Sacramento Running News

Top Women. Left to right: Tomory, Laird, Guijarro. (SRN photo)

Taking advantage of beautiful conditions, Joel Frost-Tift, 25, of Los Angeles, bested the field of more than 800 runners at the 35th running of the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run in 6:26:52.

In a pretty close 2nd place, Matthew Morales, 24, of Visalia, made it to the finish line at the American River Overlook in 6:30:40.

Coming in 3rd overall was Thomas Reiss, 46, of San Luis Obispo, with 6:39:59. Reiss was also the top male masters finisher.

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Second woman finisher Tera Dube navigates the trails. (Photo by Sean Dulany/Freeplay Magazine)

As we crowded up on the levee near the start line for the 2013 running of the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run, two things were dominating conversations of the old timers: the temperature and the crowd.

It was warm, and it was also humid and still. I spotted a few trash-bag wearers, but most people were lightly dressed—at least for 6:00 AM on an early April morning. It always unnerves me when it’s unseasonably warm at the start of an ultra.

The crowd was huge. There were around 1,100 registered runners in the field, which is much larger than in previous years, and makes this race one of the country’s largest.

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Ellie Greenwood is all smiles after 40 miles. (SRN photo)

This past Saturday, under ideal conditions, some of the best runners in the world gathered in Sacramento for one of North America’s largest ultras.

This was the first time in several years that the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run was not part of the Montrail Cup. As a result, the depth of talent at the front of the race was not quite as robust as we’ve come to expect and yet there were still some extraordinary times.

Although the race was won by New Zelander Vajin Armstrong in a respectable time of 5:53:32, the star of the show was the Scottish/Canadian Ellie Greenwood.

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