Northwest Sweeps Western States Crowns

PA/USATF Runners Take Second

By Hollis Lenderking

   
 Veteran ultrarunners Hal Koerner and Nikki Kimball, of Oregon and 
Montana respectively, charged to commanding wins in the 34th Western 
States 100-mile Endurance Run on June 23.   Pacific Association runners 
pushed both Koerner and Kimball to two of the fastest winning times in 
the race's history, with American River 50M champion Erik Skaden (Folsom, 
Calif.)  repeating his 2006 runner-up finish in 16:36:49 to Koerner's 
winning 16:12:16, while Beverley Anderson-Abbs (Red Bluff, Calif.) did 
likewise in 19:31:18 to Kimball's 18:12:37.

In winning her third Western States in the last four years, Kimball 
recorded the second-fastest time in history to the legendary Ann Trason's 
1994 finish in 17:37:51.  Koerner's time ranked fifth on the 
modern-course all-time list, and was also noteworthy for his achieving a 
rare wire-to-wire triumph against 100-mile mountain running's most 
competitive field, on a course fraught with tactical traps.
   
In recording her third consecutive runner-up finish, Anderson-Abbs, 43, 
also successfully defended her two-time Masters division crown, while 
also pulling into the lead in the current PA/USATF Ultra Grand Prix 
standings for her age group.  Skaden's finish also propelled him to the 
lead in the torrid Senior Open (30-39) age-group competition against 2006 
Grand Prix champion Mark Tanaka, recent winner of the Kettle Moraine 
100-mile race in Wisconsin (in lieu of competing at Western States, where 
he was unsuccessful in the entry lottery).  The top PA/USATF Senior Open 
woman--and fourth overall in 20:36:09--was Davis' Caren Spore, 39, 
defending champion at both the Firetrails 50M and the Ohlone Wilderness 
50K, where she recently established a new course record.
   
 This year's Western States 100 men's Masters champion was 2005's 
PA/USATF Senior Open Ultra Grand Prix champion Glen Redpath, now of 
Brooklyn, NY.  First PA/USATF Master was Cupertino's Jean Pommier in 
20:24:27, who surged ahead of rival Mark Lantz (23:12:03) in the Grand 
Prix standings.  John Nichols of El Dorado Hills was the second PA/USATF 
Master in 20:46:33.
   
 This year's race was contested under more benign conditions than in most 
years, with relatively moderate mid-afternoon temperatures in the high 
80's.  Indeed, Skaden's runner-up time was two-and-a-half hours faster 
than his like finish last year, while Anderson-Abbs improved on 2006 by 
40 minutes.  69% of the 392 starters completed the course in the allotted 
30 hours, with an even 100 runners dipping under the 24 hour barrier to 
earn the coveted silver buckle denoting their "100 miles in one day" 
achievement.