đđââď¸Western States Recap
Caitlin Fielder Crushes At Western States
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
Welcome to Trail Running NZ. Think of this as a cross between a David Attenborough documentary and the yaboyscottjurek meme page. The collaboration no one asked for.
Here's whatâs in the drop bag this week:
đââď¸đWestern States Recap
đThings You May Have Missed
â ď¸VERTual July
â°ď¸đMountain Skag of The Week
Note: Due to the length, some email browsers will hide some of the content - make sure you click âview entire emailâ or click through to substack.
IF I SEEM A LITTLE RUSHED AND STRESSED THIS WEEK, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. IâM NOT SO QUIETLY FREAKING OUT WITH THE VERTUAL JULY CHALLENGE STARTING AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.
IâM STARTING TO SECOND-GUESS WHETHER ANY OF MY IDEAS ARE ACTUALLY GOOD OR JUST A CRY FOR HELP.
ITâS PROBABLY JUST THE LACK OF SLEEP AFTER STAYING UP TO WATCH THE START OF WESTERN STATES... WHICH SUDDENLY TURNED INTO BREAKFAST.
ANYWAY, LETâS BARREL INTO THE RESULTS DESK AND SEE WHAT WENT DOWN OVER IN THE GREAT EWE ESS OF EH.
Western States Recap
12 AM Sunday morning (5 AM local time), the most highly anticipated Western States ever got underway. With the sound of a shotgun, weâd finally find out who was sandbagging, who was lollygagging, and who was just saggingđ.
The usual hot weather got turned around at customs and sent back to Europe, so athletes suddenly found themselves scrambling for jackets. It was about 2 inches cold, with 80 km/h wind gusts ripping across the escarpmentđĽś.
The race got off to the fast start everyone expected. With no snow in the high country and cool temperatures, it was no surprise to see both the womenâs and menâs fields pressing their collective girth up against the course records early.
Letâs take a look at what happened in the womenâs race.
Womenâs Top 10
đĽJenn Lichter - 15:28:05
đĽRiley Brady - 15:42:14
đĽMarianne Hogan -15:51:44
4th - Caitlin Fielder -15:57:09
5th - Lotti Brinks - 6:04:38
6th - Tara Dower - 16:13:07
7th - Fu-Zhao Xiang - 16:25:59
8th - Fiona Pascall - 16:32:05
9th - Háşu HĂ -16:40:38
10th - Hannah Allgood - 16:45:56
BREAKING:
Jen âHannibalâ Lichter was last seen in Auburn enjoying a bottle of Chianti after consuming Courtney Dauwalter's 2023 course record with a side of fava beans.
Wow. What a race. The women's race at Western States is just like marriage. Every year you think it can't get any better, then it somehow doesđ. (Hey babe!)
Last weekâs prediction:
âRiley Brady leads a pack of 3-4 athletes, including defending champ Abby Hall, Martyna The Pole, and Hannibal Lichter, up the escarpment well under course record pace. It turns into a kamikaze mission through the canyons, with our girl Caitlin picking up the pieces after starting further up the field this year.â
Well, I'll give myself a B- on this one. Lichter led the pack up the escarpment, with Brady just seconds back and the top 10 within 2 minutes. This was far from a kamikaze mission though.
Marianne "Hulk" Hogan and Háşu "Ha" HĂ took turns forcing the early pace, while Lichter, MĹynarczyk the Pole, defending champ Abbey Hall, and Hannah "Shelby" Allgood kept the lasso tight.
At Bernard Robinson's Flat, 50-odd k's into the race, Lichter made her great escape, with Brady the only one able to go with her.
The pair shared the lead and pulled away from the chase pack through the canyons before the pivotal moment arrived. Lichter absolutely peeled the face off Devil's Thumb, opening a 5 minute gap on her unsuspecting victim by the aid station.
Lotti "On The" Brinks was next through after Brady, with Hogan, Hall and Tara Dower still fighting hard to stay in touch. The race was by no means over, but it was starting to feel like Lichter vs Brady, with everyone else fighting for next year's party invite.
Just as you thought Lichter had run away with it, Brady rallied, dragging the lead back under 2 minutes. Down into Rucky Chucky, across the Murican River, only 90s separated the 2 leaders. Officially, it was the closest the race had been this late.
With the cheers for Brady at the river ringing in her ears, Lichter once again proved her prowess on the climb, powering away into Green Gate aid station. Brady was no longer the target. Her eyes shifted from the rear-view to the splits as she set about consuming Dauwalterâs course record, one bite at a time.
With Lichter now out of sight, Brady had bigger problems. Hogan was sizing her up for a last-minute clothesline in Auburn.
