Hundreds compete in 40th running of American River endurance run

The American River 50 Endurance Run crossed a milestone Saturday as the ultra run notched its 40th running. The iconic run was one of the early ultras that began defining the Auburn area as the Endurance Capital of the World back in 1979 when the race began. Five-hundred runners registered for the 50-mile run and over 200 runners registered for the 25-mile distance this year.Both races began at Folsom Lake, the 50-miler starting at 6 a.m. and the 25-miler at 7 a.m. The trail covers parts of the American River Bike Trail, follows the historic and scenic Pioneer Express Trail along the shores of Folsom Lake with both races ending at Auburn's Overlook Park after climbing the Dam Wall out of the American River canyon. Gloria Takagishi, 73, of Sacramento has the distinction of starting all 40 AR50s and finishing the first 30. Local Auburn running legend Tim Twietmeyer, 60, has run 39 of the 40 AR50s, finishing all 39 and missing only the first one in 1979. Twietmeyer finished Saturday's 50-mile race 35th overall with a time of 8 hours, 53 minutes and 51 seconds. Takagishi started Saturday but did not finish.Christopher Denucci, 39, of Berkeley picked up his second AR50 win with a time of 6:20:53, being pushed real hard by 50-mile distance newcomer Reed Breuer, 26, of Sacramento, who finished just seconds behind Denucci with a 6:21:08 in his first 50-miler. Breuer led for most of the race, both runners putting over 30 minutes' time between them and the third-place runner at times. "At Mile 39, Chris (Denucci) just blew by me near Rattlesnake," said Breuer. Denucci won the AR50 in 2016, setting the new course record at 6:00:41, but because of the muddy conditions of the course after a pounding rain, Friday was slowed. "It was a real battle today. I don't think I have been pushed that hard. Reed (Breuer) did that today," Denucci said.Repeating her 2018 win, Emily Hawgood of Beatrice, Zimbabwe, crossed the finish line draped in her country's flag with a time of 7:23:43, shaving 11 minutes off her last year's winning time. Hawgood was the first woman to cross the AR50 finish line and finished eighth overall.Scott Trummer, 27, of Livermore won this year's AR25 with a time of 3:00:27 and Pamela Ross, 29, of Morgana was the first woman to cross the finish line and fifth overall with a time of 3:38:53. AR50 Overall Top Finishers1- Christopher Denucci, 39, 6:20:53, Berkeley, CA2- Reed Breuer, 26, 6:21:08, Sacramento, CA3- Jadd Martinez, 37, 7:02:38, San Francisco, CA AR50 Women Top Finishers1- Emily Hawgood 24, 7:23:43, Beatrice, Zimbabwe 2- Kristina Randrup, 20, 7:36:36, Berkeley, CA3- Anna Zielaski, 36, 7:59:07, Emeryville, CA AR25 Overall Top Finishers1- Scott Trummer, 27, 3:00:07, Livermore, CA2- Adam Merry, 28, 3:06:52, Monterey, CA3- Forrest Ward, 31, 3:13:13, Diamond Springs, CA AR25 Top Women Finishers1- Pamela Ross, 29, 3:38:53, Morgana, CA2- Sarah Burke, 23, 3:47:31, Mill Valley, CA3- Julie Riederer, 37, 4:23:00, Loomis, CA