Italy's Puppi, Zimbabwe's Hagwood win Canyons 100K

The 100-kilometer journey of The Canyons Endurance Runs presented by UTMB began at 5 a.m. Saturday in the snow in China Wall and ended in Downtown Auburn. While the event was greeted in previous years by a sunny sky and warm weather, this year's run featured muddy trails and scattered showers for the world's elite ultrarunners. Italy's Francesco Puppi dominated the men's 100K in a field of more than 30 elite runners, finishing with a time of 8 hours, 4 minutes, 36 seconds. Puppi passed Colorado's Jackson Cole near the halfway point and didn't look back. Puppi set the course record by nearly 40 minutes. He said his goal was simply to run fast and hard. He described the moment he rounded the final corner into Auburn and toward the finish line on High Street in his post-race interview, saying, "It was a great feeling. On one hand, we wish those moments could last forever, but you also just want it to be over." Puppi earned a coveted golden ticket for the Western States Endurance Run in June but respectfully declined, saying he would love to run it one day but he wants to ensure he's prepared to attack the world's ultimate 100-miler. Hans Troyer was the first American to cross the finish line, placing second in 8:27:00. Hannes Namberger of Germany crossed the finish line while holding his son, rounding out the podium with a time of 8:32:17. Troyer and Namberger accepted their golden tickets. Fourth-place finisher Jeff Mongavero already qualified for Western States with a golden ticket in a previous race so the final Western States spot was claimed by fifth-place finisher Ryan Montgomery. Zimbabwe's Emily Hagwood won the women's race, completing her journey to Auburn in 9:46:44. Hagwood, Jazmine Lowther and Marianne Hogan traded leads throughout most of the first half of the race, but Hagwood began to pull away down the home stretch. "I was in a fight the whole day with Marianne and Jazmine for half the race, too," said Hagwood. "That's been our style racing for the past few years. You never feel like you're winning. I have to see the finish line to think I'm in the lead." Hagwood said she was never concerned with breaking the course record, she just wanted to ensure she won the race. She said the weather helped her, noting the cooler temperatures played a part in fast times from all runners. She also said her familiarity with the course from four times running Western States helped her down the stretch. "It was a little muddy but the weather was actually perfect. I've raced states four times already, and it can get really hot and the heat is a challenge," said Hagwood. "The weather today, I feel like made it kind of an even playing field. I think my familiarity with the course pushed me over the edge." Hogan placed second, finishing four minutes after Hagwood in 9:50:44. She was greeted with a hug from Hagwood shortly after crossing the finish line, congratulating each other on a job well done. Keely Henninger finished third at 9:58:10. With Hagwood already qualified for Western States, golden tickets went to Hogan, Henniger and fourth-place finisher Erin Cole. All three runners accepted their golden tickets to Western States. Lowther, who was among the leaders for the majority of the race, began to struggle around the Cal 2 checkpoint and dropped out. In the men's 100 mile race, France's Ferdinand Airault won with a time of 16:18:13 with Tommy Sulivan close behind in 16:24:36. Ben Quatromoni was third at 17:02:36. Lin Chen of China won the women's 100-miler in 18:33:15. Spain's Aroa Sio placed second at 18:39:19 and Madeleine Hawkins of Canada finished third in 20:11:20. Seth Ruhling took the top spot in the men's 50K race in a time of 03:24:34, while Hannah Osowski was the women's winner with a time of 03:57:12. In the 25km race, Daniel Curts ran 1:33:13 while Anika Kimme had a finishing time of 1:55:59.