Overcoming temperatures that reached more than 100 degrees, Hal Koerner, 33, of Ashland, OR, defended his men’s title while Anita Ortiz, 45, of Eagle, CO, made a smashing 100-mile debut to win the women’s race during Saturday’s 35th annual Western States 100-mile Endurance Run.

Koerner, who won the race in 2007, ran 16 hours, 24 minutes and 55 seconds for his second win at Western States. Tsuyoshi Kaburagi, 40, of Japan, was second in 16:52:06. Jez Bragg, 28, of England, was third in 16:54:26.

Koerner broke the race open with a sizzling 58-minute split from the race’s 55.7-mile checkpoint at Michigan Bluff to the 62-mile Foresthill checkpoint.

It was the first time in the race’s history that the top three finishers were from three separate continents.

In the women’s race, Ortiz took the lead by the 30-mile Robinson Flat checkpoint and continued to build her advantage throughout the day, which saw temperatures soar past 100 degrees for the first time at the race since 2006. With little heat training during the mild spring, runners found the challenging course even more difficult than before. Except perhaps for Ortiz, one of the world’s finest trail runners at shorter distances. She proved her mettle at the 100-mile distance by recording a time of 18:24:17. She was followed by Krissy Moehl, 31, of Seattle, WA, who ran 19:26:02, and Beverley Anderson-Abbs, 45, of Red Bluff, CA, who was third in 19:53:14.

Out of 399 starters, there were 239 finishers who finished before the race’s 30-hour cutoff. Seventy-two runners finished in less than 24 hours. This year’s Western States marked the return of the world’s oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail running events. In 2008, only days before runners were prepared to start in Squaw Valley, the 35th annual run was cancelled due to severe smoke and major fire in Northern California. The cancellation was the first in race history.

Photos Joe McCladdie
Picture at top: 1st place winner Anita Ortiz from Eagle, CO approaching the Devil’s Thumb aid station 47.8
miles into the race. She was the 9th overall finisher at 18:24:17
2nd picture: Hal Koerner WS100 2009 race winner approaching Emigrant Pass 3.5 miles into the race.

From Press Release