Brady was able to duck under it, but they couldnât make any ground on Lichter. With about 1km to go, she was just 36 seconds ahead of the course record.
With a track full of horrified onlookers, Lichter opened up her stride, streaking home to swallow the last piece of Dauwalter's course record before popping open the Chianti.
Brady held on for 2nd and recorded the 3rd fastest time in Western States history, finishing 9 minutes ahead of Hogan, who, for the second year running, chopped an hour off her PB and somehow still finished 3rd.
Kiwi Spotlight
đĽCaitlin Fielder - 15:57:09 - 4th
Well, maybe not the 1st place I picked in Fantasy Free Trail, but you've gotta say she gave it a red hot shotđŞ.
Caitlin took 1 hour and 50 minutes off her time from last year. Now, yes, she didn't have a quadastrophe this year and had to claw her way in over the last 50 k's, but wow, what a race she put together. Before the weekend, only Dauwalter and Schide had run under 16 hours, and here's our girl Caitlin running 15:57.
How good! Keep in mind she's only shifted her eyes towards these longer races over the last 2 years.
Just like I thought, she started a bit further up the field with the slow cooker on high. She worked with her Terrex teammate "Insert Sweedy name here" to keep in touch through the canyons inside the top 10 before transforming into a heat-seeking missile, Mario Kart style, shooting her way through the field into 4th, with the finish line arriving just in time for Hogan.
This is one of the greatest 100-mile performances by a Kiwi. Ever.
Ruth lays claim to 4 of the top spots with her 2 UTMBs and 2 Western States performances, while Frostyâs 2 Hardrock wins are all up in there too. Chuck in Scotty Hawkers UTMB Bronze and weâre starting to fill this top 10 out.
Now add Caitlinâs run to go with Danny Jonesâ last 3 years at Western States.
What a time to be a Kiwi following the big racesđ.
đĽVincent Bouillard - 13:46:15
đĽFrancesco Puppi - 13:51:08
đĽRyan Montgomery - 13:53:55
4th - Thomas Cardin -14:07:58
5th - Zach Miller - 14:20:09
6th - Adam Peterman - 14:26:11
7th - Jeff Mogavero - 14:38:36
8th - Canyon Woodward - 14:45:24
9th - Will Murray -15:23:12
10th - Hiroki Kai - 15:26:34
Vincent "The Hamburglar" Bouillard ran a perfectly paced race to become the first man under 14 hours at Western States, swiping America's biggest burger back to Europe and leaving the Muricans empty-handed once again.
If youâre scratching your head wondering, âWho the fark is this guy?â, you might remember him from 2024, when he came from complete obscurity to snaffle the UTMB title while working as a footwear engineer at HOKA.
This year, hardly anyone was talking about the Frenchman. Probably because of his DNF here last year. And, well... this was supposed to be the Walmsley vs Jornet battle for the ages!
If you tuned into the live stream over breakfast on Sunday, youâd be forgiven for wondering how this even happened. Bouillard was there or thereabouts, but the storyline was HANS TROYER, YOUNG AND FIT, running 20 minutes under course record pace with Jim Walmsley and Francesco Puppi in pursuit.
The threesome were absolutely pouring it on, and it looked like no one would be able to match them.
Maybe Troyer was getting a bit high on his own supply, over-revving the canyons. By the time they reached Foresthill, he was still in the lead, but Puppi looked set to take control of the race.
Somewhere out in the badlands after Cal 1, Puppi hit the front and Hans went from 10 ft tall Hans âThe Destroyerâ to Hans the Human Vomit Cannon.
That looked like where the story would end. I'm sure iRunFar had already written the headline: "Francesco the Hans Party Puppier."
Now, if youâve ever heard a toddler gasp and then scream after unwrapping a remote-control monster truck, imagine that sound coming out of Dylan Bowman in commentary when Vincent Bouillard magically appeared at the river, moments after Puppi had crossed.
He looked like a man on a mission, charging straight through the aid station and into the river. Suddenly, it was game on again. The cougar might yet have a different bed to lie in by the end of the night.
Then one of the most dramatic dodgy handheld-cam scenes unfolded. Crop tops. Tassels. Enough skin exposed to make you think youâd stumbled onto some bizarre OnlyFans trail running fetish account. But it was just Scott Jurek on bottle duty.
DBo and Corinne Malcolm were losing their minds in commentary, trying to figure out if Bouillard had taken the lead, when Tim Tofflesssssson jumped in front of the camera with one finger in the air.
The menâs race has been a good watch in recent years, but this was the first time in a long time it felt like it hadnât been decided by the river. To top it all off, Ryan Montgomery, the 100-mile specialist, was absolutely on one, having the race of his life just 2 minutes behind Puppi, who was now in chase mode.
