Run It Fast®

Zach Bitter went down to Arizona to battle it out with the best of the best at the Desert Solstice 24 Hour in Phoenix and he’ll be going home with a new U.S. 100 Mile Open Track record after blazing 100 miles in 11:47:21.

So that must be kinda fast right? Oh, yeah, well just a 7:04 per mile pace. Run It Fast!

The previous record was recently set by Jon Olsen in 11:59.

He followed it up with the 12 Hour WORLD Record with 101.66 miles.

American Pam Smith, not to be outdone by Bitter, set the female U.S. and World 100 Mile Track Record in 14:11:26.

The Desert Solstice 24 Hour is hosted and put on by Aravaipa Running.

Overall winner of the 24 hour event was Olivier Leblond with 152.36 miles. He was followed in second place by Ed ‘the Jester’ Ettinghausen with 144.41 miles and third overall (first female) went to Connie Gardner with 110.11 miles in just 19:41:23.

2013 Desert Solstice 24 Hour Results:

1. Olivier Leblond – 152.36 miles (23:57:19)
2. Ed Ettinghausen – 144.41 miles (23:58:26)
3. Connie Gardner – 110.11 miles (19:41:23) – 1st female
4. Roy Pirrung – 106.88 miles (23:59:39)
5. Hung K Ng – 103.64 miles (18:50:00)
6. Zach Bitter – 101.66 miles (11:59:15)
7. Pam Smith – 101.41 miles (14:44:28) – 2nd female
8. Jay Smithberger – 100.91 miles (17:36:25)
9. Victor Vella – 100.66 miles (17:47:14)
10. Padraig Mullins – 100.17 miles (17:12:02)
11. Beth McCurdy – 84.76 miles (16:57:49) – 3rd female
12. Debra Horn – 82.02 miles (14:18:05)
13. John Maas – 78.79 miles (12:50:09)
14. Anthony Forsyth – 77.8 miles (11:12:08)
15. Anthony Culpepper – 76.06 miles (12:46:24)
16. David Ploskonka – 71.58 miles (12:46:02)
17. Kristina Pham – 65.37 miles (10:24:50)
18. Eric Clifton – 62.39 miles (10:09:47)
19. John Ticer – 62.14 miles (10:39:55)
20. Carilyn Johnson – 52.44 miles (8:42:57)
21. Jennifer Aradi – 51.7 miles (9:18:25)
22. Tracy Hoeg – 31.57 miles (5:14:03)

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Congrats to all of these elite ultramarathoners!

[image: Aravaipa Running]

UltraRunning magazine has named Mike Morton and Ellie Greenwood as it’s ‘Ultrarunners of the Year’ according to the magazine’s website.

Morton won five races in 2012 including some amazing performances at the Badwater 135 (2 minutes off course record), Umstead 100 Miler (course record), Florida Keys 100 (course record), and IAU 24-Hour where he put down 172.457 miles in 24-hours (an American record).

Greenwood, who has resided in Canada over the past decade, repeated as the female ‘Ultrarunner of the Year.’  Ellie won the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run where she broke the female course record.  She won a total of eight ultramarathons in 2012 including a smashing course record at the JFK 50 Miler back in November.

2012 UltraRunning Magazine Ultrarunners of the Year Voting (Male)

1. Mike Morton, 41, Lithia, Florida (14) – 313
2. Timothy Olson, 28, Ashland, Oregon (6) – 264
3. Max King, 32, Bend, Oregon (2) – 227
4. Hal Koerner, 36, Ashland, Oregon – 137
5. Dakota Jones, 21, Durango, Colorado (1) – 122
6. Brian Rusiecki, 34, South Deerfield, Massachusetts (1) – 74
7. Dave Mackey, 42, Boulder, Colorado – 68
8. Nick Clark, 38, Fort Collins, Colorado – 57
9. Jon Olsen, 38, Modesto, California – 56
10. Jeff Browning, 40, Bend, Oregon/Karl Meltzer, 44, Sandy, Utah – 49

2012 UltraRunning Magazine Ultrarunners of the Year Voting (Female)

1. Ellie Greenwood, 33, North Vancouver, B.C., (24) – 360
2. Connie Gardner, 48, Medina, Ohio – 228
3. Darcy Africa, 37, Boulder, Colorado – 155
4. Amy Sproston, 38, Portland, Oregon – 145
5. Rory Bosio, 28, Soda Springs, California – 95
6. Joelle Vaught, 37, Boise, Idaho – 89
7. Tina Lewis, 39, Boulder, Colorado – 80
8. Meghan Arbogast, 51, Corvallis, Oregon – 74
9. Aliza Lapierre, 32, Williston, Vermont – 64
10. Sabrina (Moran) Little, 26, Waco, Texas – 56