The first time that I heard and read about this particular Ultratrail endurance run was when I got a copy of the book “Ultramarathon Man” by Dean Karnazes which became a Number One Bookseller at one time. Practically, almost one half of the book was devoted to the author’s quest to qualify for the said race, train for it, and finally described how he was able to finish his first 100-mile race in this event. It is very detailed to the point that everything was described on how a first-timer would experience running a 100-mile endurance run. Dean Karnazes joined this particular race for the first time in 1994.

I guess, this book entirely opened the awareness of most of the runners to try and experience what it takes to run an ultra race along the trails of the mountains. Personally, the book also inspired me to try running an ultra distance at the Bulldog 50K last year. And I went further by going to Badwater, California to witness the start of the 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon, meeting and talking to Dean Karnazes and Pam Reed for the first time; taking some pictures of the ultra athletes; and observing how they ran along the first 25 miles of the course.

And because of my readings, observations, and experience about ultra races, the Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race (BDM 102) became a reality!

You might be wondering why I am posting the results of this particular endurance run. Aside from reading it from Dean K’s book and had inspired me to tread to ultra distance running, it is one of my “dreams” to run at least one 100-mile endurance run in my running career and who knows this dream would come true! Not necessarily qualifying and running for the Western States 100-Mile in the future!

The following is the article/post taken from the Ultrarunning Magazine Online (www.ultrarunning.com)

 Koerner, Ortiz Win at Sizzling Western States

Auburn, California, June 28—Hal Koerner successfully defended his championship and Anita Ortiz won her first 100-miler under blistering conditions at the Western States Endurance Run which finished here today. Koerner dueled with Dave Mackey for most of the first 55 miles before pulling away in Volcano Canyon, stretched his lead down an oven-like California Street loop, and won the race by nearly half an hour over a spate of challengers.

Ortiz, a mother of four running her first 100-miler, lead most of the way, holding small leads over Beverly Anderson-Abbs until Devils Thumb (mile 47.8). Ortiz stretched her lead to twenty minutes on the trip through rugged Eldorado Canyon and was never seriously threatened thereafter. Krissy Moehl overtook Anderson-Abbs around mile 83 and finished second. Three-time winner Nikki Kimball struggled most of the day, but toughed it out to take fourth.

The race for second among the men was spectacular, with three runners leaving the Highway 49 aid station (mile 93.3) within seconds of each other and a fourth runner departing four minutes later. Eventually, Tsuyoshi Kaburagi of Japan won the epic battle, nudging Jez Bragg of Great Britain for runner-up honors, with Jasper Halekas of Oakland garnering fourth and Kevin Sullivan of Andover, Massachusetts fifth. All five runners were under 17 hours, the most ever in the 36 years of this event. Kaburagi’s time of 16:52:06 set a new masters course record. Seven-time champion Scott Jurek ran third for much of the first 40 miles, but was 10-20 minutes behind and never really in the mix. Jurek dropped from third to seventh by Devils Thumb aid station (mile 47.8) and dropped out there. Early leader Mackey also dropped, at the Rucky Chucky River Crossing aid station (mile 78.0).

The race was held under extremely hot conditions, with temperatures peaking at 99F on Saturday. For the later finishers, Sunday was even hotter, with Auburn reaching 103F. The heat had a deleterious effect on both times and finishing rate; only 238 of the 399 starters (59.6%) finished the race within the 30-hour time limit.

Men
1. Hal Koerner, 33, Ashland, OR, 16:24:55
2. Tsuyoshi Kaburagi, 40, Takasaki, JPN, 16:52:06
3. Jez Bragg, 28, Warwick, GBR, 16:54:26
4. Jasper Halekas, 33, Oakland, CA, 16:56:26
5. Kevin Sullivan, 38, Andover, MA, 16:59:33
6. Zachariah Miller, 33, Ann Arbor, MI, 17:34:12
7. Leigh Schmitt, 36, Conway, MA, 17:49:37
8. Eric Skaden, 37, Folsom, CA, 18:22:44
9. Mark Lantz, 43, Gold River, CA, 18:45:56
10. Andy Jones-Wilkins, 41, Ketchum, ID, 18:46:52

Women
1. Anita Ortiz, 45, Eagle, CO, 18:24:17
2. Krissy Moehl, 31, Seattle, WA, 19:26:02
3. Beverly Anderson-Abbs, 45, Red Bluff, CA, 19:53:14
4. Nikki Kimball, 38, Bozeman, MT, 20:55:43
5. Caren Spore, 41, Davis, CA, 21:17:22
6. Meghan Arbogast, 48, Corvallis, OR, 21:33:36
7. Elizabeth Vitalis, Livermore, CA, 23:11:31
8. Jamie Frink, 36, Folsom, CA, 23:37:15
9. Jenny Capel, 36, Reno, NV, 23:49:27
10. Connie Gardner, 45, Medina, OH, 25:34:16

For more information about the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, visit its website at www.ws100.com.