Sacramento Running News

Hundreds of runners, as well as countless support crews and volunteers, are already congregating in Squaw Valley for this weekend’s 38th running of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run.

Weather forecasters are predicting cool temperatures and the race is being run on a modified “snow year” course, which replaces some technical (i.e., rocky and slow) parts of the trail with some fast fire roads–including some pavement.

Add to this the stellar field being assembled and you can expect blazing fast times and an exciting race.

In the men’s race, Geoff Roes, 35, of Douglas, Alaska, returns as defending champion. His 2010 run of 15:07 eclipsed Scott Jurek’s men’s course record set in 2004 of 15:36.

Also returning is Kilian Jornet, a 23‐year‐old trail running phenom from Spain, who led several stretches of the race last year before slowing over the final 20 miles to finish third in 16:04. Of course, the burning question on everyone’s mind is “Will he be wearing his trademark white spandex body suit?”

Unfortunately, Anton Krupicka, who finished second overall, also under the course record at 15:13, will not return this year due to an injured right knee.

Ian Sharman, well off the lead at 17:26 and 8th place in the 2010 Western States 100, returns again this year with a bit of added hype following his amazing, 12:44 run at February’s Rocky Raccoon 100. (Do the math. That’s about a 7:38 pace for 100 miles.)

It remains to be seen whether Sharman will bust out the Elvis costume for this weekend’s run.

Another threat is Dave Mackey, 41, of Boulder, Colorado, who was the winner of this year’s American River 50-mile and Miwok 100Km. Mackey will be running his first Western States 100. (He’s also asking (on his blog) for help with GI issues. This is either an elaborate psych-out or a sign of the collaborative nature of ultrarunning.)

Other top contenders include: Nick Clark, 37, from Fort Collins, Colorado, fourth in 2011 at 16:05; 2007 and 2009 champion Hal Koerner, 35, of Ashland, Oregon; Tsuyoshi Kaburaki, 42, of Japan, second‐place finisher in 2009; and Jez Bragg, 30, of England, third‐place finisher in 2009.

The women’s race is shaping up to be a barn-burner as well. Tracy Garneau, 42, of Vernon, B.C., returns to defend her title. Running her Western States debut in 2010, Garneau ran 19:01.

Second‐place Meghan Arbogast, 50, of Corvallis, Ore., who ran 19:15, will be challenging Garneau for the top spot.

Three‐time women’s champion, Nikki Kimball, 40, of Bozeman, Montana, finished third in 2010 in 19:23 and is always capable of the win.

Another top-contender is 2009 women’s champion Anita Ortiz, 47, of Eagle, Colorado. Ortiz was unable to defend her title in 2010 due to knee surgery. Ortiz was the U.S. Womens Mountain Running Champion in 2002, 2003, 2004.

Overlooked at your peril is Ellie Greenwood, 32, of Canada, who won the American River 50‐mile in April, was 4th at last month’s Comrades Ultramarathon,  and was the 2010 World Champion in the 100Km.

And also overlooked at your peril is 2011 American River 50-mile runner‐up Kami Semick, 44, of Bend, Oregon, who should also be in the hunt for the women’s title. Semick finished just ahead of Greenwood at Comrades, finishing 3rd, and was the 2009 World Champion in the 100Km.

Whoever comes out on top, it is guaranteed to be an exciting event–and a life-changing one for many of those in the back of the pack.

For more information, check out Runners World Online’s attempt to handicap the race.

The race starts Saturday morning at 5:00 (Pacific Time) and there will be excellent, reasonably live, webcast reporting. (I say “reasonably live” because it is very difficult to get data from the remote parts of the course up on the web. All in all, they do a great job and it gets better every year.)

Finally, be sure to check out the Sacramento Bee’s Sam McManis’ profile of Western States Race Director Greg Soderlund.

Update: SacBee reports on “drastic” course changes due to snow conditions.