Bouillard kept the momentum rolling, running onto the track to once again shock the trail running world, smashing Jim Walmsley's seemingly untouchable course record, becoming the first man to break the mythical 14-hour barrier, and joining the exclusive "Clocked Trail Running" club as just the 7th person to win both Western States and UTMB.
Puppi held off Montgomery to also finish under the previous course record, becoming the second-fastest man ever in not only his first Western States, but his first ever 100-mile race.
Montgomery completed the fairytale, taking Bronze to become the 3rd person to break the 14-hour barrier in what, given his previous performances, has to be one of the greatest Western States runs of the modern era. Heâs finished as high as 7th last year in 15:54:29, but heâd always felt like a âtop-10 filler, 5th on a dream dayâ type of runner. To go under 14 hours is just something else.
Oh, and somewhere along the way, the two main attractions at the Western States circus, Kilian and Jim Walmsley, blew up. But it didn't even matter. To be honest, I reckon it worked out better this way.
Kiwi Spotlight
đĽDanny Jones - DNF
ITâS OUR YEAR!
NEXT YEAR IS OUR YEAR!
WILL THERE BE A NEXT YEAR?
Iâm sure this one will sting for a long time. Iâve gotta admit, I got a bit emotional watching his name slowly drift down the rankingsđ˘. I havenât heard if thereâs been an official reason for the DNF. To be honest, I donât even really care what it was. Sometimes itâs OK to say it just farking sucked and it was time to pull the pin.
Iâm not sure what the game plan was, but Dan looked off the pace from fairly early on. Through Michigan Bluff he was about 5 minutes behind last yearâs split, which doesnât sound like much, but when the front of the race is well under course record pace, youâre suddenly running for an invite back.
Credit to Dan, he kept grinding it out for a decent way even when it was obvious it just wasnât his day. Iâm sure heâll bounce back. Whether thatâs the end of the Western States push, I guess weâll keep an eye on his Substackđ.
If anything, he should take heart from seeing Montgomery run under 14 hours. This is a guy Dan buried in his first-ever Tarawera Golden Ticket-winning performance. Thereâs no doubt he has all the skills and ability. Maybe he just needs to do a few papers in astronomy to get all the stars to line upđ¤.
đĽMax Yanzick - DNF
Max was our other hope on the menâs side after winning a Golden Ticket at Tarawera this year. All the early signs were good, with Max matching the early sub-course record pace. Halfway through the canyons, he was only 5 or so minutes behind DJ.
Unfortunately for Max, his stomach imploded, as is so often the case in a debut 100-mile race, forcing him to pull the pin at Foresthillđ¤˘.
Plenty to like from this performance. He ran with the fearlessness only a 23-year-old from OMGamaru can. Watch this space. Thereâs plenty more to come.
đĽTravis Stull - 26:45:05 - 151st
Travis was our unlikely highest-placed Kiwi male at Western States this year. He was stull out there while many of us had switched off the live stream. But donât you worry, this man has plenty of fans. I got six different DMs telling me how well he was going.
Way to go, Travis. You just got to tick off one of those bucket-list experiencesđĽł.
Fantasy Free Trail Results
Firstly, apologies. I coked this one up a touch. I said in the last newsletter that the top two in the TRNZ Fantasy Free Trail league would win cookies... but I stuffed up linking it.
I chucked it up on Instagram and got a handful more people involved, but I reckon we can really get this thing pumping for UTMB.
Congratulations Toby! Hopefully youâre back in Auckland. I'm not sending myself cookies, so just like a Golden Ticket, this thing is rolling down. I know Jub's in New Mexico... but I do love a challenge. If anyone knows a place doing good vegan cookies in New Mexico, let me know.
Click Here to join for next time
Thatâs a rap on Western States again for another year.
If youâre struggling to deal with the comedown, iRunFar, Singletrack and Freetrail all have a million interviews up right now.
CLICK HERE for the full results
This Weekâs Newsletter Is Brought To You ByâŚ
Itâs not too late to join the trail running party in the capital at The Wuu2K
Come join the fun on Saturday July 18th
Entries are still open for the 21, 45, and 65k.
Banged up at the moment? No worries. Bank some trail karma instead by volunteering and lying to runners out on course.
âYouâre just 2 minutes behindâ and âyouâre almost thereâ are my go-to lines.
ENTER HERE
REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER HERE
Things You May Have Missed
Sophie Grant Tells Ageing To Get FKT
Sophie Grant is taking on the Via Alpina, a casual 2000 km, 120,000 m of vert, and all going well, targeting the FKT. Things kick off on the 4th of July, keep an eye on her gram for any dot watching details.
