Three trail running stars on the HOKA ONE ONE® elite running roster placed first, second and third at the Speedgoat 50K at Utah’s Snowbird Ski Resort. Jim Walmsley set a new course record, finishing the challenging mountain race in 5 hours, 4 minutes and 55 seconds. Tim Tollefson placed second in 5 hours, 23 minutes and 32 seconds. Sage Canaday of Boulder finished third in 5 hours, 31 minutes and 6 seconds.
The Speedgoat 50K was founded by HOKA athlete Karl “Speedgoat” Meltzer in 2008, and he remains the director of the HOKA-sponsored race. It features 11,800′ feet of vertical gain in the mountains of Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Walmsley, Tollefson and Canaday’s next race will be the 100-mile Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, a similarly mountainous course in the Alps that crosses into France, Switzerland and Italy, in early September.
“Jim, Tim and Sage are exceptional athletes, and a key part of HOKA’s roster, which we’ve been steadily building to become one of the best teams of ultra-trail runners in the world,” said Mike McManus, Senior Sports Marketing Manager for HOKA ONE ONE. “Today’s results reaffirm their preparation for the mountainous course of UTMB. We expect each of these athletes to be top contenders there in September.”
Other top Coloradoans:
5. Ryan Phebus, Basalt – 5:54:09
9. Tate Lagasca, Durango – 6:17:04
13. Holden Rennaker, Durango – 6:30:50
17. Oliver Knauer, Superior – 6:55:53
25. Josh Robertson, Steamboat Springs – 7:20:45
For the ladies, the top two spots belonged to Coloradans as Marble’s Anna Mae Flynn (6:18:04) outlasted Telluride’s Kelly Wolf (6:27:30) for the win.Sandi Nypaver (Boulder, 6:57:29), Marianne Hogan (Boulder, 7:15:01) and Patricia Franco (Basalt, 7:48:19) took fifth, sixth and seventh.
In the accompanying “Vertical Mile” race (6.4 miles with 5,300′ of gain), Boulder’s Karley Rempel took top honors for the ladies in 2:02:35. Boulder’s Brandon Johnson was the top Coloradan for the men, finishing third in 1:49:59.