Blame it on Rio (Del Lago)
Lukas Temer nabs the win in his first 100 mile race. (Photo by Agnès Pommier)
Every summer, a million words are spilled in honor of the big, local hundred mile race: The Western States 100. Under the shadow of so much reporting, it would be easy to miss the region’s other, smaller, long-standing hundred mile race: The Rio Del Lago 100.
This race had been Norm Klein’s baby for many years, and last year he passed the baton to new Race Director Molly Sheridan.
This year, Sheridan reconfigured the course significantly—eliminating the loop around Lake Natoma, and replacing the lost mileage with a repeat out and back from Twin Rocks to Cardiac. “This part of the course is so cool that we wanted you to experience it again!” says the race website.
The reports I got back from the runners weren’t so glowing, but then again it was near the end of a 100 mile race, and it was hot.
“It was a meat grinder!” said Julie Fingar, the first woman and 4th overall in the 100 mile race. “It was HOT and HUMID and four times from Twin rocks to Cardiac and back was a mental mind twister and a physical one too! “
I had this race on my calendar all summer and only decided to let it go after a disastrous training run in August. It looks like I picked a good year to continue to put it off!
In the end, only 38 runners completed the 100 miles. “A lot of the 100 milers took the option of dropping at the 100K mark for a 100K finishers buckle. The heat was a big factor.” Says Sheridan.
The 100 mile finishers all took home a pretty spiffy finisher’s buckle.
This race is typically hot, but this year it was especially so and the humidity was weirdly high for this area. Not surprisingly, the finishing rate was somewhat low and the times were somewhat slow compared to other years. (The analysis is complicated due to the course change, but just work with me here. It was hot.)
Lukas Temer, running his first 100 miler, won the 100 mile race in 18:40, with Jimmy Dean Freeman finishing close behind in 19:29:40. Toshikazu Hosaka was an hour back in 20:43.
Julie Fingar, Race Director of the NorCal Ultras, was 1st woman and 4th overall at 21:41. Karen Pierce and Lina McCain rounded out the top three women in 25:43 and 26:17.
Only a dozen runners took on the 100Km, and Anthony Brantley was the first to finish in 12:14. The first woman, and second overall, was Deanna Beland in 13:50.
Anthony Brantley gets a little TLC after the 100Km. (Photo by Melisa Mahon)
In the 50Km, the top three men finished only four minutes apart. They were Carson Teasley, 4:40:11, Dan Barger, 4:44:28, and Charles Wickersham, in 4:44:47.
The top woman in the 50Km, also 5th overall, was Katie DeSplinter who finished in 5:25:44.
Maybe I’ll really do the race next year! How bad could it really be?
Until then, you can read the blogs.
You can read about Anthony Brantley’s run of the 100Km here. (Cankles!)
You can read Jean Pommier’s account of his DNF here. (Great quote: “While some pain and suffering is part of ultra running, this remains a hobby and there is no reason to potentially kill yourself at it! “)
John — I happened to do a trail run on the Granite Bay to Horseshoe stretch that humid Sunday morning (forgot Rio would be finishing up — oops) and the 100-milers I passed looked as if they were participating in the Bataan Death March. Looked like a real sufferfest out there with the heat. I felt for those guys/gals. Bring on fall weather, right?
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