46, of Colorado Springs, dropped at 47.8 miles
- Brad Bishop, 32, of Fort Collins, 29:34:20
- Andy Blatecky, 35, of Golden, 26:19:21
- Lee Cordova, 31, of Denver, 20:46:37
- Kevin Flannery, 39, of Arvada, 29:45:03
- Matthew Florence, 39, of Conifer, dropped at 55.7 miles
- Jason Haddock, 48, of Boulder, 26:54:00
- Gina Harcrow, 46, of Monument, 28:39:00
- Chris Kumm, 33, of Broomfield, 23:54:36
- Joey Luther, 39, of Boulder, 29:54:19
- Devon Olson, 30, of Steamboat Springs, dropped at 10.3 miles
- Val Zajac, 33, of Westminster, 29:50:23
- Michael Randall, 43, of Boulder, 29:06:46
- Christopher Sipe, 37, of Colorado Springs, 29:21:47
- Mike Wilkinson, 46, of Parker, 28:11:54
