January 1, 2024 – iRunFar – GWC Mag

Call it a soft opening. Our first 2024 column is light. There just isn’t that much racing between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, but we’ve got an all-U.S. tally of results to share, plus next year’s WMRA World Cup schedule.

Across the Years – Phoenix, Arizona

The Aravaipa Running festival returned to Camelback Ranch for six days of running over a 1.4-mile loop. The event started on December 28 and won’t conclude until January 3. There’s a multitude of different race options over the event’s seven days.

Remo Spagnol and Hannah Carta won the 200-mile race in 57:25 and 71:17.

In the fixed time 48-hour race, Matthew Shepard and Rachel Entrekin totaled 133 and 195 miles, respectively.

12-hour runners Alexander Belotz and Natalie Larson were atop the charts at 56 and 70 miles.

James Nalley and Shawna Wentlandt ran for 72 hours and rang up 228 and 211 miles.

Perhaps the event’s biggest winner though, 75-year-old Janice O’Grady was on fire. She set 100k, 12-hour, 24-hour, and 100-mile age group world record. The big one, that 100-mile mark, was achieved in 29:53.

Full results.

Bob Graham Round – Lake District, England, United Kingdom

The famed fell running circuit goes 66 miles with nearly 27,000 feet of elevation gain over 42 peaks, and it’s seen a flurry of winter activity in recent weeks.

Going in the slower counter clockwise direction, Andy Berry ran solo and unsupported and finished his midwinter loop in 18:05. In May 2023, Berry set a new Lake District 24-hour record with 78 peak summits.

And then Henriette Albon (Norway) set a new women’s midwinter record at 17:55.

Tuscobia Winter Ultra – Park Falls, Wisconsin

The event is a run, bike, or run race named for its course on the Tuscobia and Wild Rivers State Trails in far northern Wisconsin. The 160-mile run had 24 starters and started on December 29.

Herman Watson was the men’s winner in 37:34, and Simone Valentin Austin was top woman in 57:13.

In the 80-mile run, top men Korey Konietzki and Michael Ryan finished in a first-place tie at 16:58 and Nichole Diedrick led the women in 18:53. Tracking.

Additional Races and Runs

Snowdrop Ultra 55 Hour – Missouri City, Texas

The 11th annual race started on Saturday, December 30 and won’t finish until 2:00 p.m. on Monday, January 1. The fundraiser for the Snowdrop Foundation was run on a .69-mile loop. They’re 30 hours in at the time of this writing and Juan Acevedo and Megan Eckert are out front with 190 and 178 miles on the board. Eckert won last year’s race, totaling 190 miles in 2022-23. Full results.

Charleston 100 Mile – Charleston, South Carolina

It was the race’s sixth year across the low country. There were 44 finishers and both the men’s and women’s winners set new course records. Chris Varnadoe finished in 15:29 and women’s leader Christina Couper ran 17:12. Full results.

Jupiter Ridge Sand Spur – Jupiter, Florida

The multi-distance event ran from December 29 to December 31. The race is nearly all run on sugar sand, a fine silt that’s too soft for cars and trucks to drive on. Only two of the race’s 30 finishers over 50k came in under five hours on the unique course. Alexander Gaber and Brenda Lips finished in 4:58 and 4:49, respectively. Full results.

2024 WMRA World Cup

The World Mountain Running Association earlier announced their 2024 World Cup roster. The series will run through eight countries, 10 events, and over 13 races between June and October 2024. World Cup overall winners will each earn € 5,000.

• June 21, 2024 – Broken Arrow Skyrace Vertical  (USA)
• June 23, 2024 – Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k (USA)
• July 7, 2024 – Grossglockner Mountain Run (Austria)
• July 14, 2024 – Montemuro Vertical Run (Portugal)
• July 20, 2024 – La Montee du Nid D’Aigle (France)
• July 28, 2024 – Giir di Mont (Italy)
• August 10, 2024 – Sierre-Zinal (Switzerland)
• August 31, 2024 – Vertical Nasego (Italy)
• September 1, 2024 – Trofeo Nasego (Italy)
• September 22, 2024 – Sky GranCanaria (Spain)
• October 5, 2024 – Šmarna Gora (Slovenia)
• October 12, 2024 – Lagunc Verticale (Italy)
• October 13, 2024 – Val Bregaglia Trail (Italy)

We earlier shared the Golden Trail World Series, Skyrunner World Series, and World Trail Majors schedules too.

Call for Comments

2024, ready to roll! It looks next week marks my ninth anniversary of TWIR.