This Week In Running: October 31, 2022

This Week In Running's trail and ultra recap for October 31, 2022.

Happy Halloween, trick or treaters! We’re going king size with the Javelina Jundred Mile, the Golden Trail World Series Finals, and two UTMB World Series events all happening this past weekend.

Top runners from the Golden Trail World Series converged on Madeira Island for five straight days of racing. The format was unique — it was called a stage race, but runners also didn't have to race each day and could instead pick and choose which races they jumped in.

The start of stage 1 of the 2022 Golden Trail World Series Finals. Photo: Golden Trail Series|Madeira|Jordi Saragossa

Women

Allie McLaughlin (USA) beat Nienke Brinkman (The Netherlands, lives in Switzerland) on day one of racing. That was an upset. Brinkman, a 2:22 marathoner, had been unbeaten in trail races going back to when she set a new course record at the Zegama Marathon earlier this year, and had two recent wins over McLaughlin. Didn't matter to big gamer McLaughlin though. Racing with her cell phone in her hand to meet a race requirement, McLaughlin finished in 2:30 and that was three minutes better than second-place Brinkman, who raced with her right arm in a cast.

Allie McLaughlin finishing first in stage 1 of 2022 Golden Trail World Series Finals. Photo: Golden Trail Series|Madeira|Jordi Saragossa

McLaughlin sat out day two, but Brinkman didn't and won in 2:39, over three minutes ahead of second-place Bailey Kowalczyk (USA).

Day three brought a 7-kilometer sprint, and brought McLaughlin back to the line. She couldn't match day one's feat though and Brinkman took some revenge with a first-place 30:16 run. McLaughlin was 59 seconds behind as runner-up.

Brinkman took day four in 2:50, and Sophia Laukli (USA) was second in 2:54. And then on day five, McLaughlin won convincingly in 2:39 with Brinkman seven minutes behind.

Brinkman was the overall winner.

Neinke Brinkman, the 2022 Golden Trail World Series Finals winner, celebrated her birthday with a win on day 2 of the five-day stage race. Photo: Golden Trail Series|Madeira|Jordi Saragossa

Men

Rémi Bonnet (Switzerland) leveled up this year. Always a master climber, Bonnet won the Pikes Peak Ascent this year and then won the Flagstaff Sky Peaks up-and-down race too. That increasing downhill skill was on show again here too.

Bonnet won stage one in 2:41, 37 seconds better than runner-up Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco). And then Bonnet made a statement on day two. He ran 2:08, beating everyone by nine minutes.

The pair flipped the order on day three with Elazzaoui winning in 24:54 and Bonnet finishing second in 25:32.

Bonnet again dominated on a longer day four, running 2:22 with second-place Elazzaoui almost eight minutes behind. And the two finished in that same order on the race's final stage. Bonnet won in 2:20 and Elazzaoui was second in 2:25.

Bonnet was the overall winner.

Full results.

Rémi Bonnet, the 2022 Golden Trail World Series Finals winner, finishing day 1. Photo: Golden Trail Series|Madeira|Jordi Saragossa

Aravaipa Running's multi-lap, flat-and-fast 100 miler was again a Golden Ticket Race, awarding entries to next year's Western States 100. It was the race's 20th year.

Women

It was a cathartic win for Devon Yanko. She was first here way back in 2015, and now as a 40-year-old, ran even faster. Yanko won in 14:36, the race's second-fastest run ever, and that was 16 minutes better than what she ran back in 2015.

And Yanko had to go that fast to win in a historically fast year for the women. The top six women all ran under 16 hours and the top 10 all under 17 hours.

Riley Brady was first in the non-binary category, but was eligible for the second female Golden Ticket, which they claimed with a 14:45 finish. Both Yanko and Brady have pending Western States 100 Golden Tickets.

Nicole Bitter was second in the female category in 15:16. That's one minute better than her win here in 2020. Kaci Lickteig was third in 15:40.

Men

Dakota Jones went 12:58 for the win. Best known as a mountain runner — he's finished as high as second at the Hardrock 100 — Jones absolutely crushed this one. It was a new course record, three minutes better than what Patrick Reagan ran in 2017.

Jonathan Rea was second in 13:05, the race's third-fastest finish ever. Rea was 16th at the Western States 100 earlier this year.

The 2021 winner Arlen Glick was third in 13:25. He was 11 minutes back of his finish from last year, but was coming off a giant year that includes a second-place run at the Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile just six weeks ago.

Full results.

Puerto Vallarta Mexico by UTMB was a first-year race with three ultra distances, and lots of American runners went south for the race.

100 Mile

The women's finish times reflect the challenging course. Genevieve Harrison (USA) won in 35:26, Cat Bradley (USA) was second in 36:45, and Kertu Palo (USA) was third in 40:39.

Dave Stevens (Canada) edged Jhon Barrera (Colombia) for the men's win. The pair finished in 23:45 and 23:52. Jeff Mogavero (USA) was a close third in 24:02.

100k

Emmiliese von Avis (Canada) took the women's win in 11:25, and Hannah Lafleur (USA) was second in 11:47. Erin Clark (USA) ran 12:07 for third.

Yan-Qiao Yun (China) dominated the men's run in 9:44. Alexander King (USA) and Seth Ruhling (USA) were second and third in 10:15 and 10:51, respectively.

50k

Tara Fraga (USA) and Ryan Becker (USA) won the 50k race in 5:53 and 5:33.

Full results.

Ultra-Trail Australia by UTMB – Katoomba, Australia

One hundred kilometers through the Blue Mountains, this is a big one in Australia. Anna McKenna (Australia) championed the women's race in 9:15. Erika Lori (Australia) and Naomi Brand (South Africa) were second and third in 9:41, but 48 seconds apart. Men's leader Reece Edward (Australia) turned a recent 2:14 run at the Melbourne Marathon into a 100k win here in 8:10. Scotty Hawker (New Zealand) and Sam McCutcheon (New Zealand) were second and third in 8:18 and 8:28, respectively. Full results.

Reece Edward, the 2022 Ultra-Trail Australia by UMTB 100k men's winner. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith

Anna McKenna, the 2022 Ultra-Trail Australia by UMTB women's winner. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith

San Jacinto 50k – Idylwild, California

Jade Belzburg set a new course record at the second-year race in 7:57 and men's winner George Torres finished in 6:44. Full results.

Javelina 100k – Fountain Hills, Arizona

Simultaneous to the 100-mile race, Lotti Brinks and Scott Traer won the 100k in 8:36 and 7:31, and both times were new course records. Full results.

Naatsisaan Trail Ultra 50k – Navajo Mountain, Utah

Candice Gale and Randolph Curley were the race's best in 7:48 and 5:29. Full results.

Chicago Lakefront 50 Mile – Chicago, Illinois

Rachel Burke and Dan Kittivanichkulkrai went 7:20 and 6:45 to win the 50 miler, and Victoria DiGiannantonio and Nolan McKenna won the 50k in 3:56 and 3:04. Full results.

PB&J 50k – Triangle, Virginia

The Virginia Happy Trails Running Club hosted the seventh PB&J 50k inside Prince William State Forest. The race is named for an old training run series. Jennifer Cortesi and Christopher Moore won in 6:24 and 4:58. Christine Schleppegrell and Robert Bartholomew took first place in the 25k in 2:30 and 2:20. Full results (when available).

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Justin Mock is the This Week In Running columnist for iRunFar. He's been writing about running for 10 years. Based in Europe, Justin has run as fast as 2:29 for a road marathon and finished as high as fourth in the Pikes Peak Marathon.