Race Reports: Historical and Hysterical

I'm a sucker for a good race report, in case you couldn't tell.

The list below is a compilation of my favorite race reports from other runners. Some are from important races in ultrarunning history, some are heartbreaking DNFs, and some are just plain funny.

Let me know if there is anything else I should add to this list, and I will keep it updated (In particular, I have had a hard time finding reports from elite women. Please send these my way if you find them.)

Entries marked with a 🔒 require a subscription to Ultrarunning magazine.

Western States

• 1974 Gordy Ainsleigh (23:42) 🔒: The backstory of the legendary race that started the sport
• 1977 Dave Niederhaus (DNF) 🔒: A retrospective of the first multi-runner WSER
• 1984 Jim King (14:54): Then the course record on the old shorter course
• 1995 Ann Trason (18:40): A retrospective report by AJW about her battle with Tim Twietmeyer
• 2010 Geoff Roes (15:07): The legendary battle between Geoff, Anton, and Kilian
• 2010 Anton Krupicka (15:13): Anton's report from the same race
• 2012 Ellie Greenwood (16:47): An unbelievable run for the women's course record
• 2012 Timothy Olsen (14:46): The first runner ever to break 15 hours
• 2013 Ian Sharman (16:20): The first leg of his Grand Slam record
• 2016 Kaci Lickteig (17:57): The rise of Pixie Ninja
• 2016 Andrew Miller (15:39): The youngest ever winner at age 20

Leadville

• 1987 John Demorest (22:58): An account from the early days of the race
• 2005 Matt Carpenter (15:42): His account of one of the stoutest course records in the sport
• 2007 Anton Krupicka (16:14): Also check out his ridiculous training logs
• 2013 Ian Sharman (16:31): The third leg of the Grand Slam record

Hardrock

• 1994 Blake Wood (38:20): His first of 22 (and counting) Hardrock finishes
• 1999 Blake Wood (30:10): A highly detailed report of his then-course-record run
• 2006 Peter Bakwin (42:50): A double Hardrock run
• 2012 Darcy Piceu (29:54): Her first of three career wins
• 2012 Kal Koerner (24:50): There's a short list of people who have won WSER and Hardrock
• 2013 Rob Youngren (31:19): Including a sprint to the finish with Jamil Coury
• 2014 Johnny Burton (30:03): Not the fastest racer, but maybe the most entertaining
• 2014 Dakota Jones (DNF): A hilarious account of crewing Tim Olson after dropping

Nolan's 14

• 1999 Blake Wood (7 peaks): The inaugural attempt
• 2012 Jared Campbell (58:58): Lots of maps and other info about the route
• 2013 Anton Krupicka (6 peaks): An introspective look at his failed attempt to break 30 hr
• 2014 Brandon Staponowich (56:19): A detailed account with amazing pictures
• 2016 Megan Hicks (59:36): First woman to complete the route car-to-car under 60 hr

Barkley Marathons

• 1986 The "Trail" Wins the Barkley Marathons by Lazarus Lake
• They Call It the Barkley by Lazarus Lake
• 1995 Mark Williams (59:28): First ever 100 mile finisher 
• 2000 Blake Wood (DNF): Turned back by a flood after 4.5 loops
• 2003 Ted "Cave Dog" Kaiser (56:57)
• 2005 Andrew Thompson (DNF): One of the most epic DNFs in the history of running
• 2008 Flyin' Brian Robinson (55:42): The old course record
• 2009 Andrew Thompson (57:37)
• 2010 Jonathan Basham (59:18)
• 2011 Brett Maune (57:13): His first 100 mile attempt
• 2012 Brett Maune (52:03): The (possibly unbreakable) course record
• 2012 Jared Campbell (56:00): His first of three (and counting?)
• 2012 John Fegyveresi (59:41): As chronicled in the Barkley Marathons documentary
• 2013 Nick Hollon (57:20): The youngest finisher ever at age 22
• 2013 Travis Wildeboer (58:41)
• 2014 Jared Campbell (57:50)
• 2016 Jared Campbell (59:30): His record breaking third finish
• 2017 John Kelly (59:30): The most recent finisher

Other Reports

• 2000 John Muir Trail FKT, Buzz Burrell: An FKT report from Mr. FKT himself
• 2000 John Muir Trail FKT, Peter Bakwin: See above
• 2002 Badwater-Whitney Run, Blake Wood: His cross country version of Badwater
• 2007 Vermont 100, Andy Jones-Wilkins: His first ever win at the 100 mile distance
• 2010 Long Trail Unsupported FKT, Travis Wilderboer: Amazingly detailed breakdown
• 2010 HURT 100, Gary Robbins (20:12): A new course record
• 2011 3 Days at the Fair 48 hr, Phil McCarthy: Then an American record of 257 miles
• 2011 Rocky Raccoon 100, Ian Sharman (12:44): One of the fastest 100 mile trail runs ever
• 2011 Jemez 50, Nick Clark: A hilarious account from his pacers point of view
• 2012 JFK 50, Ellie Greenwood (6:11): The women's course record
• 2012 Ititarod Trail 350, Geoff Roes: Epic does not adequately describe this race
• 2013 HURT 100, Gary Robbins (19:35): Breaking his own record
• 2018 Catskill Direttissima, Mike Siudy: Climbing all 35 Catskill high peaks in a weekend

Other Collections of Race Reports

• Run100s.com: A huge collection of 100 mile reports
• Matt Mahoney's Barkley Page: Probably the closest thing in the world to an official Barkley website
• Matt Mahoney's Nolan's 14 Page: Ditto for Nolan's