For the second time, 41-year-old Rob Krar from Flagstaff, Arizona won the Leadville Trail 100 Run on Saturday night. The intense race, which takes runners through high elevations along forest trails and mountain roads in the Colorado Rockies, is “where legends are created and limits are tested,” according to its website.
Krar took the podium at 15:51:57, more than hour ahead of this year’s second place finisher, Ryan Kaiser. Krar’s time beat his 2014 win and PR time of 16:09:32.
“Going back to Leadville four years after I first ran it was definitely a magical experience,” Krar told Runner’s World. “Back in 2014 when I ran it, at the time it was my most difficult 100 mile race ever, so I had been wanting to come back and have a more amicable experience.”
Krar, who says he had a “tough couple years” with injuries and personal issues, is hoping that this win will have a snowball effect and give him the momentum he needs to get his running back on track.
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Krar also had a busy—and successful—week prior to the race, as he finished 14th overall in Leadville’s Trail 100 MTB on August 11, finishing at 7:08:27.
In the female race, two runners, Katie Arnold from Sante Fe, New Mexico and 32-year-old Addie Bracy from Longmont, Colorado, remained at the front of the pack.
Bracy led for at least the first 40 miles or so, and she was still five minutes ahead of Arnold before entering the highest point at Hope Pass. But by mile 63, the two female leads were neck and neck.
In the the last half of the race, however, Arnold charged ahead of the pack, breaking the tape at 19:53:40, placing 11th overall. Bracy took home second place for women with a time of 21:17:12—more than a solid finish for her first 100-miler.
Additional reporting by Erin Strout.
Are Average Runners Getting Faster? It Depends Runner’s World in 2017, McGee has somehow convinced the team to let her keep writing for them as a freelancer. Her work for both Runner’s World and Bicycling consists mostly of news and human interest pieces. Her favorite stories to tell are ones of “ordinary” people doing extraordinary things through running and cycling, whether accomplishing personal goals, overcoming severe trials, or transforming their communities. Her writing has also appeared on ACTIVE and Paste Magazine. When she’s not running or eating, you can probably find her still eating.
