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This Week in Trail Running: USATF 50K Road National Champs, Way Too Cool 50k

By Jordan Chavez

March 6, 2017

In this second iteration of the weekly dose of things trail, ultra and mountain running, I bring you some updates on this past weekend of gnarly 50K’s and a look into the week to come.

Many had their eyes fixed upon USATF Indoors this weekend but there was another USATF National Championship taking place, albeit on the far end of the distance spectrum from indoor track. The Caumsett Park 50k was host to this year’s USATF 50k Road National Championship, where former Iowa State distance runner Tyler Jermann, a 2:18 marathoner, ran the 2nd fastest 50K time by a North American ever. Tyler covered the 10 x 5k loops in 2:48:56, which is an average of 16:53 per 5k and 5:26 per mile for the ~31 miles. For reference, the AR for this distance is 2:43:45, set by Josh Cox in 2011.

The top Female finisher was Camille Shiflett who covered the distance in 3:39:09.

Way Too Cool 50k:

First things first, shout out to Reed Breuer who informed us not only that Tim Tollefson would not be competing in this event, but that we should all pay attention to Cody Reed… who in fact took the win this weekend in ~3:16 which places him at 4th on the all-time list for this event! The former NAU distance runner now trains in Flagstaff (classic), and is making his name on the trail scene at the age of 25 following back to back wins at Black Canyon 60k and Way Too Cool. Someone give this man a shoe contract.

Coming in 2nd was California’s Chris Mocko, who raced his first ever 50K in this same event one year ago and took eigth, finishing in a time of 3:17:51. Mocko is coming off a wild 2016 with a seventh place at the Western States 100 paired with some seemingly disappointing finishes at Run the Rut Vertical K, 28K and 50K. He will be racing in the Marin Challenge this coming weekend (more below).

Rounding out the top 5:

Third – Scott Trummer – 3:22:29

Fourth – Ryan Bak – 3:23:03

Fifth – Drew Holmen – 3:23:12

Note: Course record-holder Patrick Smyth came in eighth place and 3:33:18, nearly 30 minutes off his course record set in 2015. Hopefully he can get back on the horse after some tough racing at USA XC and WTC.

On the women’s side, Megan Roche, captured her three-peat at WTC, leading from start to finish. Her time was not near her performances from 2015/2016 where she ran the two fastest times on the course, but her 3:52:41 brought her to the tape as the top female and 14th overall.

In her first race of 2017, Keely Henninger was just over six minutes behind Roche in 3:59:09 coming in as the second female and 16th overall. Coming off a slew of races in 2016, including a win at Black Canyon and an eighth place finish at the USATF Half Marathon Trail Champs, it looks like a solid start to 2017 for the 24-year-old Portland runner.

To round out the top 5 Women:

Third – Amy Leedham – 4:10:16

Fourth – Rebecca Murillo – 4:20:11

Fifth – Claire DeVoe – 4:20:59

Full Results

The Week Ahead

Marin Ultra ChallengeChris Mocko and Franz Van Der Groen (2nd in 2016) lead the names taking on the 50 miler in the Bay.

Buddhist Stupa Stupa Trail Marathon, Kathmandu, Nepal – Unsure about any of the competition in this race, but it seems like an interesting event in the heart of the Himalayas. The 50k course has nearly 4,000m elevation gain (over 13,000ft), and features some stunning Buddhist temples at both start and finish.

Photo courtesy of Lloyd Belcher

Jordan Chavez

Photographer. 1/3 of A Runner's Eye. Founder of the Twitter formerly known as Runners & Cats. Often writes overly romanticized recollections of his running experiences, which include being a Richmond Spider and USA Mountain running team member. Has used the same Garmin for more than 10 years and in middle school he broke Colby Lowe's district-wide mile record.