Adrenaline Night Runs are over, the course de-marked, and the truck all packed up ready for the next adventure. However, the performances of last night are still playing over in my mind. At a wedding reception today, with a table of runners, the conversation quickly turned to Sion Lupowitz’s domination of the course and his progression as a runner. It was a performance of strength and beauty watching him power through all 54K with no one in his rear view. With the new shorter distance (from 64K to 54K) there was no mark besides the “W” on which to set his sights; yet, he left the bar high in his wake running 4:00:09 (7:09/mile). Daniel Crane followed in 4:21:30 and RWB’s Tommy Lunetta in 4:59:16. The women’s race was won by Jane Larkindale of Tuscon in 5:29:27 who was 3rd female at this year’s Zane Grey. Speaking of Zane Grey, of the 6 podium finishers in the 54K 4 could also be found crossing the finish at last month’s Zane. Megan Galope, one of those 4, was 2nd in 5:56:33 and Elizabeth Forestell was 3rd in 6:36:33.
The 27K also saw some blazing fast performances with Adam Danks racing to the win and new course record in 1:54:49 (6:50/mile). 2nd and 3rd place was contested by 37 seconds by constant podium finishers at Aravaipa events: Van Patterson of Tempe in 2:00:14 and David Santiago of Mesa in 2:00:51. The women’s race showcased the power of trail-camaraderie: winner Jaclyn Knoll and her faulty headlamp were guided to the finish by Jess Adams with the two of them finishing side-by-side in 2:22:37. Amy Rasor, who just 2 weeks ago won Ultra Adventure’s Grand Canyon 100, was 2nd in 2:29:04 and Emily Gerlick 3rd in 2:31:44.
In the 10K Phil Slama, who before the start claimed not to be “racing,” couldn’t contain his competitive nature and broke the old course record of 40:28 by running 39:47 (6:24/mile). Alec Fillmore was hot on his heels and also came in under the old record with a time of 39:56. Aravaipa Ambassador, Jeremy Pager, was 3rd in 41:36. Jeremy is having a great year with not only a prolific racing schedule but some consistent performances including top 20 in a stacked field at this year’s Black Canyon 100K – we look forward to watching him compete at next weekend’s San Diego 100! The women’s race was almost as close with 1:02 separating 1st from 3rd. Lora Jones won in a time of 50:43 improving on her 3rd place finish at Sinister Night Runs 9K earlier this month. Melanie Spitalny decided her 4th place finish at Adrenaline last year wasn’t good enough and knocked just under a minute off her time to take 2nd in 51:38. Melody Pickard was only seconds behind her in 3rd running 51:45. Congratulations to all the runners! Full results can be found here.
The heat was a concern earlier in the day with temperatures settling to 100° for the start of the 54K but the night turned out to be beautiful and a near-full moon just added to the ambiance. There were two runners hoping for additional heat with the 2 oldest participants in the 54K (James Ehasz, 62 and Karsten Solheim, 78) both registered and training for this year’s Badwater 135. The Team Red, White and Blue charity beer garden was rocking from about 7pm until Midnight with a measly 3 cans of beer making it back on the truck. It was great fun to have the owners of Huss Brewing out to show us how it’s done and a big thank you to them for co-sponsoring the festivities with Blasted Barley. We will be at Huss Brewing after our June 17th Wednesday night group run at South Mountain. Join us for the run and a cold beer after to help say thanks to Huss Brewing for their support! Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this event happen, many of whom volunteered from setup to breakdown and really helped make this event the party that it was!
Next up is a brand new adventure with Flagstaff Extreme Big Pine and Blackout Night Runs. We have so many fun options lined up for all the runners between a beautiful course, packet pickup Thursday at Wanderlust Brewing (including having them at the race selling beer for Team RWB), an opportunity to check out Run Flagstaff for Friday’s packet pickup, and of course the Flagstaff Extreme Adventure Course tempting you on each loop to test your limits not only on the ground but up in the trees. Online Registration is still open and will be closing at midnight on Tuesday June 9th (registration will also be available at packet pickups and on race day). Purchasing a discounted pass to the Flagstaff Extreme Adventure Course with registration will also earn you a $10 gift card to Run Flagstaff! Can’t wait to see you there!