Weston Hill Sits 2nd
Weston Hill sits 2nd halfway through the Skyrunner World Series. If you don't already follow what he's up to, get in behind him. He's a hell of a runner and makes some genuinely thoughtful content.
Sam Macaulayâs Big Day At Broken Arrow
Our current Tarawera 50k champ Sam Macaulay had himself a day at the Broken Arrow 23k last weekend. It was one of the most competitive elite short-course fields ever assembled, and our boy came home in 29th. He looks pretty chuffed with that!
Cochrane To Compete At Longest Mile
This one caught my attention. Iâd never heard of this race concept until now. Itâs a backyard-style format, but instead of hourly laps, you run 1 mile (2 Ă 800 m laps of a race track).
You get 15 minutes for the first mile, then the time limit drops by 10 seconds every lap until thereâs only one person left. Sounds intriguing. Whoâs up for putting one of these on in NZ?
VERTual July is HERE
This is not a drill! VERTual July kicks off in roughly 16 hours, depending on when I manage to push send on this email!
Iâve been a bit spammy with this so Iâm sure most people know what itâs about, but incase you missed the memo, the TLDR is below.
July 1: Run 100m of vertical gain
July 2: Run 200m of vertical gain
July 3: Run 300m of vertical gain
Add another 100m every day for the entire month.
...
July 31: Run 3100m of vertical gain
How Do I Join?
CLICK HERE
Hit âRequest To Joinâ to join the Strava Club.
No activity tracking = no play.
The numbers are kind of important.
How Can I Follow Along?
Tom Peck, one of the TRNZ crew who's much smarter than me, has put on his robe and wizard hat and built a leaderboard that automatically pulls the daily vert data from the Strava Club, showing who's still in and who's out.
Iâve got full faith in Tom, but weâve never done this before, so please be patient if things donât go seamlessly those first couple of days.
Click Here for the leaderboard
PRIZES!!!!
đ Overall Winner
$500 Cash from TRNZ
Thatâs It Primo Prize Pack worth $539
Anti-Chafe Gel 25ml x 5, First Aid Gel 25ml, Blister Stop Wool, Hot Rub 80ml, Insect Repel 70g, SPF30 Manuka Oil Lip Balm, T-Shirt, Dry Fit Running Shirt, Cap, HoodieLeki Ultra Trail Poles from Kinisi Running worth $430
Pick any Merrell trail shoes worth up to $379
1 x Foster 01 Shorts from Huntaway Run Co worth $119
$100 Creepy voucher from Creepers
Hearty As Tee + Insane In The Memebrain Tee from Mountain Skag $158
Free entry to Crush the Cargill 200 miler
Thatâs $2235 of value!
Now thatâs a prize pack worth finding your inner Goggins for.
Complete Day 7
Free Entry to Crush The Cargill 24hr Challenge
Complete Day 14
Merrell NZ $140 Voucher (replaces $70)
Kinisi 15% discount code (replaces 10%)
Huntaway Run Co 20% discount (replaces 10%)
Free Entry to Crush The Cargill 100 Miler
Complete Day 21
Girls Only!
Nic Ayson from Singletrack Collective is offering a free training consult for the top female finisher.
Rules
#1 - You must always talk about Vertclub.
#2 - No treadmills. No stair machines. No escalators. No lifts. Run, hike, walk or crawl outside.
#3 - Miss a day and youâre out. No catch-ups. No banking vert. No IOUs.
#4 - Itâs the daily total that count, you can split it into multiple activities.
#5 If more than 1 person makes it to Day 31, the winner is whoever hits 3,100m fastest, or, if both parties agree beforehand, the battle continues into August.
#6 - Be nice and have fun! Remember, weâre all just out here trying to make our way through winter.
Cost
Free - If youâd like to leave a koha to TRNZ, itâll go towards operational costs. AKA coffee and beer to keep me sane throughout July.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
This weekâs hit is from Bridie Macky - I just love the lines and layers in this image. The way the figures are dwarfed by the climb ahead, and how the ridge twists and turns with all the spurs stacked up behind the next.
Sheâs now in the running for the monthly $70 voucher - check out www.mountainskag.com to see what you could be walking away with.
Tag @trailrunning.nz (NOTE THE â.â) and use #mountainskag. DM on Instagram or email trailrunningnz@gmail.com to enter (email is the most reliable).
Picking up what Iâm putting down? Send it to a mate who you know will be into it too!
Or leave a tip
PS: Whoops! Just saw Cougar Trail Run is back next weekend, the 2nd biggest Cougar race in Tokoroa.
Iâm sure that the Trail Network and Trail Society podcasts will have provide great post race chat on the WSER womenâs race.